I need a 24mm focal lenght Lens.. is the 24mm f2.8 IS right for me?

[ahsanford]

That hasn't been the case for ages. The 16-35 II, for example, stomps all over all the non-L primes in the same focal length range (though I don't know about the new IS ones). The new 24-70 even gives the TS-E 24 II a run for its money. The new 70-200 eats (almost) all the primes in that range for lunch. The 5-15 is the best fisheye ever made. And so on....

What primes get you is fast apertures, smaller size, cheaper cost (often), and, in some cases, features like movements or macro that you can't get in a zoom. Oftentimes there's also less distortion. (And then there's the Great Whites, of course....)

But the days when you could automatically assume that a prime beats a zoom are long past.

Cheers,

b&

The new IS primes are sharper than the 16-35, and pretty clearly so at that:

Photozone:

16-35 II: http://www.photozone.de/canon_eos_ff/435-canon_1635_28_5d?start=1

28 IS: http://www.photozone.de/canon_eos_ff/774-canon28f28isff?start=1

DXO (hate their cryptic data, but I'm presuming it's at least consistently cryptic -- I reported all data from 5D3-paired lenses, it certainly does affect test performance):

16-35 II: http://www.dxomark.com/index.php/Lenses/Camera-Lens-Database/Canon/EF16-35mm-F2.8L-II-USM/%28camera%29/795/%28cameraname%29/Canon-EOS-5D-Mark-III

24 IS: http://www.dxomark.com/index.php/Lenses/Camera-Lens-Database/Canon/Canon-EF-24mm-F28-IS-USM/%28camera%29/795/%28cameraname%29/Canon-EOS-5D-Mark-III

28 IS: http://www.dxomark.com/index.php/Lenses/Camera-Lens-Database/Canon/Canon-EF-28mm-F28-IS-USM/%28camera%29/795/%28cameraname%29/Canon-EOS-5D-Mark-III

35 IS: http://www.dxomark.com/index.php/Lenses/Camera-Lens-Database/Canon/Canon-EF-35mm-F2-IS-USM/%28camera%29/795/%28cameraname%29/Canon-EOS-5D-Mark-III

The Digital Picture's sample crops:
(you mouseover these and the arrow changes direction, telling you which lens is being shown. I've thrown in F/2.8 and F/4.0, but you can tweak this page any way you like)

16-35 vs. 28 IS @ F/2.8: http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/ISO-12233-Sample-Crops.aspx?Lens=412&Camera=453&Sample=0&FLI=3&API=0&LensComp=789&CameraComp=453&SampleComp=0&FLIComp=0&APIComp=0

16-35 vs. 28 IS @ F/4: http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/ISO-12233-Sample-Crops.aspx?Lens=412&Camera=453&Sample=0&FLI=3&API=2&LensComp=789&CameraComp=453&SampleComp=0&FLIComp=0&APIComp=2


You'll giggle when I say I am not a sharpness lunatic, but it's true. It's just that when three completely different reviewers have the same conclusions, it's probably so.

I still believe that a prime is sharper than a zoom if they were made of the same quality around the same time (i.e. year of release). The 24-70 II is the only flat-out exception to that rule that I've seen.

- A

 

[Random Orbits]

...

I still believe that a prime is sharper than a zoom if they were made of the same quality around the same time (i.e. year of release). The 24-70 II is the only flat-out exception to that rule that I've seen.

- A

It'll be interesting to see how Canon does with new 35L and 50L revisions. I'm guessing they'll be better than the 24-70 II, else you might as well take your chances with less expensive 3rd party alternatives.

 

[ahsanford]

It'll be interesting to see how Canon does with new 35L and 50L revisions. I'm guessing they'll be better than the 24-70 II, else you might as well take your chances with less expensive 3rd party alternatives.

Will be less impressive from a pure resolution / sharpness perspective, I'd guess.

It seems that Canon's F/1.4 prime lenses gives up sharpness to some extent to pull off the crazy wide apertures. To me, those are art / DOF / portrait lenses, not landscape / product / corner-to-corner lenses.

For instance, with both the (beloved) 35L and 50L lenses, they are currently out-resolved sharpness-wise by non-L glass unless you are in the F/2 or wider neighborhood. The venerable 50 F/1.4 trumps the 1.2L on all but center sharpness, and though I haven't seen a head to head, I'd wager the new 35 F/2 IS would out-resolve the 35L.

But then again, there's more to it than just sharpness. I say that to this forum every week, it seems.

- A

 

[babiesphotos.ca]

Here's the data you want, then:

Primes: http://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2012/06/the-other-canon-primes-why-did-they-do-that

Basic finding: 24L II @ F/2.8 > 28 IS @ 2.8 (just barely) > 24 IS @ 2.8
To be fair, all of these are considerably sharper compared to the old flagship 24-70L I.

Zooms: http://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2013/01/canon-24-70-f4-is-resolution-tests
Also: http://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2012/09/canon-24-70-f2-8-ii-resolution-tests

Basic finding: @24mm, the new 24-70L II truly does stack up against Canon's primes, beating the 24L II @ 2.8
in center and border but just barely losing in the corners. But it's very expensive, and despite improvements
in weight, it's still not a tiny thing to carry around.

Hope that helps. I have to make the statement that resolution is but one of a great many variables in buying a lens, but I would imagine that you know that given your years of shooting. I love the new IS primes as they are small and light, inconspicuous / unassuming (great for street), use a very common filter diameter, are internal focusing, and have the latest focusing tech -- all being upsides in my book.

- A

+1 on the first link. Short quote OP may find useful:

"Like most newly designed lenses, the strength of these new versions appears to be in the corners. You can tell by the average resolution numbers that the new lenses are doing better in the edges and corners than the older ones (I consider the Canon 24mm f/1.4 a new lens). One of the ways they accomplished that, though, appears to be by allowing more distortion (correcting distortion and maintaining sharpness are sometimes a trade-off in wide-angle lens design). The table below shows the amount of barrel distortion in several lenses.

Barrel Distortion Percentage
Canon 24mm f/1.4L II 1.00%
Canon 24-70mm f/2.8L @ 24mm 0.75%
Canon 28mm f/1.8 1.50%
Canon 24mm f/2.8 IS USM 2.10%
Canon 28mm f/2.8 IS USM 1.55%"