Phase-out of the 24-105 4.0 L IS?

[Creeping_Death]

Hey guys,

this is my first post on this forum so please be patient with me
I have been wondering for a couple of days whether Canon might be planning to phase out its 24-105 4.0 L IS? There are a couple of actions that have made me think this might be the case. First they introduced the new 24-105 STM and included it in the official 6D Kit. Now here in Germany the 6D can no longer be bought with the L in a Kit, and prices for the L lens have gone up quite a bit (ok, that might be due to the fact that there will be less white-box lenses available now and because the Sigma 24-105 4.0 is no longer produced). On the other hand I have just read that in the US the L goes for as low as $599 on Ebay - signs of a sell-of?
Now that a new 5d Mark IV might be around the corner, maybe they plan to offer it with a new 24-105 L II? Also the new 5DS is not offered with the old 24-105 L as a kit lens. This could be because Canon knows that it won't look good on a high-resolution sensor, but maybe a new version of this lens could be in the making.. Or they decide to stick to the new STM in the long run..

Would be cool to hear your thoughts on this

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

NO. Its a great lens and still sells well.

 

[monkey44]

Seems mostly you are guessing here ...

Not sure why Canon would phase out such a versatile lens ... I own one, like it, and it sits on my 5DM3 most of the time except when I'm doing a shoot and need a specific lens. The Canon options are 24-70 or 70-200. So it fits a real niche FL ... STM is not the same build quality as "L" in the Canon line-up.

 

[Mitch.Conner]

A 24-105 II? Has there been a patent for one?

 

[unfocused]

My theory – and anything that anyone writes on here is pure speculation – is that Canon may have been concerned about the falling street price of the 24-105 "L" due to the huge number of white box lenses available.

I suspect they would like to transition to the less costly and newer 24-105 STM and the 24-70 f4 "L" as kit lenses to prop up the value of the 24-105. I don't think the 24-105 "L" is going to be replaced anytime soon (for one thing, a new version would probably close in on $2,000 for another, Canon may view the 24-70 "L" as the new 24-105 "L.")

I would urge people to pick up the 24-105 now, because I can see it going up in price as fewer become available as white box lenses.

 

[Sporgon]

As I have both 24-70IS and 24-105L ( the former was intended to replace the latter for me) I would say the 24-70IS was not intended to replace the 24-105L, it is a smaller, lighter lens that goes well with a 6D in keeping the overall size of the package down. A 6D with 24-70 is noticeably less bulk than a 5D with 24-105L. The shorter lens is also better at 24mm, though not as good at 80-105.

The 24-105 STM is a cheaper lens offering purchasers of a FF camera a cheaper alternative, and cheaper 'kits'. It wouldn't surprise me if soon we have a FF camera sitting under the 6D, and it will go nicely with that.

So I think the production of the 24-105 L lens has more life in it yet.

 

[Big_Ant_TV_Media]

too answer you yes there's a slow phase out of the 24-105 F4 L Lens
and it is slowly being replaced by the 24-105 STM lens since its focuses faster on still and video
and has multiple stops 3.5-5.6 and etc
and yes the 24-105 F4 will not play well with the 5DS ands 5Dsr
since canon is slowly trying too get all there best cameras upgraded too STM and DPAF tech
the 24-105 STM works like a dream on my 7D mark 2 which has DPAF and STM Tech
so look for canon too try & remake all there L Lens into cheaper STM/DPAF tech versions
just with lesser build and weather sealing its the trade off for making the STM/DPAF lenses

 

[e_honda]

I would urge people to pick up the 24-105 now, because I can see it going up in price as fewer become available as white box lenses.

Could happen, but as it is the 24-105L is still being packaged with full frame bodies in kits. Until that stops, there will always be plenty of them.

I'm keeping mine because I think I've got a very good copy. It's not as good as my 24-70 II, but I don't think the falloff is that huge.

 

[jeffa4444]

I think there is absolutely no chance Canon is going to ditch the EF24-105mm f4L without bringing out a replacement. The EF24-105 f3.5-5.6 STM lens is not weather sealed I see it more as the full frame equivelant to the EF-S 15-85mm f3.5 - 5.6 USM lens, on the 7D MKII the 24-105 is effectively 38.4-168mm.

The 6D packaged with the 24-105mm f3.5-5.6 STM is purely to lower the price of entry into full frame.

On my 6D I would say 70% of my shots are with this versitile zoom and I would always chose it over its cheaper cousin for Landscape where the weather can suddenly change.

In the UK Park Cameras list the lenses like so:-

EF24-105mm f4L white box £ 599.00 regular £ 749.00
EF24-70mm f4L white box £ 749.00 regular £ 799.00
EF24-105mm f3.5-5.6 STM £ 379.00
EF-S15-85mm f3.5-5.6 USM £ 542.00

So the EF24-105 f3.5-5.6 STM is almost half the price of the white box EF24-105mm f4L USM

 

[Bennymiata]

too answer you yes there's a slow phase out of the 24-105 F4 L Lens
and it is slowly being replaced by the 24-105 STM lens since its focuses faster on still and video
and has multiple stops 3.5-5.6 and etc
and yes the 24-105 F4 will not play well with the 5DS ands 5Dsr
since canon is slowly trying too get all there best cameras upgraded too STM and DPAF tech
the 24-105 STM works like a dream on my 7D mark 2 which has DPAF and STM Tech
so look for canon too try & remake all there L Lens into cheaper STM/DPAF tech versions
just with lesser build and weather sealing its the trade off for making the STM/DPAF lenses

Sorry but I don't agree with much of what you said.
The 24-105 L is Canon's biggest selling L lens ever, so they are not going to discontinue it unless they have a good replacement ready.
It's been around for so long, and has sold so many copies, the design and tooling costs have well and truly been amortised and the factory can now make them with their eyes closed, that it must still be a good profit maker for them.
STM lenses focus slower than USM lenses and the variable aperture can be a pain in the rear when setting exposure and then zooming as the lens closes down as you zoom in. This can be terrible for may professional situations.

