Review - Canon EF 24-70 f/2.8L II

[turtle]

I have various L lenses (135, 85 II, 24 1.4 II etc) and this lens knocked my socks off. Brilliantly sharp from wide open and the edges are something else. Contrast and pop is first rate and all in all it performs like the best primes yet is a zoom. Its ability to hold onto contrast in backlit subjects is breathtaking.

I could not care less about the plastic build as the military have been using plastic for decades and if you use the right stuff, it is often better than metal because it is lighter and deals with shock better quite often.  It handles beautifully and, while shocked by the price (esp in the UK), this lens is going to be a workhorse on my 5D III and also the film bodies I love to use.

This lens is probably the most satisfying SLR lens I have ever used. Along with a long zoom and a fast portrait lens, you really do have 95% of the optics most will ever need.

Well done Canon.

[gmrza]

I think one factor  to explain the missing IS is that this lens is aimed at landscape photogs who are always shooting on a tripod and turning off IS anyway.

saying this lens was aimed at landscape photographers is a bit of a stretch, no?  i'm always looking for the widest, lightest piece of kit to bring with my tripod when i go hiking/camping for days at a time

more like wedding photographers imo

Probably more likely - reportage is usually regarded as being one of the primary uses of this lens - i.e. wedding photographers and photojournalists.  They usually need to shoot with shutter speeds fast enough to stop the normal motion of people (walking, talking, moving arms etc).  For that they will need to shoot at shutter speeds fast enough to obviate the need for IS.

Of course, if you have a good copy of this lens, it looks like it is shaping up to be very nice for landscapes.

[pwp]

Yesterday I finished a 48 hour test-drive of the new 24-70 f/2.8II. After four utterly hopeless copies of the MkI over a number of years I was going to take some convincing.

I worked the lens hard across half a dozen highly varying locations shooting from wide open to f/11. This morning I had a very close look at yesterday's work and have to say I'm gob-smacked. The new lens has a subtle, almost indefinable, exquisite quality all its own, and the IQ was equal to my L primes, even at the f/2.8-f/5.6 range. In a brickwall style test I shot a tall stack of shipping containers, as square on as I could get. The f/2.8 shots were fundamentally indistinguishable from the f/5.6 & f/8 frames. Amazing.

In a nutshell, this is the best short zoom I have ever used. At last, a 24-70 I can trust enough to use for the most demanding commercial work.

-PW

[liberace]

When can I hope for the next rebate program? Nothing before Xmas? right after?

At least in the European rebate programs Canon in just discounting older and standard lenses and some tele zooms - I wouldn't hope for an official discount on this one for one or even two years to come I'm afraid to say. More likely they'll do a kit with the 5d3 sooner or later, I remember it's been seen in Australia.

Kit Lens?  For which camera?  I don't think this will ever be a kit lens.

As Marsu42 posted, this is already a kit lens in some markets (Australia/NZ and maybe others).

[station16]

It seems like a great lens, but the price just kills it for me. I still can't understand how Canon keeps coming out with new products at higher price points than ever while the world has been in a global recession and economies continue to suffer. It's very short sighted and clueless of Canon. I would buy this in a heart beat if it was $1,700.

[pwp]

It seems like a great lens, but the price just kills it for me. I still can't understand how Canon keeps coming out with new products at higher price points than ever while the world has been in a global recession and economies continue to suffer. It's very short sighted and clueless of Canon. I would buy this in a heart beat if it was $1,700.

After my 48 hour evaluation I'd buy one in a heartbeat if I could just get my hands on one. It's a two-three week wait where I live.

The price? I think I paid around $2200 when the MkI was released in November 2002. After ten years Canon would have well and truly made back their ROI on the MkI, enabling price reductions. I'd say for a new model this could be seen as a price drop when seen in its historical context. Canon has profit obligations to its shareholders. They're not a charity. Study supply & demand. Sometimes it's a valid & viable business strategy to be reassuringly expensive. It works for me.

-PW

[dave]

It seems like a great lens, but the price just kills it for me. I still can't understand how Canon keeps coming out with new products at higher price points than ever while the world has been in a global recession and economies continue to suffer. It's very short sighted and clueless of Canon. I would buy this in a heart beat if it was $1,700.

I'd buy a 1D X, 600mm f/4 and so on if they cost less than a week's pay. But they don't. So I work out what I want most and save until I can afford it.

Find a company that makes a better 24-70mm for $1700 and buy it. Canon are among the best few in the world at what they do and charge the price that suits them based on the market as it fluctuates and evolves. Blame the consumers because they are the ones who really set the prices (See 5D Mark iii).

