Messages

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EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: Just picked up a ligtly used 40D as a back up for my 7D!

« on: April 11, 2013, 12:14:07 PM »

still love my old 40D used now as a backup/macro/crop body.
only thing i don't like is the low lcd screen rez.
other than that it's a classic which can take some really high quality images.

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Lenses / Re: Which Lens ... 24-70 II or primes?

« on: April 10, 2013, 07:30:15 AM »

I would go with the 24-70 II and add one of the primes later if you still feel a need for a faster lens.

+1 Good advice. The 24-70II is so good it has prompted plenty of photographers including myself to sell L primes in the 24-70mm range. My 24 f/1.4II has gone as has the Sigma 50 f/1.4. If I had a 35 it would be gone too. The 24-70 f/2.8II is a simply awesome lens and makes primes in this range all but obsolete.

-PW

the 24-70II is great. however i'm not sure i'd agree fully with what you say about replacing primes.
i myself love to be creative with shallow dof so fast primes are still very desirable and useful for me.
photography is my hobby not work so maybe thats the difference..

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Lenses / Re: Which Lens ... 24-70 II or primes?

« on: April 10, 2013, 05:12:32 AM »

Actually, except if you shoot very often at 24, I'd sell the 24-105 to get both 24-70 and the sigma 35. Was my move when i recently got the 5d3 kit.

yeah i thought of this option too. certainly another way to go....unless you really love your 24-105 that is.

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Lenses / Re: Which Lens ... 24-70 II or primes?

« on: April 10, 2013, 04:52:14 AM »

well i've just got the 24-70 II and although not had chance to put it through it's paces yet it seems to be as good as they say. however looking at your gear in your signature line, if i was in your situation i'd probably go the prime route seeing as how you already have a standard zoom in the form of the 24-105.

i'd go with the 24 1.4L II to get better sharpnes across the frame than you'd currently get with the 24-105 for landscape work and either later get the 35L or look at the new sigma 35 1.4 or wait to see if canon release a 35L II.

my next lens purchase will be one of these 35 primes.

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Lenses / Re: Canon EF 24-70 F/2.8L II USM Zoom Ring Smoothness

« on: April 08, 2013, 04:47:55 AM »

I just received mine  last week, the zoom ring is firm and a bit tight.  It is smooth to operate.
 
I prefer it this way, I don't like the zoom creep that can happen with a loose zoom mechanism.  I really never thought about it until I read the question and double checked mine.  It is normal.

yeah better to be this way than loose for sure.

i find if zooming whilst camera is in normal shooting position that it is firm and smooth, however at the 24-28 position and a bit also at 50-70 (so beginning and end bits of the range) if you are in a dead quiet room it makes a gentle ziiiiip sound (if you do it quickly) rather than just the shhh sound that you get over the middle range. using it outside though you'd barely hear anything though of course.

someone mentioned it's not as smooth as the 70-200 f2.8L II, well that's surely down to internal zooming as opposed to moving a lens barrel to and fro i'd have thought.

i did the pointing lens down and zooming in and then pointing up when zooming out thing and confirm when you do this its as smooth as a baby. again as Zlatko said, that's simply down to gravity.

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Lenses / Re: Canon EF 24-70 F/2.8L II USM Zoom Ring Smoothness

« on: April 07, 2013, 07:27:23 PM »

The new 24-70 II has a stiffness in the zoom ring — I think it is ideal because I can set it at the focal length I want and expect it to stay there until I want to change it.  So my 24-70 can be a 28, 35, 50, etc.  I think this encourages the use of the zoom as you would a set of primes.  This is unlike the 70-200, for example, which is more likely to be used to frame fast moving sports action; for such a lens you want smooth-fast zoom action.

i've just got the 24-70 II and have also noticed the stiffness of the zoom ring. glad to see that this is fairly normal from the comments above.

i tend to agree with Zlakto's comment quoted above and thought the exact same thing as to the reason why it may have been intentionally designed this way, so as to be able to securely set it to useful focal lengths such as 24, 28, 35, 50, 70. makes sense to me.

seeing as how i've kind of resurrected this thread i wonder if anyone here has noticed the zoom ring loosening over time? my copy already after a few days of use seems to be ever so slightly smoother.

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Lenses / Re: 24-70 f2.8L II or.....

« on: April 05, 2013, 05:18:27 AM »

One thing I noticed is that the zoom ring feels a little bit less smooth at 24-28 then it smooths out nicely and then is a little less smooth again at 50 -70. Nothing dramatic but it is noticeable. Anyone else notice this with their copy?

I did not have that issue on my 24-70 f/2.8 L II lens.

actually it's already starting to feel a bit more fluid now so think it's just initial new'ness

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Lenses / Re: 24-70 f2.8L II or.....

