Canon EF 24 f/2.8 IS USM

[Haydn1971]

Hang on a moment, what have you all been barking about the last several years ? Now that Canon has offered up a new prime product in the new age of quality zooms. The two decade old designs are now outclassed by modern zooms, so why buy them except for the low f stop, but really, after the initial novelty of using a low f stop, most of us step back and enjoy the image quality.

So what if the new lenses are f2.8, they appear to be much better built, have USM focusing, 7 circular blades, special coatings to reduce flare and 4 stop Image Stability. The cracking L primes are generally out of my amateur price range, but a 98% lens at a third of the price is starting to appeal to me, I'm not in the market for a full range of entry level primes, but really interested in reading the reviews of the new primes before making judgement and may well be persuaded into making a long term investment in a couple of these new primes, the 24mm sounds good to me, a new 85mm might also appeal too... I'm still waiting for the flexible EF-S 2.8/2.0 zooms, but how will these new primes compare and importantly, how will they compare to the current L primes.

 

[kubelik]

So what if the new lenses are f2.8

well, most of us buy primes BECAUSE they have a larger max aperture than f/2.8 ... as you noted, the f/2.8 zooms right now are pretty good. for an APS-C shooter at those focal lengths, it makes a heck of a lot more sense to buy the 17-55 f/2.8 IS than it does to buy one (or heaven forbid two) of these primes, unless you are insanely picky about IQ yet nonchalant about light-gathering capabilities. for a FF shooter, you'd probably get more use out of purchasing a 16-35 L f/2.8. the odds of someone reaching for a 24mm f/2.8 or 28mm f/2.8 in their bag against all other lens options out there seems very low to me.

 

[PJshooter]

Glad to see that Canon thinks the global recession is over

In what reality are they living? Can I get some of those meds?

 

[kubelik]

Glad to see that Canon thinks the global recession is over

In what reality are they living? Can I get some of those meds?

the only thing I can think of is Canon wants to clear the shelves of other old-but-reasonably-priced lenses. when you look at a 24mm f/2.8 IS USM at $800, suddenly the 28mm f/1.8 USM looks like a crazy winning purchase. even the 35mm f/1.4 L USM at $1300 looks unbelievably fantastic at only $500 more. (you can't tell me that L-build quality and f/1.4 aren't worth 60% more than a non-L f/2.8 prime) in fact, I'm so scared of what the future has in hold that I am very close to purchasing the current 35 L because it's looking like the bargain purchase of the year at this point.

 

[wickidwombat]

these have to be aimed at budding cinematographers with the IS and the price is still significantly lower than any cine lenses. that is all i can think of to justify it