Review: Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS II

[YuengLinger]

Was production paused?

 

[ahsanford]

Was production paused?

Of the 24-105 f/4L IS II?

I thought it was fully released... But now that you mention it, Adorama and B&H still have it listed as a Pre-Order item.

Yet Amazon has it (only one left) at a nasty $1,299 asking price but Amazon will not state if its gray market, pulled out of a kit, etc.

Perhaps 5D4 kit demand was higher than anticipated? Canon might have diverted new II lenses in production into the kits, possibly stalling the rollout of it as a standalone item.

- A

 

[uri.raz]

Perhaps 5D4 kit demand was higher than anticipated? Canon might have diverted new II lenses in production into the kits, possibly stalling the rollout of it as a standalone item.

The mk2 is marginally better than the mk1, which is readily available for half the price, so I would expect people who own a FF camera, as a group, to be savvy enough not to create such a high demand for the mk2.

My guess is

1. New Canon lenses are always on short supply shortly after announcement.

2. Which is exacerbated by some copies shipped in kit.

3. And by firmware upgrade, IIRC something to do with IS on 5DmkIV.

 

[monkey44]

Have been watching the Canon site - and it's not been available there either, at least when I checked (infrequently) ...

I figured maybe the demand was less than anticipated due to the reviews that show it a limited improvement. SO, those of us that own the v1 did not jump out there. And, perhaps (a long shot) Canon held up the lens release and tweaked it a bit to up the upgrade .... I'm not even sure that's possible, but who knows. Canon might have discovered a 'fixable' small bit of engineering that sharpens it, or pulls in the corners enough to make it worth a delay.

That's pure speculation on my part (maybe wishful thinking) as I'm not a 'tech guy' ... and don't even know if it could or would happen. <puzzled>

 

[awinphoto]

Perhaps 5D4 kit demand was higher than anticipated? Canon might have diverted new II lenses in production into the kits, possibly stalling the rollout of it as a standalone item.

The mk2 is marginally better than the mk1, which is readily available for half the price, so I would expect people who own a FF camera, as a group, to be savvy enough not to create such a high demand for the mk2.

My guess is

1. New Canon lenses are always on short supply shortly after announcement.

2. Which is exacerbated by some copies shipped in kit.

3. And by firmware upgrade, IIRC something to do with IS on 5DmkIV.

You would be surprised... i know a few portrait photographers whom charge over $3000 a session on a regular basis who use this lens as their go-to lens and recommend it to their underlings... True working photographer are a different breed than other photographers... Plus, they aren't ignorant in that there are sharper lenses out there, but they know that would include more retouching work they have to do or pay someone else to do it, and time is $$...

 

[unfocused]

No surprises here.

The lens is readily available as part of the 5DIV kit so clearly no "tweaking" or "pausing" in production.

To state the obvious: It's a kit lens, so the first priority for manufacturing is to fill the kits.

I doubt if Canon expects to sell many non-kit versions in the first year or so, since it isn't a major improvement over the prior version. Individual sales are likely to be mostly to photographers who need to replace the original.

In defense of the lens itself, it's as good as any other lens of this range that is on the market and significantly better than the Nikon 24-120. I believe that if Canon could have made a better lens for under $2,000, they would have done so. But, we are probably at the upper limits of what a lens in this range can do with current technology.

 

[Antono Refa]

Perhaps 5D4 kit demand was higher than anticipated? Canon might have diverted new II lenses in production into the kits, possibly stalling the rollout of it as a standalone item.

The mk2 is marginally better than the mk1, which is readily available for half the price, so I would expect people who own a FF camera, as a group, to be savvy enough not to create such a high demand for the mk2.

My guess is

1. New Canon lenses are always on short supply shortly after announcement.

2. Which is exacerbated by some copies shipped in kit.

3. And by firmware upgrade, IIRC something to do with IS on 5DmkIV.

You would be surprised... i know a few portrait photographers whom charge over $3000 a session on a regular basis who use this lens as their go-to lens and recommend it to their underlings... True working photographer are a different breed than other photographers... Plus, they aren't ignorant in that there are sharper lenses out there, but they know that would include more retouching work they have to do or pay someone else to do it, and time is $$...

