Canon EF 24-70 f/2.8L II

[bholliman]

I bought the new 24-70 two times....the first time i used it and said to myself....hell this lens is boring. So i sold it. Than i bought it a second time to give it another try. What should i say...it was still boring. I mean...this Lens is sharp like a knife...but for me it has a boring look. So i sold it again. I rarly use Zoom-lenses and the 24-70 has not enough reach...so i bought the 24-105. this Lens is also boring but has a better Zoom range.

Not sure I understand what makes a lens boring... You admitted the 24-70 2.8 II is very sharp. It has excellent bokeh and color rendition. It's excellent mechanically. About the only things most people don't like about it are the price and lack of IS. What specifically don't you like about it?

 

[Loswr]

One of our cars is a Subaru. It's not glamorous, in fact, as cars go, it's 'boring'. But...it gets where we need it to go, through the worst New England has to offer. Deep puddles after a torrential thunderstorm? I've sluiced through them at 35 mph, sending sprays of water 20' in the air...no hydroplaning, no mushy steering, just drove through. Snowdrift in the driveway higher than the hood of the car, and the plow service hasn't come yet? Just drove through it, and out onto the 10" of snow on the road, then kept going to my destination. Boring...but it gets the job done.

If the 24-70/2.8L II is 'boring' like that, it's fine by me...

 

[tron]

I bought the new 24-70 two times....the first time i used it and said to myself....hell this lens is boring. So i sold it. Than i bought it a second time to give it another try. What should i say...it was still boring. I mean...this Lens is sharp like a knife...but for me it has a boring look. So i sold it again. I rarly use Zoom-lenses and the 24-70 has not enough reach...so i bought the 24-105. this Lens is also boring but has a better Zoom range.

Very interesting!
Maybe every lens bores you! Or maybe just zoom lenses.

In the latter case may I suggest a therapy cocktail consisting of some of the following lenses:

14L II, 17TSE, 24TSE II, 35 1.4L, 85 1.2L II, 135L

If your boredom is still not cured I suggest a last step: a 500mm f/4L IS II.

Now if even then you feel bored then the solution is to pick ... another hobby

P.S Make sure you use the lenses twice a day (Use before or after breakfast/lunch/dinner is irrelevant)

 

[Quasimodo]

I bought the new 24-70 two times....the first time i used it and said to myself....hell this lens is boring. So i sold it. Than i bought it a second time to give it another try. What should i say...it was still boring. I mean...this Lens is sharp like a knife...but for me it has a boring look. So i sold it again. I rarly use Zoom-lenses and the 24-70 has not enough reach...so i bought the 24-105. this Lens is also boring but has a better Zoom range.

I actually understand your statement. At 2.8 it a workhorse with outstanding IQ, but limiting on creative stuff. I have the same relation to my 24-105, and have more fun lurking around with my 135/2 or 50/1.4 or my 35/1.4.

 

[Zv]

I bought the new 24-70 two times....the first time i used it and said to myself....hell this lens is boring. So i sold it. Than i bought it a second time to give it another try. What should i say...it was still boring. I mean...this Lens is sharp like a knife...but for me it has a boring look. So i sold it again. I rarly use Zoom-lenses and the 24-70 has not enough reach...so i bought the 24-105. this Lens is also boring but has a better Zoom range.

I actually understand your statement. At 2.8 it a workhorse with outstanding IQ, but limiting on creative stuff. I have the same relation to my 24-105, and have more fun lurking around with my 135/2 or 50/1.4 or my 35/1.4.

What happens if you shoot something interesting with it? Is it still boring?

 

[Smurf1811]

I bought the new 24-70 two times....the first time i used it and said to myself....hell this lens is boring. So i sold it. Than i bought it a second time to give it another try. What should i say...it was still boring. I mean...this Lens is sharp like a knife...but for me it has a boring look. So i sold it again. I rarly use Zoom-lenses and the 24-70 has not enough reach...so i bought the 24-105. this Lens is also boring but has a better Zoom range.

