Canon 24mm f/1.4 Mark II

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Archive 2009 · Canon 24mm f/1.4 Mark II

AGeoJO
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p.1 #1 · Canon 24mm f/1.4 Mark II

It seems like Canon had paid close attention to the optical design of recently introduced lenses and most importantly, Canon seems to have increased the QC in the manufacturing/assembly process. I am sure they heard foot steps approaching...

. These factors have resulted in really top-notch performers. It doesn't come cheap though as Canon, Nikon and other camera/optical manufacturing companies have increased their prices

. But at least you know what you are getting if you shell out big bucks for some glasses.

I heard high praises from users of the recently introduced lenses, such as the 17mm TS-E, 24mm TS-E Mark II, 100mm Macro L with hybrid IS, etc. The case in point is the new 24mm f/1.4L Mark II. I had the original version before, which wasn't bad but the Mark II version is definitely more impressive. Two days ago, I took this lens for a spin at the State Capitol Building in Austin. I like the results

. Here a few shots from there.

This was taken at f/2.8 to get some depth-of- field:

This image is copyrighted by the owner

and this is a 100% crop from the shot above:

This image is copyrighted by the owner

How about a full open shot? Well, this is one during a camera demonstration event at Precision Camera in downtown Austin using just available light. The colors are just fine. The usual suspects were there: Canon and Nikon, of course, and also Sony, Leica (I tried out the 36K Leica S2

), Tamron and Hoodman.

2012 © AGeoJO

Canon EOS 5D Mark II 24 mm f/1.4 1/250 sec 400 ISO 0.0 EV

Nov 21, 2009 at 11:02 PM

pixelpix
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p.1 #2 · Canon 24mm f/1.4 Mark II

Sweet bit of kit. I love the isolation from the background (even though it's close) that 1.4 gives.

Not to sure that I like the bokeh towards edges though.... it seems much better towards the middle.

I had to wonder what this guy was saying too.....

"Now you never heard this from me..... but if you place the bullet right here, your husband will never know what hit him."

Nov 21, 2009 at 11:24 PM

RafalA
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p.1 #3 · Canon 24mm f/1.4 Mark II

Probably my favourite lens. Since getting it, this lens has found a permanent home on one of my bodies, no matter what I'm shooting!

The bokeh is stunning (shooting 1DIIs), the colours and contrast fantastic. Worth every penny - my 24-70 and 17-40 have been mostly neglected of late...

Nov 21, 2009 at 11:50 PM

musclepics
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p.1 #4 · Canon 24mm f/1.4 Mark II

The images above, especially the 3rd, have a lot of artifacts from sharpening/compression, and don't really do the lens justice (makes the bokeh look harsh too).

I had a chance to use the 24L I for a couple hours and it was sweet. I currently have a lovely 24-70L, and I've really wondered if I should sell for the 24L for that extra 2 stops. I wish I could justify both lenses right now.

The MkII would be ideal, but at nearly 2x the price of a used MkI, I wonder if it's worth it.

Nov 22, 2009 at 12:01 AM

Mark_EL
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p.1 #5 · Canon 24mm f/1.4 Mark II

pixelpix wrote:
"Now you never heard this from me..... but if you place the bullet right here, your husband will never know what hit him."

LMAO

Anyway, the pics look good.

I don't want to hyjack you thread, but Im sitting on the fence here right now, trying to decide if I will buy the 24L II or a 16-35L II. I have been sitting here for weeks, which was not a problem because I had to sell some other lenses first to get the budget I need. But now I have the budget and it's time to make a decision....

Now, if I would buy the 24L, 24mm would be my widest I have on my 5D. And even though I already figured out that since the last two years I only took a handful of pics wider then 24mm, I still can't seem to get of this damned fence

So anyone, please help me convince me I am better off with the 24L II so I can get on with my life... (btw, I love small DOF and a nice bokeh)

Nov 22, 2009 at 12:03 AM

kewlcanon
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p.1 #6 · Canon 24mm f/1.4 Mark II

Wow Joshua...you make me want to buy one!

Nov 22, 2009 at 01:50 AM

OceanView
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p.1 #7 · Canon 24mm f/1.4 Mark II

Mark_EL wrote:
pixelpix wrote:
"Now you never heard this from me..... but if you place the bullet right here, your husband will never know what hit him."

LMAO

So anyone, please help me convince me I am better off with the 24L II so I can get on with my life... (btw, I love small DOF and a nice bokeh)

I'm in the same boat as you.
Ideally I would love to have both but my style of shooting is not enough to justify buying both.
One factor I am also taking into consideration is the use for video in the future.
I'm not sure which would be better for that as well.

