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haringo
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Registered: Oct 7, 2009
Location: United States
Posts: 12
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Review Date: Jul 21, 2010
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $900.00
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Wide Angle (on full frame) + Zoom in one "L" lens. Cheap compared to other "L" lenses, IS, perfect walk around
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Cons:
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4.0
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The best walk around lens! It is "L" lens quality. I don't think we should compare to other lenses because none of them has the range of 24-105mm.
Pros-
Focus is fast and smooth.
Sharp (can't be compared to prime lenses though)
Well built
Light
Great colors and contrast
Cons -
4.0 aperture. Not the best if you love shallow debt of field.
I wouldn't use it for professional work. For wedding and event photography it is too slow. You can find some images in my earlier wedding photography blog entries: http://www.haringphotography.com/blog/
Some of them are blurry because the lens was slow. Still they look artistic. If you want to have a little bit better, buy the older 28-70mm or the 24-70mm lens. I hope it helps.
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 Jul 21, 2010
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Geofn
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Registered: Jan 31, 2005
Location: United States
Posts: 842
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Review Date: Jul 15, 2010
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Recommend? no |
Price paid: $860.00
| Rating: 6
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Pros:
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Reasonably Sharp. Very Useful Zoom Range.
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Cons:
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Overall Build Quality Seems "Cheap". Lack of Weathersealing. Colors not as Vibrant as other L Lenses.
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I tried one of these lenses about 3 years ago and ended up sending it back. I really wanted a lens with this zoom range, so decided to give it another try. For an "L" lens, this one is dissapointing overall. The build quality reminds me of a cheap kit lens. It just doesn't seem solid like all my other L's. Colors seem a little more muted and less vibrant than my other L's as well.
On the positive side, the lens is reasonably sharp across the whole zoom range, and the zoom ring and focus are very smooth. The lens does exhibit quite noticible vignetting at 24mm as well as moderate CA in the corners, but both are easily corrected in post (LR3's built-in lens correction does a nice job). This lens is a step up from the 28-135 IS, but in my opinion it isn't worth four times the price.
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Jul 15, 2010
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BokehBeauty
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Registered: Feb 6, 2010
Location: Germany
Posts: 680
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Review Date: Jun 3, 2010
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Recommend? no |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 6
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Pros:
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Focal range, MFD, USM, IS, very sharp, solid, universal
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Cons:
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Muted, lifeless colors, light quality is lost
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This lens has all characteristics to make it an all-time on lens, but it really sucks. Why? The colors are muted and dull. No light flooding of the images.
I moved from Minolta 7D to Canon 5D Mk II and did regret the move alot the first 8 months, not knowing it is the lens(es). The images are sharp, but IQ is more. The images rendered by this lens miss any light flooding and get a wrong color nuance.
I feel this is similar with the other non L Canon lens I own, 100mm f2. But a portrait lens may not require lively colors, brilliance and (micro)contrast.
I only found out how good the Canon 5D Mk II body is, when I bought my first Zeiss ZE lens. Now I'm happy.
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Jun 3, 2010
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Offline
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Review Date: May 25, 2010
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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The range of the DF, is, universal focal length + high quality pictures!
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Cons:
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Good objects, in the hands of a skilled photographer will be an excellent glass. I will never fighting abroad with all kinds of Beck and the front of tricks and so erudnoy, never tested his glasses and they serve me well. Ah, if it were the focal this window of 17-20 mm - prices should not he be. Photos taken by this lens can be seen on my site www.BFoto.ru
http://www.bfoto.ru/bfoto_ru_217.php Canon EOS 5D
http://www.bfoto.ru/bfoto_ru_834.php Canon EOS 5D
http://www.bfoto.ru/bfoto_ru_1718.php Canon EOS 5D Mark II
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May 25, 2010
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AnderlSp
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Registered: Jan 12, 2010
Location: Germany
Posts: 0
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Review Date: May 1, 2010
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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always on lense - perfect partner for every day use - good image quality - robust
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Cons:
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none up to last week - then I had to bring it to the service ( about 6000 pictures, 3,5 years old)
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The Canon EF 24-105 f/4,0 L IS USM is the ultimative "Always-On"-Lense. I shot more than 60% of my pictures with this wunderful lense. On both cameras, the EOS 20D and the 5D Mk II this lense delivers a very good image quality.
