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  Reviews by: willardp  
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Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM

ef_24-70_28u_1_
Review Date: Jul 21, 2005 Recommend? | Price paid: Not Indicated

 
Pros: This is a follow up from a previous post prior to sending the lens back to Canon. The post calibrated lens is everything I expected from an "L" series lens. Sharp as a tack--really!
Cons:
Was little disappointed that Canon didn't come back and say there was nothing wrong with the lens.

If I had purchased this lens prior to purchasing the 70-200mm f/2.8L--it would have been the only "L" lens I owned--ever. But because of the 70-200mm f/2.8L, I couldn't wait to get the 24-70mm. Not to reccount the previous post--but if I had to rate the calibrated lens--it would probably be 9.5--only becuase it had to be returned. I've posted a couple of shots below...virtually from the same spot around the same time of the day. Only different between the post-calibrated shot is the Hoya SHMC CIR-PL (a $172.50 (B&H) purchase but well worth it).

According to the paper work from Canon, they adjusted my for my "best focal point". Called Canon and asked what that meant--essentially they calibrated for center AF point. They also did a check on sensor alignment. That concerned me--did they check it for a 20D or is the sensor distance/alignment for all Canon DSLRs the same?? What if I put the lens on a 35mm?

Bottom line folks...you've spent a lot of money for this lens. If you're not happy with it...send it back!

Before calibration:
http://www.cool-worlds.com/coolworlds/alamoana/slides/20050531ALMN-0005.html

After calibrations:
http://www.cool-worlds.com/coolworlds/alamoana5/slides/20050714ALAMO-0010.html
 
Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM

ef_24-70_28u_1_
Review Date: Jun 27, 2005 Recommend? yes | Price paid: Not Indicated | Rating: 8 

 
Pros: Newly calibrated lens looks sharp wide open at 24mm @ f/2.8. Love the color satuation and contrast.
Cons:
Before calibration...everything soft.

I like probably many of you spent a lot of time in this forum reading the various reviews...both the good and the bad. It was with a LOT of apprehension that I purchased this lens...wondering if I was going to get a "good" copy. Unfortunately I got on the "bad" copies.

After two weeks I sent the lens back to Canon. I just got it back today. I really haven't had time to go out and shoot to see if the adjustments have made a difference. I did some quick test shots here in my office of my contact rewetting solution at 24mm and 70mm at f/2.8, f/4.0, and f/5.6. So far, the results look good on the LCD (which for me usually means they'll look better on full 19" monitor). I'm trying to figure out what adjusted the "best focal point" means. If anyone knows please let me know.

One of the nice things about the local Canon repair shop here is that they are quite open and forth coming with info to help their customers. So I asked if there was anything at all in the Canon world about this lens and the 20D...since a lot of the issues with this lens seem to be associated with the 20D. She revealed that there were no internal memos about the lens, however there is a memo about the back focusing issue with the 20D. Initially they wanted to send both camera and lens to ensure they "were" properly fitted for each other. My argument against that was I'm having zero problems with my 28-135mm w/IS, my 70-200mm f/2.8L, or my 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5...so why should I send the camera?? But now it appears the actual reason was to check to see if there was a back focusing issue with the camera also. Also, the fact that there had to be an adjustment at all on the lens is a disappointment to me. No such issues with the 70-200mm f/2.8L. Matter of fact, if I had bought the 24-70mm f/2.8L first, I would never have bought the 70-200mm f/2.8L.

I would think that if 20Ds are being returned for back focusing issues, Canon should be able to correlate the serial numbers with batches or lots and issue a notification or firmware fix or something. Anyway, tomorrow I'll be out shooting and will post the results to my site.

Thanks to all of you who have posted reviews on various products here...you've made it very easy for me to decide on a lot of major purchases. Hmmmm, maybe I should have listened more closely before buying this lens Smile