Nov 22, 2009 at 05:02 AM

RafalA
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p.1 #8 · Canon 24mm f/1.4 Mark II

Not the same lens, but I have a 17-40 that rarely sees action since I got the 24/1.4. I find that the shallow dof is much more useful than the extra mm on the wide end, so I use the 24/1.4 a lot more.

I just finished a 4 day conference. One body always had the 24/1.4 on it, the second varied between the 50/1.4, 85/1.2, 70-200/2.8 and 17-40/4. But not once did I not have the 24/1.4 on.

If you use 24mm often, buy it. It is an awesome, awesome, awesome lens. I love it more every time I use it.

Nov 22, 2009 at 06:49 AM

AGeoJO
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p.1 #9 · Canon 24mm f/1.4 Mark II

pixelpix wrote:
Sweet bit of kit. I love the isolation from the background (even though it's close) that 1.4 gives.

Not to sure that I like the bokeh towards edges though.... it seems much better towards the middle.

I had to wonder what this guy was saying too.....

"Now you never heard this from me..... but if you place the bullet right here, your husband will never know what hit him."

Here are two shots; one at f/1.4 and fairly close distance to show the bokeh in that situation and the second one at f/2.0 and its 100% crop. BTW, just some snapshots here, guys.

The Canon guy was explaining the AF function but I like your comment better though

.

Mark_EL wrote:
Now, if I would buy the 24L, 24mm would be my widest I have on my 5D. And even though I already figured out that since the last two years I only took a handful of pics wider then 24mm, I still can't seem to get of this damned fence

So anyone, please help me convince me I am better off with the 24L II so I can get on with my life... (btw, I love small DOF and a nice bokeh)

I can guarantee you that you will be taking more pictures at 24mm in the next two years after you have bought a 24L II

. Seriously, it is a great lens.

kewlcanon wrote:
Wow Joshua...you make me want to buy one!

Who is stopping you? I am not....

RafalA wrote:
If you use 24mm often, buy it. It is an awesome, awesome, awesome lens. I love it more every time I use it.

I just started getting my feet wet but I can't help but agreeing with that.

Canon EOS 5D Mark II 24 mm f/1.4 1/30 sec 100 ISO 0.0 EV

Canon EOS 5D Mark II 24 mm f/2.0 1/1000 sec 400 ISO 0.0 EV

Canon EOS 5D Mark II 24 mm f/2.0 1/1000 sec 400 ISO 0.0 EV

Nov 22, 2009 at 02:27 PM

lovinglife
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p.1 #10 · Canon 24mm f/1.4 Mark II

24L II / 5D

Nov 22, 2009 at 02:37 PM

lovinglife
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p.1 #11 · Canon 24mm f/1.4 Mark II

Nov 22, 2009 at 02:38 PM

pixelpix
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p.1 #12 · Canon 24mm f/1.4 Mark II

I like the bokeh in those latest shots much better AGeoJO.

I might have a look at this lens.... but then, I already have the 24 TS-E II and I don't know if I can justify another 24?

Nov 22, 2009 at 08:11 PM

philber
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p.1 #13 · Canon 24mm f/1.4 Mark II

Member Snowboarder bought the 24L II at the same time as a Zeiss ZE 21mm, expecting to keep both, but for different purposes. Ask him which one he kept, which one he sent back, and why...

Nov 22, 2009 at 08:22 PM

rhorta
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p.1 #14 · Canon 24mm f/1.4 Mark II

The 24L2 has really caught my attention big time, can't wait to get one in a couple of months time.

For a f/1.4 AF wide lens what is there not to like...

Ruy

Nov 22, 2009 at 08:41 PM

Sir_Loin
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p.1 #15 · Canon 24mm f/1.4 Mark II

This is the next lens on my shopping list (if I can find a dealer who has one!) so more samples would be very much appreciated guys

Nov 22, 2009 at 08:47 PM

Adam L
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p.1 #16 · Canon 24mm f/1.4 Mark II

I sooooo want this lens.

Perfect for wide field astro photography. Sharp and useable f/1.4 for astro?! YES PLEASE!!

Nov 22, 2009 at 08:53 PM

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p.1 #17 · Canon 24mm f/1.4 Mark II

OceanView wrote:
Mark_EL wrote:
pixelpix wrote:
"Now you never heard this from me..... but if you place the bullet right here, your husband will never know what hit him."