To me, the 35L and 24L ii and 85L ii are not cost-effective - but the 24-70mm ii is. An appropriate price is judged against your use and your needs. What you are saying is that you feel the 24-70mm ii is worth $1700 to you. Fair enough. It just means waiting.

[Zlatko]

It seems like a great lens, but the price just kills it for me. I still can't understand how Canon keeps coming out with new products at higher price points than ever while the world has been in a global recession and economies continue to suffer. It's very short sighted and clueless of Canon. I would buy this in a heart beat if it was $1,700.

The new products are at higher price points because they are better than the old products.  It costs more to build things better.  If they built them for lower price points, they would be worse products than they are.

[EchoLocation]

Find a company that makes a better 24-70mm for $1700 and buy it. Canon are among the best few in the world at what they do and charge the price that suits them based on the market as it fluctuates and evolves. Blame the consumers because they are the ones who really set the prices (See 5D Mark iii).

I did. I traded my 5D Classic and 24-105 for a Nikon 24-70 2.8 and bought a used D700. I couldn't be happier with my decision.
Canon's pricing the past couple of years has been too high on everything.

[turtle]

Before getting my 5D III and 24-70 L III had been tempted by to do to Nikon and buy the D800 and 24-70, switching all my lenses across just the same.  I desperately wanted the DR I am used to with film, when factoring in the dev and printing flexibility.

I am very glad I did not, because what the 5d III lacks in outright sensor performance, it makes up for with responsiveness and great all round utility. The new lens is a good deal shorter than the Nikon and I did not feel comfortable with such a long standard zoom. That might sound silly, but with the incredible performance of the new lens, I will be well set for higher res cameras of the future. I have little doubt after all the hoo-ha, Canon will pull a finger out re DR and banding in the next full generation leap of sensors.

I don't think the new 5D III will cut it sensor wise for the documentary work I do (often in extreme contrast), but it will for weddings and the like.  In the meantime, that incredible 24-70 II will do nicely on my Eos 3s

[calydus]

I suggest you guys read this review: http://www.photozone.de/canon_eos_ff/773-canon2470f28mk2ff

These guys are VERY thorough with their review.
Based on this, I decided to go for the Tamron (http://www.photozone.de/canon_eos_ff/741-tamron2470f28eosff) as each of the lenses has their pros and cons, but the price vs the pros of the Canon 24-70 II wasn't enough for me justifying buying this lens against the Tamron one.

It seems that a lot of people just like to have the "fame" or "high end image" that seems to come with a red ring on the Canon lenses, but they aren't necessary the best, just because it's "Canon" and the price tag is crazy high.

Don't get me wrong I love Canon lenses and all the other lenses that I got, are Canon lenses. But I had high expectations and they didn't came. Many of the reviews had high expectations too... and I find Canon failed to impress with this one, mainly because of the price tag... but still no IS, or any other thing you would expect in this price range.

[RVB]

Just got one of these a couple of hours ago,excellent glass,wide open at 24mm and it is sharp across the frame,expensive but superb.IS would add weight and complexity and I am not convinced its needed at these focal lengths.. the price will drop over the next few months.

[RLPhoto]

I Love the IQ of the 24-70 II, Its just I can't afford it.

[Dylan777]

What do lens, in general, cost Canon to make?

macrumors, for example, usually reports to the penny what an i-device costs after a tear down.

I know R&D costs will very between lenses, and that those R&D cost are distributed in much different rates due to the popularity of a lens, but anyone have any thoughts?

For example, let's take this lens - at $2200.  It is claimed to be a kit lens, so a relatively high number will be made, spreading our R&D. 

What's canon making on this lens - $400 or $1800 ?

Where did see this lens as kit lens? Have you ever see mk1 as a kit lens before?

[Dylan777]

When can I hope for the next rebate program? Nothing before Xmas? right after?

At least in the European rebate programs Canon in just discounting older and standard lenses and some tele zooms - I wouldn't hope for an official discount on this one for one or even two years to come I'm afraid to say. More likely they'll do a kit with the 5d3 sooner or later, I remember it's been seen in Australia.

Kit Lens?  For which camera?  I don't think this will ever be a kit lens.

As Marsu42 posted, this is already a kit lens in some markets (Australia/NZ and maybe others).

There is no confirmed as of(Nov 8th, 2012) that 24-70 II is selling as kit lens with 5D III at discounted price.