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

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Totally agree! I think this is a good resume of the lens.

I have a 17-40 and a 70-200 and I kinda miss the 24-70 for a lot of things....I need it....

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

thank you!
 
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I've said this before. Although bulkier and heavier, I appreciate the hood setup on the old 24-70 for moving around without a lens cap on. When you bring the barrel back to 70mm there's a lot of protection there. And when the barrel is extended, it's all inside the hood.

Not so with the new lens, where the barrel has no protection at all when extended. If I knock up against something with the old lens, or drag it through the brush, nothing touches the lens itself.

Just my preference, I guess.
 
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trulandphoto said:
I've said this before. Although bulkier and heavier, I appreciate the hood setup on the old 24-70 for moving around without a lens cap on. When you bring the barrel back to 70mm there's a lot of protection there. And when the barrel is extended, it's all inside the hood.

Not so with the new lens, where the barrel has no protection at all when extended. If I knock up against something with the old lens, or drag it through the brush, nothing touches the lens itself.

Just my preference, I guess.

Yeah, owning the version 1 24-70 the extension never bothered me because I never noticed it with the lens hood attached. It did bulk things up a big, and made for an intimidating lens attached. I *was* able to cram more in my bag when on assignment with the new lens though - which is a plus.
 
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thedman said:
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
 
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almograve said:
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.
 
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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 ?
 
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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.
 
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BL said:
thedman said:
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.
 
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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
 
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Marsu42 said:
almograve said:
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.

shtarker said:
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).
 

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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.
 
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