I got one of the 24-105L lenses that Pro Photo in Portland, OR was selling today, and so far it looks great! I will post samples tomorrow when I have time, but to give a really quick review based on using it for an hour:
Very sharp wide open, sharp in both center and corners both wide and long. No CA so far, and I took some pics with a foliage and metal against a bright sky.
The IS makes very little sound, and the effect does not seem dramatic, although this is not a long telephoto like my 70-200L IS. Smooth focusing ring, zoom ring is a bit stiff but not a problem. The hood is nice and small. The lens does not seem that much lighter and smaller than the 24-70L I had, although there is a noticeable different. The lens is very well built - similar to the 24-70L although since it is lighter it doesn't seem 100% as solid (but it's plenty solid).
Bottom line - I won't miss my Tamron 28-75 I just sold (or the 24-70L I sold before that). In my mind, a 2.8 lens is too slow for low-light indoor shooting anyway, so this zoom is fine for me on all other occassions.
That's all for now - gotta run.
Peter
Edited by petermendelson on Sep 03, 2005 at 01:23 AM GMT
Love to see shots Peter. I am looking to sell my sharp copy of the 24-70L for a 24-105 IS for sure. I didnt even know that they hit the streets already.
I heard Canon accidentally shipped some product early, but that could be a rumour. The place I bought it from is sold out and I don't know where else they may be available. I will post shots by tomorrow - would love to do it now but I have to go out right now.
Unless you really need the 2.8 of the 24-70L, the 24-105L would seem to be a good replacement.
petermendelson wrote:
Bottom line - I won't miss my Tamron 28-75 I just sold (or the 24-70L I sold before that). In my mind, a 2.8 lens is too slow for low-light indoor shooting anyway, so this zoom is fine for me on all other occassions.
That's all for now - gotta run.
Peter
Wait a minute!! I am getting your 28-75...I want you to miss it because it was that good!!
I might have missed it in the mutliple 24-105 threads but does the 24-105 extend when it zooms like the 24-70 or is it internal zooming similar to the 17-40? If it extends, can you post a pic of it?
OK, here we go. First, a disclaimer. I took these photos in a snapshot manner without a tripod (but with IS on), either wide open or at f/5.6. These are boring shots taken in a somewhat sloppy manner but I hope they help show some aspects of this lens. I shot in RAW, converted with Raw Shooter Essentials, and applied Focus Magic, level 1, to sharpen the photos a bit (I love Focus Magic, but a little goes a long way). The light was fading outside, so in some photos the ISO was bumped up to 400 or so (the exif data in the link provided below tells all).
With the different color settings and profiles in different raw converters, it's hard to judge the true color provided by the lens, so don't judge that from these samples, although I can say I did not see any noticeable color cast in the "as shot" settings. I don't plan to shoot rulers, brick walls, or newspapers to test this lens, since I can already see it is good enough for me, but hopefully in the next few days I can post more artistically interesting shots in different lighting conditions which can help people evaluate this lens more.
If I didn't have low-light primes, I would have been tempted to keep my Tamron 28-75, but since I have the 35L, 85 1.8 and 135 f/2 for those situations I see the 24-105L as a great all-around lens for normal light shooting conditions. If I do take the plunge and get the 5D by selling my 20D and a number of lenses, this should make an awesome combination (although maybe the 20D is cropping out weak corners on this lens, but I have no way of knowing this).
MT-M, I was shooting at f/4, so not everything in the frame was in the same plane of focus, so I would say it's too early to say. What may seem blurry just may not have been within the depth of field.
I will try to take some shots stopped down this weekend, hopefully with a tripod too.
i got mine today and did some testing vs a very sharp 24-70 on the 1Dsmk2. It was dusk by the time I got home but will repeat my studies tomorrow before posting my opinions. From my early results, there are plus and minuses compared to the 24-70 but I want to be sure before I post my results.
mark1958 wrote:
i got mine today and did some testing vs a very sharp 24-70 on the 1Dsmk2. It was dusk by the time I got home but will repeat my studies tomorrow before posting my opinions. From my early results, there are plus and minuses compared to the 24-70 but I want to be sure before I post my results.
I'm looking forward to your evaluation since I have the same setup.
Where did you get your copy? I have tried several places and none of them know when they will get any in.
