efs 15-85 or ef 24-105L

[shtfmeister]

both are 30% off of refurbished price and within 10 dollars of each other at canons online store.

both have great image quality
both have IS
one is lighter
the other is weather sealed(I think ?)
one has a longer reach on the aps-c censor
obiously the efs is aps-c only

So which would you pick?

[adhocphotographer]

24-105 would go great paired with a 10-22 (or equivelent).

Are you going to go FF soon? What kind of photography do you do? 24 might be a bit narrow for you at times.

Ask yourself if you need the extra width from the 15-85, if not, the 24-105.

Not very helpful i know, but it all depends on your needs.  What other lenses do you have?

[cliffwang]

For APS-C you should get either 17-55mm or 15-85mm.  I used to have 17-55mm and loved it.  If you don't need F/2.8 go with 15-85mm.  24-105 is not wide enough for APS-C.

[Menace]

If you need the extra reach get the 24-105; if you'll be going FF in future 24-105 will be great walk around lens too.

Cheers

[stefsan]

For APS-C you should get either 17-55mm or 15-85mm.  I used to have 17-55mm and loved it.  If you don't need F/2.8 go with 15-85mm.  24-105 is not wide enough for APS-C.

+1

[gilmorephoto]

I faced the same question and for me it came down to this: I planned on always having an APS-C camera (even though I wanted to and ultimately did get a full frame camera) and the 24-105 is just not wide enough on a crop--for me, 18mm wasn't wide enough in fact.  The 15-85mm is to crop cameras what the 24-105mm is to full-frame and image quality is very similar.  So for me, even though I could use the 24-105 on my full-frame, I'd be back to getting the 15-85mm in the long run. So like everyone says, unless you are planning on getting a full-frame camera in the very near future (not not keeping the crop), the 15-85 is your best bet.  I'm never getting rid of mine.

[shtfmeister]

I have a 7D now and unless the 5D3 reaches the same price range i'll keep it or get the 7D2.
I guess the 15-85 would fit the bill best but I wish it was weather sealed

[rpt]

Your question is pretty much answered here. I'll give you my thought process for the time I was expecting to purchase the 7D2. As I have a 100-400L, I was going to get a 15-85 to cover the range I shoot. Well, the 7D2 never came out and I got the 5D3 with the 24-105L as a kit lens. I love that lens. The 15-85 is 24-136 if you apply the 1.6 crop factor. It is not a L lens.

[minim2]

I will go for 15-85 (I owned one in the past) because for me, 15-85 is more useful range on crop sensor compared to 24-105 (When I was using crop body, I paired my 15-85 with 70-300 L).

[lucuias]

Depends on what you shoot.If you are shooting street photography 24-105 is a perfect lens.
But for wedding and event 17-55 F/2.8 or 15-85mm will be more suitable.

[tomscott]

The EF standard zooms arent suitable for crop IMO. At 38.4mm at the widest its far too tele for normal shooting, defeats the object of having a wide standard zoom. Even adding a 10-22mm you are missing 23-38mm which is a useful range.

Best lens by far for crop is the 17-55mm, its fast and has IS not a great tele range but used mine for nearly 2 years and have loved every image its a sharp as sharp. If you buy one get a UV filter for it tho, it suffers badly from dust.

The 15-85 is a good lens but I don't like variable aperture lenses.

Only other option is 16-35mm or 17-40 in the EFL range but that is 25.6 or 27mm at their widest which isnt too bad if combined with a 10-22mm but still think the 17-55mm nicks it with IS and 2.8 throughout the range. Only thing missing is weather sealing which really I wish it had, mine is full of dust. Doesn't effect IQ at all but still trying to sell it like that is tough.

The EF-s lenses keep 80% of their value so resale isnt a problem. Everyone here says owwww well im going FF soon, but I doubt most do so buy whats best suitable now. If you go FF sell and upgrade.

[Eimajm]

Had the same decision to make a couple of months ago for my 7D. I went for the 24-105 over the 15-85 as I have paired it with my 10-20 sigma which gives me the wide angle if I need it, which is very rarely nowdays. As a general walkaround lens I find the 24-105 a great lens which give a good focal length range, @ 105mm is  especially good for portraits. I don't find that 24mm is too narrow for anything other than landscapes and only then in particular circumstances, and I'm not particulary fond of the the distortion of UW angles on crop sensors anway, prefering 18-20mm shots. I'm very happy with the purchase and don't really miss the wide end, but I have another lens to cover that should the need arise.
From what I have heard the 15-85 is also a great lens, and I'm sure you'll be pleased whatever one you choose.

[inky38]

The EF standard zooms arent suitable for crop IMO. At 38.4mm at the widest its far too tele for normal shooting, defeats the object of having a wide standard zoom. Even adding a 10-22mm you are missing 23-38mm which is a useful range.

Not true  it's only the 23mm focal length that's missing.

[SPL]

Get the L.
I used one for my 7D. It was nice but not that wide,...I used a 10-20mm with it.  I then moved to a FF and that lens is a great all around lens,..and the constant f4 in very nice

[AlanF]

The 15-85 is a fantastic lens for APS-C cameras. It's sharp, and the 15 end gets used very frequently (my Sigma 10-20 gets left in a drawer since I bought the 15-85). 24 is too long for a general purpose lens for an APS-C camera. If you want telephoto, you can pair it with 55-250, which is cheap and outstanding value for money or the 70-200 f/4 L IS which is so, so sharp.