Not sure I understand what makes a lens boring... You admitted the 24-70 2.8 II is very sharp. It has excellent bokeh and color rendition. It's excellent mechanically. About the only things most people don't like about it are the price and lack of IS. What specifically don't you like about it?

The look of the Pictures....for me there is no wow-Feeling. When i look at the Pictures, that came out of my 24 1.4, my 85 1.2 or my 200 2.0, i have the wow-Feeling. I know these are Primes and on the other hand there is a Zoom-lens....maybe beside the 70-200 is II the best Zoom-Lens on the market, but i don't like it. The 70-200 is great

 

[Smurf1811]

what specifically did you find boring about the 24-70 2?

TS lenses aside, could you suggest an exciting dslr lens to look up?

Sure...24 1.4 and the 200 2.0

 

[Smurf1811]

I bought the new 24-70 two times....the first time i used it and said to myself....hell this lens is boring. So i sold it. Than i bought it a second time to give it another try. What should i say...it was still boring. I mean...this Lens is sharp like a knife...but for me it has a boring look. So i sold it again. I rarly use Zoom-lenses and the 24-70 has not enough reach...so i bought the 24-105. this Lens is also boring but has a better Zoom range.

Very interesting!
Maybe every lens bores you! Or maybe just zoom lenses.

In the latter case may I suggest a therapy cocktail consisting of some of the following lenses:

14L II, 17TSE, 24TSE II, 35 1.4L, 85 1.2L II, 135L

If your boredom is still not cured I suggest a last step: a 500mm f/4L IS II.

Now if even then you feel bored then the solution is to pick ... another hobby

P.S Make sure you use the lenses twice a day (Use before or after breakfast/lunch/dinner is irrelevant)

....o.k., truth be told :"i don't like zoom lenses"...except the 16-35 and the 70-200 ;D

 

[Smurf1811]

I bought the new 24-70 two times....the first time i used it and said to myself....hell this lens is boring. So i sold it. Than i bought it a second time to give it another try. What should i say...it was still boring. I mean...this Lens is sharp like a knife...but for me it has a boring look. So i sold it again. I rarly use Zoom-lenses and the 24-70 has not enough reach...so i bought the 24-105. this Lens is also boring but has a better Zoom range.

I actually understand your statement. At 2.8 it a workhorse with outstanding IQ, but limiting on creative stuff. I have the same relation to my 24-105, and have more fun lurking around with my 135/2 or 50/1.4 or my 35/1.4.

+1

 

[Smurf1811]

I bought the new 24-70 two times....the first time i used it and said to myself....hell this lens is boring. So i sold it. Than i bought it a second time to give it another try. What should i say...it was still boring. I mean...this Lens is sharp like a knife...but for me it has a boring look. So i sold it again. I rarly use Zoom-lenses and the 24-70 has not enough reach...so i bought the 24-105. this Lens is also boring but has a better Zoom range.

I actually understand your statement. At 2.8 it a workhorse with outstanding IQ, but limiting on creative stuff. I have the same relation to my 24-105, and have more fun lurking around with my 135/2 or 50/1.4 or my 35/1.4.

What happens if you shoot something interesting with it? Is it still boring?

The Lens ?.....yes it is

 

[bdunbar79]

So the only way to be creative is shoot wider than 2.8? Hmm, interesting.

 

[Smurf1811]

So the only way to be creative is shoot wider than 2.8? Hmm, interesting.

That's not the point. In the range from 24-85mm i like to shoot with apertures from 1.2/1.4 to 2.0. But that's just me. I'm not speeking for everyone else .

 

[Zv]

So the only way to be creative is shoot wider than 2.8? Hmm, interesting.

That's not the point. In the range from 24-85mm i like to shoot with apertures from 1.2/1.4 to 2.0. But that's just me. I'm not speeking for everyone else .