Which contradicts the post... how?

 

[awinphoto]

Perhaps 5D4 kit demand was higher than anticipated? Canon might have diverted new II lenses in production into the kits, possibly stalling the rollout of it as a standalone item.

The mk2 is marginally better than the mk1, which is readily available for half the price, so I would expect people who own a FF camera, as a group, to be savvy enough not to create such a high demand for the mk2.

My guess is

1. New Canon lenses are always on short supply shortly after announcement.

2. Which is exacerbated by some copies shipped in kit.

3. And by firmware upgrade, IIRC something to do with IS on 5DmkIV.

You would be surprised... i know a few portrait photographers whom charge over $3000 a session on a regular basis who use this lens as their go-to lens and recommend it to their underlings... True working photographer are a different breed than other photographers... Plus, they aren't ignorant in that there are sharper lenses out there, but they know that would include more retouching work they have to do or pay someone else to do it, and time is $$...

Which contradicts the post... how?

Just commenting on how he was saying paraphrasing that people who own a FF camera (those whom should know better) would be savvy enough NOT to create a high demand for the lens... and I am saying i know a lot of working pro's who are jumping and creating high demand, including me in the second quarter of this year God willing. This lens may not wet the appetite of some on this forum, but will for a lot of people.

 

[Curmudgeon]

In concept, 24-105 with IS is such a useful combination. And since I didn't have the original to fall back on, I went ahead and ordered it--in spite of the fact that I was also underwhelmed by the early reviews. In the era of high-ISO sensors, it seemed like a logical update for my classic 24-70 f2.8. Unfortunately, it's release was delayed beyond a deadline i had to meet. Since a top-end fast 50 was the other lens I wanted to complete my arsenal, I cancelled the 24-105 and ordered the Sigma Art 50. It is heavy for a 50, but then the new 24-105 has put on a fair bit of weight compared to the original. (Crotchety Ken R has decreed the new version too plump to be a suitable walk-around lens.)

And as advertised, the Sigma is a very nice lens. With a little legwork it can be made to cover much of the sweet spot of the 24-105. I put it on my 5D4 and handed it to my niece, who is a professional wedding shooter (shoots a D700). She went nuts; ran around the house blazing away at obscure targets hidden in dark corners behind chairs, etc., and then marveling at the sharpness and isolation of the subject.

It would surely be nice to have IS, and the flexibility of the zoom, but at this point I--and my budget-- are thinking I could wait to see if Canon hits it out of the park with the third iteration of this lens. Once you've tasted the new 100-400mm II, you're inclined to hold Canon to a very high standard.

 

[Antono Refa]

Perhaps 5D4 kit demand was higher than anticipated? Canon might have diverted new II lenses in production into the kits, possibly stalling the rollout of it as a standalone item.

The mk2 is marginally better than the mk1, which is readily available for half the price, so I would expect people who own a FF camera, as a group, to be savvy enough not to create such a high demand for the mk2.

My guess is

1. New Canon lenses are always on short supply shortly after announcement.

2. Which is exacerbated by some copies shipped in kit.

3. And by firmware upgrade, IIRC something to do with IS on 5DmkIV.

You would be surprised... i know a few portrait photographers whom charge over $3000 a session on a regular basis who use this lens as their go-to lens and recommend it to their underlings... True working photographer are a different breed than other photographers... Plus, they aren't ignorant in that there are sharper lenses out there, but they know that would include more retouching work they have to do or pay someone else to do it, and time is $$...

Which contradicts the post... how?

Just commenting on how he was saying paraphrasing that people who own a FF camera (those whom should know better) would be savvy enough NOT to create a high demand for the lens... and I am saying i know a lot of working pro's who are jumping and creating high demand, including me in the second quarter of this year God willing. This lens may not wet the appetite of some on this forum, but will for a lot of people.

I know some of the people who bought the mk2 just because its a newer model. That's not savvy behavior.

People who make money from their equipment are smart enough to justify expenses. Somehow, I've heard no such justification.