Review - Canon EF 24-70 f/2.8L II

[pwp]

It seems like a great lens, but the price just kills it for me. I still can't understand how Canon keeps coming out with new products at higher price points than ever while the world has been in a global recession and economies continue to suffer. It's very short sighted and clueless of Canon. I would buy this in a heart beat if it was $1,700.

After my 48 hour evaluation I'd buy one in a heartbeat if I could just get my hands on one. It's a two-three week wait where I live.

The price? I think I paid around $2200 when the MkI was released in November 2002. After ten years Canon would have well and truly made back their ROI on the MkI, enabling price reductions. I'd say for a new model this could be seen as a price drop when seen in its historical context. Canon has profit obligations to its shareholders. They're not a charity. Study supply & demand. Sometimes it's a valid & viable business strategy to be reassuringly expensive. It works for me.

-PW

 

[dave]

It seems like a great lens, but the price just kills it for me. I still can't understand how Canon keeps coming out with new products at higher price points than ever while the world has been in a global recession and economies continue to suffer. It's very short sighted and clueless of Canon. I would buy this in a heart beat if it was $1,700.

I'd buy a 1D X, 600mm f/4 and so on if they cost less than a week's pay. But they don't. So I work out what I want most and save until I can afford it.

Find a company that makes a better 24-70mm for $1700 and buy it. Canon are among the best few in the world at what they do and charge the price that suits them based on the market as it fluctuates and evolves. Blame the consumers because they are the ones who really set the prices (See 5D Mark iii).

To me, the 35L and 24L ii and 85L ii are not cost-effective - but the 24-70mm ii is. An appropriate price is judged against your use and your needs. What you are saying is that you feel the 24-70mm ii is worth $1700 to you. Fair enough. It just means waiting.

 

[Zlatko]

It seems like a great lens, but the price just kills it for me. I still can't understand how Canon keeps coming out with new products at higher price points than ever while the world has been in a global recession and economies continue to suffer. It's very short sighted and clueless of Canon. I would buy this in a heart beat if it was $1,700.

The new products are at higher price points because they are better than the old products. It costs more to build things better. If they built them for lower price points, they would be worse products than they are.

 

[EchoLocation]

Find a company that makes a better 24-70mm for $1700 and buy it. Canon are among the best few in the world at what they do and charge the price that suits them based on the market as it fluctuates and evolves. Blame the consumers because they are the ones who really set the prices (See 5D Mark iii).

I did. I traded my 5D Classic and 24-105 for a Nikon 24-70 2.8 and bought a used D700. I couldn't be happier with my decision.
Canon's pricing the past couple of years has been too high on everything.

 

[turtle]

Before getting my 5D III and 24-70 L III had been tempted by to do to Nikon and buy the D800 and 24-70, switching all my lenses across just the same. I desperately wanted the DR I am used to with film, when factoring in the dev and printing flexibility.

I am very glad I did not, because what the 5d III lacks in outright sensor performance, it makes up for with responsiveness and great all round utility. The new lens is a good deal shorter than the Nikon and I did not feel comfortable with such a long standard zoom. That might sound silly, but with the incredible performance of the new lens, I will be well set for higher res cameras of the future. I have little doubt after all the hoo-ha, Canon will pull a finger out re DR and banding in the next full generation leap of sensors.

I don't think the new 5D III will cut it sensor wise for the documentary work I do (often in extreme contrast), but it will for weddings and the like. In the meantime, that incredible 24-70 II will do nicely on my Eos 3s

 

[calydus]

I suggest you guys read this review: http://www.photozone.de/canon_eos_ff/773-canon2470f28mk2ff

These guys are VERY thorough with their review.
Based on this, I decided to go for the Tamron (http://www.photozone.de/canon_eos_ff/741-tamron2470f28eosff) as each of the lenses has their pros and cons, but the price vs the pros of the Canon 24-70 II wasn't enough for me justifying buying this lens against the Tamron one.

It seems that a lot of people just like to have the "fame" or "high end image" that seems to come with a red ring on the Canon lenses, but they aren't necessary the best, just because it's "Canon" and the price tag is crazy high.

Don't get me wrong I love Canon lenses and all the other lenses that I got, are Canon lenses. But I had high expectations and they didn't came. Many of the reviews had high expectations too... and I find Canon failed to impress with this one, mainly because of the price tag... but still no IS, or any other thing you would expect in this price range.

 

[RVB]

Just got one of these a couple of hours ago,excellent glass,wide open at 24mm and it is sharp across the frame,expensive but superb.IS would add weight and complexity and I am not convinced its needed at these focal lengths.. the price will drop over the next few months.

 

[RLPhoto]

I Love the IQ of the 24-70 II, Its just I can't afford it.

