24-70 f/2.8L mk 1 or 24-105 f/4L

[brianwallace21]

As another poster said - it's mainly about IS or f2.8 and whether the 70-105 range is important to you. Both lenses are great - but which one fits your needs.

The other lens to consider is the new Tamron SP 24-70 f2.8 VC USD lens that includes f2.8 and VC. I've used it on my 5D II and 7D and it's quickly becoming my favorite walk around lens (and I own the 24-105)

 

[smithy]

The 24-70 f/2.8 really was the hot candidate for a major refresh, and the MkII sounds like a cracker.

I'm glad to see that they've figured out how to make the lens extend at 70mm rather than 24mm. That is my only real complaint about the Mk1 version.

In terms of good copies of things, how far 'out of focus' does a lens have to be to deem it poor? I'd be keen to see a sample so I could compare my own copy.

The only Canon item I've ever returned due to 'obviously' being a bad copy was my most recent and most expensive - the 5D Mark III.

 

[Loswr]

I'm glad to see that they've figured out how to make the lens extend at 70mm rather than 24mm. That is my only real complaint about the Mk1 version.

In terms of good copies of things, how far 'out of focus' does a lens have to be to deem it poor? I'd be keen to see a sample so I could compare my own copy.

Actually, the reverse zoom design was one of the nice features of the 24-70, IMO - it means the lens hood is effective throughout the focal range, instead of at the wide end only.

One of the optical issues with the original is field curvature, hopefully not present in the MkII design.