Sample picture you can find here:
http://www.reise-bilderbuch.de/
It was my first L lense, I bought, and from the first day I was fascinated by the lense. It felt quite different to the other kit-lenses I have been using before. The lense promises a lot of fun. The focal range is perfect for the every day use. The autofocus is fast and accurate. And it's really sharp - even on the 5D Mark II I am really happy with the image quality. There are some chromatic abberiations if you zoom in to 100%, but with lightroom it's easy to correct it, if necessary.
The protection of the lense makes it also really robust. I had used the lense on several trip, and didn't get dust on the sensor. Even on the trek through the chilean volcanic area - Circuito de los Cóndores -, with a lot of dust, I didn't experience any problems.
The only negative thing I have to tell, is, that now after about 6000 pictures made with the lense (3,5 years old), I had to bring it to the Canon service, because I got on the EOS 5D Mk II the message Err 01. Probably it will cost me 300€...
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May 1, 2010
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Daan B
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Registered: Aug 15, 2007
Location: Netherlands
Posts: 8003
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Review Date: Apr 25, 2010
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $800.00
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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Built, IS, focal range, size/weight, decent optical performance thoughout its range, short MFD, AF accuracy
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Cons:
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Pretty expensive for what it is (if you payed the premium), optical performance at 24mm (corner softness and heavy distortions), lenshood only effective for wider angles, AF tends to hunt in low light and isn't a fast tracker (not even in good light) on my 5D2
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I have tried a few copies over time, and decided to keep one for travelling and general (good light) photography. All showed (roughly) the same optical performance:
It is sharp wide open throughout it's entire range in the center of the frame. Stopping down makes it only a little bit sharper here. I get sharp extreme corners in the 35-70mm range when stopping down to about f/8. Extreme corners at 24mm and 105mm remain somewhat soft (even after stopping down).
At 24mm there are heavy distortions. At 24mm and 105mm there are corners CA's. But they can be corrected in PP for 100%. Contrast and colors are very good at all apertures/FL's. Bokeh @ 105mm f4 is pretty good for a standard zoom of this class. Certainly usable 
Built quality is excellent. Although I am not a fan of the external extending barrel. It balances nicely on my 5D2 (without grip). It's relative small size and light weight makes it perfect for travelling. A 5D2 + 24-105L will fit in a lot of different small shoulder bags. The hood is not very useful for the tele end. It is basically designed for the wide angles.
AF is accurate but not super fast. When I use this lens on my 5D2 it isn't able to track fast and erratic moving subjects. It also tends to hunt in low light. But that is to be expected from a f/4 lens. IS works great and is nearly silent. Another cool feature is its very short MFD (semi macro) for close-up work.
I got mine after some substantial price drops on the market. Many sellers spilt up 5D2 + 24-105L kits and sell the lens apart. I got such a lens and that saved me about 250 euros. Price / quality ratio is balanced this way. If it would have been more expensive, I probably wouldn't have bought one.
All in all a convenient travel / general purpose lens with decent IQ for when there is good light. A fast prime or flash (AF assist beam) to go with it isn't a luxury, but rather a necessity for when the lights are low.
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Apr 25, 2010
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golmud
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Registered: Feb 12, 2010
Location: United States
Posts: 13
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Review Date: Mar 22, 2010
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $1,059.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Weight, well built, IS, beautiful colours, range.
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Cons:
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OK in low light.
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This is my dream lens very sharp, fast AF, light weight, love the beautiful colors you get from this lens, but I found out I shoot more indoors that it is outdoors. Sold mine on eBay for $900 (lucky whoever bought it, it is well taken care of) for a brand new 24-70L and a 50mm 1.4. I never regret the move but would buy another 24-105L if I can find one for around $700 for my daughter. Never doubt this lens it is very solid, It's hard to believe but I use and play mine everyday and the lens work the same way as the first day I owned it. No problem with the focusing or zoom ring and AF is always spot on after I owned mine for 3 years. But it has to go, L lenses are very addictive. Right now I only buy 2.8 and faster lenses. Highly recommended.
