Read Roger Cicala's resolution test of the Canon 24-70mm f/2.8L II. This highly anticipated lens just hit the market and his results will surprise you. He compares it to the previous version as well as several other top lenses.

"This is short, sweet, and simple. The resolution absolutely, positively kicks butt and takes names. It is way better than the lens it replaces. It’s better at 70mm than the best Canon zoom I know of, the 70-200 f/2.8 IS II. It’s even better at 24mm than the sharpest 24mm prime we have, the Canon 24 TS-E. In the center, in the corners, it doesn’t care. We only had 5 copies to test, but they were all very similar with little copy-to-copy variation."

Read the entire test and Imatest results | See lens teardown.

Canon 24-70mm f/2.8L II Pre-order: B&H Photo | Amazon

Canon is putting a lot of effort into lens updates that offer increased resolution across the frame... if I was a betting man, I would say this is in preparation for a new high resolution body.... Bring It On!

I've seen comparison samples between the 24tse and this and this does seem better!

Those resolution numbers are really impressive.
Chris

Awesome.

Wish he had said something about the corners, its why I shoot primes now.

ben egbert wrote:
Wish he had said something about the corners, its why I shoot primes now.


"It’s even better at 24mm than the sharpest 24mm prime we have, the Canon 24 TS-E. In the center, in the corners, it doesn’t care."

Can you not read?

Damn fixed income would kill for this lens I loved the old one this one kicks ass

Like many others, at first glance I thought, "How dare they charge this much for this lens?"
But like the 70-200f2.8 v2 before it, the improved performance makes the price increase less controversial.

Like the 5D2 & 5D3 and 70-200f2.8 versions, Canon should offer both versions for those that can't afford the new premium. But it doesn't look like they'll do that, since the old version is no longer on their website.
Those that can't afford the new one, might want to snatch up the remaining stock of the original.

Added the Canon 24-70mm f/2.8L II teardown link.

surf monkey wrote:

Those that can't afford the new one, might want to snatch up the remaining stock of the original.

There will be plenty of slightly used ones available soon...

RobDickinson wrote:
ben egbert wrote:
Wish he had said something about the corners, its why I shoot primes now.


"It’s even better at 24mm than the sharpest 24mm prime we have, the Canon 24 TS-E. In the center, in the corners, it doesn’t care."

Can you not read?

Guess not, I read does not care.

Those resolution numbers are insane. I notice a significant difference in sharpness between my 70-200 f/2.8 IS II and my 24-70 and I would love to have my 24-70 be just as sharp, but not at $1,000 more. I'd rather invest in a fast L prime for variety.

Damn, I thought this lens wasn't going to be selling too well by the first initial reports causing a price decrease sooner than later, but with a review like this I dont see that happening anymore.

I would welcome a comparison of true focal lengths at nominal 24mm and nominal 70mm. Would be good to have that data for the 70-200 II as well.

The Tamron sure looks competitive in terms of resolution, VC, and price.

gvg45 wrote:
Damn, I thought this lens wasn't going to be selling too well by the first initial reports causing a price decrease sooner than later, but with a review like this I dont see that happening anymore.

Oh, I don't know. $2300 is still priced out of the range of most non-pros IMO, which surely limits its market (he says, wishfully

Sounds like a great lens, but Nikon also managed to produce a great 24-70 and price it $500 lower

The price will come down. This is the initial price, as with every other Canon product, the price comes down over time. Will not surprise me if Canon rebates this within 6-12 months.

SKumar25 wrote:
The price will come down. This is the initial price, as with every other Canon product, the price comes down over time. Will not surprise me if Canon rebates this within 6-12 months.


one store had it for $125 off for pre-orders, they are back to list now though

The most expensive zoom too ? .