If all your shots are of shallow dof stuff and offer little much else in variety - isn't that boring, to some people?? A lens is a creative tool, it is our job as photographers to capture interesting subject matter with it. F/2.8 is only a limit to your own imagination. If you can't create something visually appealing with that lens I think you might want to rethink your game.

 

[mackguyver]

I have to throw out the "horses for courses" line. I have the 16-35 II, 24-70 II, and 70-200 II, but I also have the 24 1.4 II, 50 1.2, 85 1.2 II, and 135. I LOVE my primes and when I'm just walking around or shooting portraits, they are what I use. When I'm shooting commercial work or carrying my gear on my back for long distances, I take the zooms. There are plenty of situations where shallow DOF isn't needed or desired and many times when you can't "zoom with your feet" because you are stuck in one place and can't get closer or further back -- or you get eaten -- see shot below of a 10'+ alligator using the original 24-70 at, you guessed it 70mm, from around 20ft away. If I'd had my 24 or 50 on, I wouldn't have been able to get close enough and I wanted good DOF for this shot.

You choose the best gear you have for a given shoot and hope you have the right lens on your camera at the right time.

 

[thepancakeman]

There are plenty of situations where shallow DOF isn't needed or desired and many times when you can't "zoom with your feet" because you are stuck in one place and can't get closer or further back -- or you get eaten -- see shot below of a 10'+ alligator using the original 24-70 at, you guessed it 70mm, from around 20ft away. If I'd had my 24 or 50 on, I wouldn't have been able to get close enough and I wanted good DOF for this shot.

Fun shot! But if you were at 20' to that monster, you're a whole lot braver (or is it more foolish? ) than I.

 

[mackguyver]

There are plenty of situations where shallow DOF isn't needed or desired and many times when you can't "zoom with your feet" because you are stuck in one place and can't get closer or further back -- or you get eaten -- see shot below of a 10'+ alligator using the original 24-70 at, you guessed it 70mm, from around 20ft away. If I'd had my 24 or 50 on, I wouldn't have been able to get close enough and I wanted good DOF for this shot.

Fun shot! But if you were at 20' to that monster, you're a whole lot braver (or is it more foolish? ) than I.

I was within a couple of feet of my car door and he didn't even give me a sideways glance, but yes, probably not the world's smartest thing I've done.

 

[Viggo]

When I first wanted a 2470 again, I was worried it would seem boring, compared to the 24 L, 35 L and 50 L. I shot my primes at 2.8 a lot to get a feel for what I would get, and I didn't like it, I wanted to go back to 1.4 and f2. But I got myself a dirt-cheap 2470 mk1 and started using it a lot and I liked it more than I would have though, specifically the ability to shoot very wide dramatic shots, and then close in for a portrait, wonderful. However, the 2470 mk1 is really poor in the corners wide open, so using the out of center focusing points was always disappointing, so I wanted to check out the mk2.

Eventually bought it, and what I thought would be boring dof, turned into overjoy with that EPIC AF! I even enabled the non-crosstype points I turned off the first week of having the 1dX, with the 2470 mk2 I can use them as any of the others. And the fun of being able to compose how I like, simply by choosing ANY point and track a subject with it AND to have the sharpness better than the center of the mk1 is juuuuust amazing.

So I sold my 24 L, and I'm thinking of selling the two others as well, they simply haven't been used since I got the 2470 mk2.

 

[Harry Muff]

I'd be needing something with IS on it if that thing strolled past me.

 

[Click]

I'd be needing something with IS on it if that thing strolled past me.

Ha ha ha ;D ;D ;D

 

[rlarsen]

I see that the price of the Canon 24-70 2.8L ll has recently gone up so I want to take the opportunity again to thank BuyDig.com and Canon Rumors for their recent promotion that saved me several hundred dollars on my purchase, and included a quality 82mm UV filter and fast, next-day shipping.

Thanks !