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Mar 22, 2010
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Krien
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Registered: Dec 24, 2004
Location: Netherlands
Posts: 479
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Review Date: Mar 20, 2010
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Recommend? no |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 7
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Pros:
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wide focal range, IS, weight and a lightweight solution
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Cons:
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bad Vignetting especially at the wide end and wide aperture, distortion and color fringing. Is it really L-worthy? I can not recomend this product in combination with FF
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I bought this lens as a "one for all purpose" lens on FF. It has really disappointed me. Because it has not given me what I expected. Or to put in other words, yes I have learned to appreciate my 24-70 even more! So that's the good news. For travel purposes - the reason I bought it - it is however sufficient. Recently I started using my 24-70L and 135L combo instead. A bit more weight but better results. It is my first lens ever I am thinking about to sell (but have not decided yet)
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Mar 20, 2010
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flowtation
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Registered: Jan 4, 2009
Location: N/A
Posts: 3
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Review Date: Mar 19, 2010
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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very good IQ and build, very lightweight
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Cons:
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misses the 'wow' factor of large aperture lenses
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Traded it for a 24-70L, wich gives more 'wow' to my images
downside is that i had to buy a grip too for my 5dm2 as that lens is so heavy compared to this one. the 24-105 is great for travel and general photography. Also good weatherproofing.
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Mar 19, 2010
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gilp_mail
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Registered: Dec 20, 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 0
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Review Date: Mar 4, 2010
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $1,100.00
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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Very sharp, even at 4.0, good colors, good range
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Cons:
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IQ with 40d was not so great
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This lens was bittersweet to my wife and I. She is a portrait photographer and I mostly landscape. We shared this lens for some time, mostly her using it. What we found was that on the 40d there was inconsistent results. Sometime the focus was off, sometime the colors were not great, other times it was awesome. I'd say the bokeh at 4.0 was just ok, not like the 70 - 200 2.8 at 4.0 which has bokeh to die for. Our 50 1.4 at 4.0 kills this lens, not even comparable.
Then I had the chance to try this out on a 5d..BIG DIFFERENCE. Consistently better shots all the way around. Even the bokeh was better at 4.0.
After going through many many lenses on the 40d, the 30d the rebel and trying things out on the 5d, I've just come to the conclusion that not every lens that canon makes, even L's, is good on ever camera they make. The 17 - 40 was the same way, good but not great. Fantastic on the 5d and actually fantastic on the Rebel.
Buyers should take note of this when researching lenses.
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Mar 4, 2010
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EdwinCanon
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Registered: Mar 3, 2010
Location: Netherlands
Posts: 0
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Review Date: Mar 3, 2010
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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Great Image Quality, weather proof, very versatile, IS, USM.
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Cons:
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on crop sensor 24mm isn't really wide.
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I traded in my EF-S 17-55mm for th EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM because I wanted more zoom than the 55mm. Also I wanted an L lens because of the weather and dust sealing and together with my EOS 7D I now don't have to worry so much about rain and dust.
Th IQ is very great, I really like this lens. Here are some sample shots I took in the past weeks:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/vannuil/tags/ef24105mmf4lisusm/
The only thing I miss is the wide aperture of 2.8, but when inside I now use the 50mm 1.4.
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Mar 3, 2010
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sigbusyff
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Registered: Oct 21, 2005
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 3
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Review Date: Feb 18, 2010
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Very sharp, great AF, very versatile.
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Cons:
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Zoom range cramped at the long end.
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Many reviews of this lens seem lukewarm and make criticisms you'd see from the test charts: plenty of distortion on the wide end, not sharp corner-to-corner wide open, etc. Thus I was prepared to be unimpressed when trying this out with my new 5D.
However, peeking at test charts fails to convey what an incredible bit of kit this is in the field. On full frame, the flexibility is awesome - all the way up to perfect portrait length, and out plenty wide enough. Frankly, you don't spot those test chart weaknesses in the field; stopped down to f/8, it's impressively sharp at all focal lengths.
For the price, you're getting awesome optical quality, a 4x zoom range from a wide starting point, rock-solid build quality, and a couple of other things people sometimes forget to mention: very precise AF and a good image stabiliser. On full-frame I can always get sharp shots at 105mm and 1/15th, and usually at 1/8th, which is 2.5-3.5 stops improvement, as advertised.
The only niggle is the zoom ring. It's pretty obvious from using this thing that you're moving around a lot of glass. 24 and 35 are almost right next to each other on the zoom ring, so zooming needs a light touch on the long end.
