Moving on from my 7D to 5D MK III 24-70mm, 24-105mm or prime

[wickidwombat]

If budget is not an issue, the new 24-70 II is the way to go. On my copy, Reikan FoCal showed the sharpness at f2.8 is 985. Not many zoom lenses out there have this kind of sharpness at f2.8.

My comment is based on real life shooting.....let me know if you want to see some photos with 5D III.

Many owners of 24-105 claimed their copy is razor sharp, but the Canon MTF chart doesn't indicate that at all. Again...I owned 2 copies of 24-105 in the past and I didn't see that. I ended up shooting alot with 50mm f1.4 @ f1.8 to 2.8.

"Many owners of 24-105 claimed their copy is razor sharp, but the Canon MTF chart doesn't indicate that at all. Again...I owned 2 copies of 24-105 in the past and I didn't see that"  I agree with you on that Dylan!

I have a good copy of the 24-105 but for what i use this lens for I'm usually shooting it at f8 so its sharp

A really nice wider option I have also picked up is one of these
voigtlander 20mm it has les distortion than the 16-35 which is one of my favourite lenses
but i carry the 20mm voigt and the 40mm pancake pretty much everywhere and my 85mm for portraits

http://www.kenrockwell.com/voigtlander/20mm-f35.htm

[TeenTog]

I would go with either the 17-35 or the 16-35 if you eant super wide, but otherwise I would say go with the 24-70

[LetTheRightLensIn]

The 24-70 2.8 II is the one that will give you edge performance on the wide end on your 5D3 that you were used to getting with your 17-55 on your APS-C.

Some of the wide primes could too if you want to pay less than the zoom (zeiss 21, canon 24/28 2.8 IS, canon 24 1.4 II) but the zoom is a lot more flexible.

Of you could go tamron 24-70 vc or, once price drops a bit, canon 24-70 f/4 IS if you really want IS and will trade a bit of IQ for it.

[Axilrod]

If you want ultra-wide immediately while you wait on something else, just get the Samyang/Bower/Rokinon 14mm f/2.8.  It's $399 and sharper than the $2300 Canon 14LII, can't go wrong really.  Distortion is much worse than the Canon but that's easily correctable in lightroom, there are presets available for it. 

But 14mm is REALLY wide on Full Frame, I mean if the widest you had before was the 17-55, 17mm on a 7D looks like 28mm on a 5D, so its' going to be a massive difference.

[LetTheRightLensIn]

If budget is not an issue, the new 24-70 II is the way to go. On my copy, Reikan FoCal showed the sharpness at f2.8 is 985. Not many zoom lenses out there have this kind of sharpness at f2.8.

My comment is based on real life shooting.....let me know if you want to see some photos with 5D III.

Many owners of 24-105 claimed their copy is razor sharp, but the Canon MTF chart doesn't indicate that at all. Again...I owned 2 copies of 24-105 in the past and I didn't see that. I ended up shooting alot with 50mm f1.4 @ f1.8 to 2.8.

"Many owners of 24-105 claimed their copy is razor sharp, but the Canon MTF chart doesn't indicate that at all. Again...I owned 2 copies of 24-105 in the past and I didn't see that"  I agree with you on that Dylan!

Yup, that is why most of us were saying to look at the 24-70 II (or 24 2.8 IS, 24 T&S II, zeiss 21mm) and forget about the 24-105L.

(and perhaps tack on a bower 14mm if you want something ultra, crazy wide in addition, sometimes on sale for $299)

[Frodo]

I think that this thread contains too much negativity about the 24-105.  I had a 5D (classic) with the 28-135 (ex-film days) and found the move to the 24-105 to represent a significant and visible step forwards.  I then bought a 7D.  Although this had more pixels, the IQ of the 5D image was invariably superior, especially with higher ISOs and shadow detail.  I then replaced my 5D with a 5DmkII and noticed an improvement is IQ.  This combination is noticeably better than that of the 7D. 
When comparing my 24-105 with my 50mm 2.5 macro, I see little difference.  Both lenses out-resolve the 5DmkII in the centre and the macro at the edge, and the 24-105 at the edge when stopped down a couple of stops.
I haven't used either 24-70 f2.8 so can't comment.  The DXO graphs for sharpness show the 24-105 to be similar to the original 28-70, although the new 2.8 is better.  Those graphs also show the 5dII/24-105 to be sharper than the 7D/17-55.  I'd like avoid debate about DXO, but just to say that it gels with my understanding of lenses I own.
And by the way, I had a 20mm f2.8 and was very disappointed on FF, and found that the 20-35 (3.5-4.5) was much superior.

I conclude that I am very happy with the 5DII / 24-105 combination.  I will going on a week-long hike in New Zealand's South Island in a week.  I will take my 5DII, 24-105, my Samyang 14mm and a small tripod.  My 7D, 50mm, and 70-200 will stay home.

The new 24-70 f2.8 provides some future-proofing should a higher resolution sensor come available, but you pay quite a price premium for that.

[Dylan777]

If budget is not an issue, the new 24-70 II is the way to go. On my copy, Reikan FoCal showed the sharpness at f2.8 is 985. Not many zoom lenses out there have this kind of sharpness at f2.8.

My comment is based on real life shooting.....let me know if you want to see some photos with 5D III.

Many owners of 24-105 claimed their copy is razor sharp, but the Canon MTF chart doesn't indicate that at all. Again...I owned 2 copies of 24-105 in the past and I didn't see that. I ended up shooting alot with 50mm f1.4 @ f1.8 to 2.8.

"Many owners of 24-105 claimed their copy is razor sharp, but the Canon MTF chart doesn't indicate that at all. Again...I owned 2 copies of 24-105 in the past and I didn't see that"  I agree with you on that Dylan!

I have a good copy of the 24-105 but for what i use this lens for I'm usually shooting it at f8 so its sharp

A really nice wider option I have also picked up is one of these
voigtlander 20mm it has les distortion than the 16-35 which is one of my favourite lenses
but i carry the 20mm voigt and the 40mm pancake pretty much everywhere and my 85mm for portraits

http://www.kenrockwell.com/voigtlander/20mm-f35.htm

Be able to get sharp picture at f2.8- WIDE OPEN - is priceless. I just don't see myslef shooting f8 in lower light, even on FF.