LMAO

Nov 22, 2009 at 09:37 PM

photoArne
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p.1 #18 · Canon 24mm f/1.4 Mark II

Nov 22, 2009 at 10:18 PM

skibum5
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p.1 #19 · Canon 24mm f/1.4 Mark II

Adam L wrote:
I sooooo want this lens.

Perfect for wide field astro photography. Sharp and useable f/1.4 for astro?! YES PLEASE!!

stars look like sliver moons anywhere at all near the borders anywhere near wide open, sorry

otherwise the lens is awesome though

Nov 23, 2009 at 01:40 AM

skibum5
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p.1 #20 · Canon 24mm f/1.4 Mark II

Sir_Loin wrote:
This is the next lens on my shopping list (if I can find a dealer who has one!) so more samples would be very much appreciated guys

f/2.2, ISO3200, 5D2:

This image is copyrighted by the owner

f/7.1 100% crop:

This image is copyrighted by the owner

f/8, 100% crop, center, 5D2:

This image is copyrighted by the owner

f/8, 100% crop, far left edge, 5D2:

This image is copyrighted by the owner

i don't really have too many fall/sunset pics processed yet and just about none of it is uploaded to the web yet so the cool stuff isn't ready for display

Nov 23, 2009 at 01:53 AM

jpmcardle
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p.1 #21 · Canon 24mm f/1.4 Mark II

I've had this lens for a while now and have shot a few thousand shots with it at this point.

It's by far my favourite lens. It allows me to get shots I wouldn't be able to capture otherwise... just make sure you like the focal length.

Here are a few samples:

There's more on my flickr: www.flickr.com/photos/trebbble

Nov 23, 2009 at 02:57 AM

lovinglife
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p.1 #22 · Canon 24mm f/1.4 Mark II

Works for portraits too, wide open.

This image is copyrighted by the owner

Nov 23, 2009 at 05:08 AM

Bob Sumitro
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p.1 #23 · Canon 24mm f/1.4 Mark II

Beautiful pictures guys.

Would you suggest this for a 7D?

I've been thinking about getting one myself. I currently have a 24-70L and often use the 24 end. But because for almost a year now I've been using a Leica M film (with my favorite lens being 28 mm elmarit) and seldom use my DSLR, I find that 24-70L has become too big and too heavy. That's why I'm thinking about getting a 24L or a zeiss ZE lens for a walk around lens.
Thanks,
Bob

Nov 23, 2009 at 06:34 AM

adimage
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p.1 #24 · Canon 24mm f/1.4 Mark II

Nice images. I have a 24 1.4L I and would like to upgrade. There is a "small" problem with my existing 24 1.4L (and I've heard that I am not alone in this): When I use the center point on 1d or 1ds mk III the lens focuses perfectly on the target (wide open). If I use the outer points, the focus has big errors (usually I get heavy front focusing). I get better results by focus/recompose than by using the outer points. This happens on all my three cameras, and the cameras are fine as they don't have this problem with my other lenses. I noticed the issue since I upgraded from the 5Ds to the 1 series and started to use the outer AF points (that now really work, unlike the 5d's).

Does anybody have the same issue with 24 1.4L I and can you tell me if this problem is still present on the 24 1.4L II ? (having this issue fixed would be a BIG step for making my decision to upgrade)

Nov 23, 2009 at 07:50 AM

dancam
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p.1 #25 · Canon 24mm f/1.4 Mark II

adimage wrote:
Nice images. I have a 24 1.4L I and would like to upgrade. There is a "small" problem with my existing 24 1.4L (and I've heard that I am not alone in this): When I use the center point on 1d or 1ds mk III the lens focuses perfectly on the target (wide open). If I use the outer points, the focus has big errors (usually I get heavy front focusing). I get better results by focus/recompose than by using the outer points. This happens on all my three cameras, and the cameras are fine as they don't have this problem with my other lenses. I noticed the issue since I upgraded from the 5Ds to the 1 series and started to use the outer AF points (that now really work, unlike the 5d's).

Does anybody have the same issue with 24 1.4L I and can you tell me if this problem is still present on the 24 1.4L II ? (having this issue fixed would be a BIG step for making my decision to upgrade)

You're probably seeing field curvature. It is common on wide lenses. There is nothing wrong with the camera. The focus plane from the lens just isn't flat. Unfortunately, I don't have any experience with the 24L II so I don't know what changes there are specifically.

Nov 23, 2009 at 08:14 AM


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