All in all, my expectations were not that high for this lens, but it's blown me away thus far.
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Feb 18, 2010
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fusionphoto
Offline
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Registered: Apr 16, 2005
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 17
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Review Date: Feb 10, 2010
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Light and well built
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Cons:
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None yet
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I have had this lens only a few weeks after having a rather major accident with my 28-70 f2.8 which was terminal (for the lens, bo hoo, but up to now I have not been dissapointed with this purchase. It sharp and usable even at f4 and the IS is good in low light situation without moving subject. Have not give it a full run down yet but will write a further review when I have had the opportunity to scrag it...
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Feb 10, 2010
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Venus
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Registered: Aug 15, 2005
Location: N/A
Posts: 632
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Review Date: Jan 28, 2010
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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Good built quality - no arguments about that. Image stabiliser is really handy at the times when you need it. Not too heavy and balances nicely on 5D2 and other crop D series DSLRs. Convenient focal length range.
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Cons:
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Not really sharp wide open.
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I had this lens for a while now but haven't used it much until recently when I did some freelance events photography work - sort of out of retirement thingy. I had forgotten how much I paid for it but it definitely cost a bit more than my 17-40.
This is a "jack-of-all trades" lens that is particularly useful for the photojournalist or 'one lens traveller'. For best results, stop down at least one or two stops. At F8, it produces good results. That's not to say you can't take pictures at F4. Like those once in a lifetime news moment when you have to use at F4 ... you know what I mean.
Imagine what you have - 24, 35, 50, 85 and 105 all in one! Of course you can't except each focal length to have the IQ of the primes I mentioned!
If I am hard pressed to carry only one lens, I would take this and use it effectively.
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Jan 28, 2010
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Jesper
Offline
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Registered: Sep 9, 2003
Location: Netherlands
Posts: 817
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Review Date: Jan 19, 2010
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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Very good build quality, weather sealed, good zoom range, very sharp (even at f/4), good contrast
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Cons:
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Vignetting on the wide end, even when stopped down
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I'm using this lens on a full-frame camera (the 5D). I mainly do travel photography, where I usually don't have a lot of time to carefully set up a shot: I often need to capture moments quickly.
The zoom range of this lens is nice; I like the fact that it goes up to 105mm, and I would feel restricted by for example a 24-70. The build quality of this lens is very good, it feels very solid and the weather sealing is very useful to keep out dust and moisture.
It's an L lens, which means that I expect the lens to have great image quality across the whole zoom range and aperture range. With regard to sharpness and contrast it meets my expectations - even wide open the sharpness is very good, and colors are vivid and have good contrast.
However, this lens is not perfect. One major flaw is that it vignettes quite a lot on the wide end, between 24mm and approximately 30mm. Even when stopped down to for example f/8 the vignetting is very apparent at 24mm. I find this disappointing for an L lens. You probably won't notice the vignetting at all when using this lens on a camera with a crop factor.
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Jan 19, 2010
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skippie101
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Registered: Sep 29, 2009
Location: Netherlands
Posts: 0
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Review Date: Oct 29, 2009
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Sharp, beautifull colours, versatile, IS, weight
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Cons:
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barrel distortion at 24-30mm, zoom-end spontaneously extends while you carry it.
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If you have doubts between this lens and the 24-70L; here's my end of the story.
I think if the 24-105L wouldn't have been sold as a "kit" lens, a lot of people would consider this lens more often. I tried 4 copies of the 24-70L. Why? Cause everyone I spoke to told me that this was the professional lens. The 24-105L would be more suitable for upgraded amateurs (which I consider myself amongst). But having tried 3 (!) copies and none of them produced satisfying IQ, I decided to try the 24-105L. So glad I did.
Besides the absolute satisfying quality it produces on my 5D, it's also versatile to me, I have no need for any other lenses, except the 50mm f/1.4 for extreme low-light situations.
Would recommend this any day to anyone.
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Oct 29, 2009
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Reviews
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Views
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Date of last review
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529
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987866
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Oct 3, 2022
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Recommended By
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Average Price
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85% of reviewers
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$1,500.96
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Build Quality Rating
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Price Rating
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Overall Rating
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9.44
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8.05
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8.9
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