 

[NancyP]

STM lenses are not replacements for other USM lenses. STM focusing is meant for smooth focusing in video use, and it isn't as speedy (doesn't need to be, you don't want exceedingly abrupt focus change in video!) as the USM focus mechanism.

 

[YuengLinger]

Those who criticize the 24-105mm L often talk about lenses much more than use them.

Underrated to the point of silliness by some.

 

[mycanonphotos]

Make a new 24-105 w improved optics...I love the f4 24-105, not as nice as the 24-70 II but it does quite well.

 

[Mitch.Conner]

I've said it before and I'll say it again: I'd happily pay over $3k for a 24-105 f/2.8 IS with IQ comparable to the 24-70 f/2.8 II and IS comparable to the 100-400 II.

I'd love to see it happen. I'm 99.9% sure it won't.

In lieu of it, I'll happily buy a 24-70 f/2.8 IS. I'm pretty sure that still come out, it's just uncertain when. I was hoping this year, but with the rumored primes not even officially announced yet, and the supposed glass shortage, I now highly doubt it. I'm still hopeful though.

In the meantime, I intend to sell my white box 24-105 f/4 IS (I have for a while). It's in like new condition. I just keep hesitating.

 

[pwp]

As I have both 24-70IS and 24-105L ( the former was intended to replace the latter for me) I would say the 24-70IS was not intended to replace the 24-105L...
So I think the production of the 24-105 L lens has more life in it yet.

Similar.. I have both 24-70 f/2.8II and 24-105L (the former was intended to replace the latter for me) 8)
I unexpectedly ended up keeping the 24-105...it really has it's uses even with the 24-70 f/2.8II in the kit. It makes a fantastic, versatile travel lens with that extra range and the IS, plus at some events the extra reach is handy. You could publish a book in 10 volumes full of positive testimonials for this lens. It's a keeper.

The 24-105 f/4is is still a strong seller and with recent price drops has become awesome value. I've been wrong before and I'll be wrong again, but I'd put my money on the 24-105 f/4is being available for years to come.

-pw

 

[Jat Riski]

Hi everyone, click on this link & find out STM vs USM vs Micro
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ho0hOhRSuHk

 

[LonelyBoy]

Sorry but I don't agree with much of what you said.
The 24-105 L is Canon's biggest selling L lens ever, so they are not going to discontinue it unless they have a good replacement ready.
It's been around for so long, and has sold so many copies, the design and tooling costs have well and truly been amortised and the factory can now make them with their eyes closed, that it must still be a good profit maker for them.
STM lenses focus slower than USM lenses and the variable aperture can be a pain in the rear when setting exposure and then zooming as the lens closes down as you zoom in. This can be terrible for may professional situations.

I bet they consider the 24-105 IS STM to be its replacement, with the 24-70/4 and 24-70/2.8ii as the step-up options. Also, I firmly believe that the new 70-300 rumored for this month will be an IS STM to make a matched FF budget pair.

As for your "professional situations" they want "professional" users to go buy other lenses for more money (though they could also stop the lens down to f/5.6 at all focal lengths).

The CPW street price for a 6D with 24-105 STM is only $250 more than body-only. That implies the lens can already be manufactured more cheaply than the L, and with the added benefit that users will want to upgrade TO an L lens with a nice red ring instead of having one off the bat.

 

[lintoni]

The 24-105 STM is now the kit lens with Canon's entry level full-frame model, the 6D.
The 24-105 L remains the kit lens with Canon's prosumer model,the 5D3.

I don't see any problems or complications with that.

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

Lots of people here defending the 24-105/f4L...

But it really isn't that great of a lens any more. I almost never take it with me now. As a kit lens, it is kind of ok.

The 24-70/f4L IS USM whips it in terms of IQ.

As much as I would like to see Canon refresh the 24-105/f4L to improve distortion and IQ, I'm wondering if this particular optical formula is rather difficult as Sigma's version really isn't all that much better.

The 24-70 f/4 L is selling poorly, and the price is dropping like a rock. Its more likely to go away than the 24-105, and the chances of either going away are very low. At that level of performance and price, its very difficult to make any improvements that will return the huge investment required. Low cost lenses like the 24-105 STM are the money makers, if there even is such a thing with today's market.

At The high end, the 100-400mmL MK II must be making tons of $$ though.

 

[monkey44]

QUOTE: "At The high end, the 100-400mmL MK II must be making tons of $$ though."

Only if they keep it in stock. Seems like everyone is looking, but can't find it. B&H gets a few in stock and sells out ...

But, all things equal that is one sweet lens, and matches up well with the 7D2 and the 5DM3 - as well as other models.