« on: April 03, 2013, 01:14:34 PM »

Got my 24-70 f2.8L II  today Put it in my signature already 
Only had chance to take some test shots indoors with and without a speedlight.
Everything seems pretty cool so far Very crisp and rich images. I actually did a quick comparison between the 70mm end with the 70mm end of my 70-200 f4L IS lens and it seems that the 24-70 f2.8L II is a bit sharper even without IS. Impressed as I thought I've read somewhere that the 70mm end is it's weakest area.

It balances well on the 5D MK III...I guess you could say it's a little heavy, though after a while of use i felt the weight helped me keep the camera nice and still. Actually, hanging round my neck with my optech super classic pro loop strap it doesn't feel a bad weight at all really.

The focus ring is really nice and smooth. The zoom ring is fairly tight but I guess that may loosen with a bit of use. One thing I noticed is that the zoom ring feels a little bit less smooth at 24-28 then it smooths out nicely and then is a little less smooth again at 50 -70. Nothing dramatic but it is noticeable. Anyone else notice this with their copy?

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Lenses / Re: 24-70 f2.8L II or.....

« on: March 30, 2013, 08:52:44 AM »

I decided this morning (i'm in the UK).
A 24-70 f2.8L II should be with me wednesday 

I've been considering this since the start of the year by the way not just the start of this thread 

Haha...congrats..you'll never regret this purchase no matter the price and it's not a cheap lens but it give you satisfaction no other lens can...the ONlY issue i have with it..is the new hood..it's a great feature to have a "lock" but it's also troublesome to have to find that button to press to remove the hood..

pretty sure I can live with that 'issue' 

actually thinking about that does it still fit on the lens reversed ok for storage?

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Lenses / Re: 24-70 f2.8L II or.....

« on: March 29, 2013, 01:10:52 PM »

For sure those two are great value.
I know some will groan when I say this but for now I'd like to keep to the 'all Canon' theme.
I'll maybe stray from that path at some point down the line though. Most likely starting with a siggy 35 next year sometime.

Makes it simple then,  24-70II and be done.  I think you already knew this, though.   

yep it's done, as mentioned in my last post.
should have it by wednesday 

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Lenses / Re: 24-70 f2.8L II or.....

« on: March 29, 2013, 10:00:17 AM »

I decided this morning (i'm in the UK).
A 24-70 f2.8L II should be with me wednesday 

I've been considering this since the start of the year by the way not just the start of this thread 

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Lenses / Re: 24-70 f2.8L II or.....

« on: March 28, 2013, 01:50:52 PM »

Since money doesn't seem to be an issue here go ahead and get the 24-70ii. If it was my money I'd be hard pressed though to ignore the value of the tamron 24-70 vc and a siggy 35 for the same price as the canon.

For sure those two are great value.
I know some will groan when I say this but for now I'd like to keep to the 'all Canon' theme.
I'll maybe stray from that path at some point down the line though. Most likely starting with a siggy 35 next year sometime.

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Lenses / Re: 24-70 f2.8L II or.....

« on: March 28, 2013, 12:00:48 PM »

In your position, I'd get the one I need. 
 
Only you know which, you did not give anyone a hint as to what it is that you currently photograph, or problems you are having.

i photograph everything.
i want to be able to have this range covered. i don't want to be pinned down to a specific use but rather to be used for a broad range of applications.

If you have 50mm as your widest lens, you are missing out on a huge range of focal lengths.
 
I'd get the 24-70L MK II.  I have the 35L and 24-105L, but am going o try the 24-70 to see if I can get by in low light.  It might be difficult.
 
I won't sell my existing lenses until I can see how I do with f/2.8 and extreme low light.  I will be at ISO 12800 and maybe higher.

thats more the sort of reply i was after
yep as I said in my opening post the whole point of my purchasing one of these options is the very fact that my widest lens is 50mm and this needs rectifying.

i have to say i am really leaning towards the 24-70 II considering the mostly positive reviews it's had.

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Lenses / Re: 24-70 f2.8L II or.....

« on: March 28, 2013, 11:44:38 AM »

Or Sigma 35mm 1.4 + Tamron 24-70 VC? If it was my money, I'd buy that combo.

Something else to know about me is that if I went my option A, I'd most likely further down the line get a 35 prime. Sigma or current Canon or MKII (if one is out when this happens).

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Lenses / Re: 24-70 f2.8L II or.....

« on: March 28, 2013, 11:34:21 AM »

In your position, I'd get the one I need. 
 
Only you know which, you did not give anyone a hint as to what it is that you currently photograph, or problems you are having.

i photograph everything.
i want to be able to have this range covered. i don't want to be pinned down to a specific use but rather to be used for a broad range of applications.