Actually, I think Canon has done a comparatively smart move with this one. If the price level drops to around 1000-1100 €, I'm actually very tempted. I'll still keep the 24-70/2.8 mk I for different purposes, it is just that awesome lens in my hands ;D 24-70/2.8 would remain in my bag just because of the very good bokeh, not to mention other capabilities!
But this new F/4L, I could not believe my eyes when I saw macro 0,7x ratio! That's just insane and shows the guys in the lens department at Canon Inc. have indeed been working! For a general walk around lens, I always thought 24-105 just did not have the close focusing capability like the 24-70 does.
What's even better, the new 24-70 lens is a lot lighter than 2.8 variants and does provide image stabilization for some lower light photography. For me, this would be the thing I'd take for trekking or travelling, especially since it is smaller and lighter. Not to mention the massive improvement in macro capabilities. It sounds like Canon has indeed listened to our collective whining
I'll wait for them to work out the kinks and the price to drop some tens of percents, then it is most likely a deal. Any ideas of the distortion of this one, though?