 

[Dylan777]

What do lens, in general, cost Canon to make?

macrumors, for example, usually reports to the penny what an i-device costs after a tear down.

I know R&D costs will very between lenses, and that those R&D cost are distributed in much different rates due to the popularity of a lens, but anyone have any thoughts?

For example, let's take this lens - at $2200. It is claimed to be a kit lens, so a relatively high number will be made, spreading our R&D.

What's canon making on this lens - $400 or $1800 ?

Where did see this lens as kit lens? Have you ever see mk1 as a kit lens before?

 

[Dylan777]

When can I hope for the next rebate program? Nothing before Xmas? right after?

At least in the European rebate programs Canon in just discounting older and standard lenses and some tele zooms - I wouldn't hope for an official discount on this one for one or even two years to come I'm afraid to say. More likely they'll do a kit with the 5d3 sooner or later, I remember it's been seen in Australia.

Kit Lens? For which camera? I don't think this will ever be a kit lens.

As Marsu42 posted, this is already a kit lens in some markets (Australia/NZ and maybe others).

There is no confirmed as of(Nov 8th, 2012) that 24-70 II is selling as kit lens with 5D III at discounted price.

 

[liberace]

When can I hope for the next rebate program? Nothing before Xmas? right after?

At least in the European rebate programs Canon in just discounting older and standard lenses and some tele zooms - I wouldn't hope for an official discount on this one for one or even two years to come I'm afraid to say. More likely they'll do a kit with the 5d3 sooner or later, I remember it's been seen in Australia.

Kit Lens? For which camera? I don't think this will ever be a kit lens.

As Marsu42 posted, this is already a kit lens in some markets (Australia/NZ and maybe others).

There is no confirmed as of(Nov 8th, 2012) that 24-70 II is selling as kit lens with 5D III at discounted price.

It most certainly does exist as a kit lens in Australia - I own it. The discount is only $100 when buying together. A shot of the box is a few posts back.

 

[Dylan777]

When can I hope for the next rebate program? Nothing before Xmas? right after?

At least in the European rebate programs Canon in just discounting older and standard lenses and some tele zooms - I wouldn't hope for an official discount on this one for one or even two years to come I'm afraid to say. More likely they'll do a kit with the 5d3 sooner or later, I remember it's been seen in Australia.

Kit Lens? For which camera? I don't think this will ever be a kit lens.

As Marsu42 posted, this is already a kit lens in some markets (Australia/NZ and maybe others).

There is no confirmed as of(Nov 8th, 2012) that 24-70 II is selling as kit lens with 5D III at discounted price.

It most certainly does exist as a kit lens in Australia - I own it. The discount is only $100 when buying together. A shot of the box is a few posts back.

Thanks for confirm this. Nothing here in the US...yet

 

[mpetersheim]

I've got one question unrelated to the lens, regarding the comment that, given the crop factor on a non-FF body, "the 70mm range effectively results in 112mm making it a ideal portrait lens".

I've seen comments in this vein in many places online, and I don't understand them; how is it more of a portrait lens on a 60D than a 5D MkII? Is it just because it gives you a further working distance from your subject? Because that's the only benefit I see...

I understand the definition of a good portrait lens to include such aspects as compression/distortion and background blur in addition to the field of view, but when using the same lens on a 60D as compared to a 5D MkII, we get:
Compression/Distortion: this doesn't change between bodies, so it's still 70mm, not 112mm.
Background blur: for the same composition, a 60D requires a further distance from subject, increasing DOF = decreasing background blur at the same aperture. This makes it less of a portrait lens, no?
Field of view: for the same composition, a 60D requires a further distance from subject; in isolation (i.e. not considering effect on DOF) this may be good, as the subject is likely to be somewhat less self-conscious.

I'm not wanting to be controversial; this is a question I've long harbored and for which I have yet to find a satisfactory answer, so confirmation or correction of my stated understanding is welcomed.

 

[Loswr]

Compression/Distortion: this doesn't change between bodies, so it's still 70mm, not 112mm.

These are referring to perspective, and the only thing that determines perspective is distance to subject, i.e. focal length is irrelevant. Since you're further from your subject for the same framing on APS-C, there will be more perspective compression, which is usually viewed as a 'good thing' for portraits.

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

Nice job of reviewing, Justin. I've had five of the Mark I copies. None really bad, but not good enough for me to keep them.
I've been watching and reading the reviews, and deliberating if f/2.8 is fast enough for my low light use. Right now, I use fast primes, and usually find them at f/2 or faster even with extreme high ISO settings.
I did purchase a D800 with 24-70G lens, and found myself at ISO 12800 much of the time, and the D800 requires a ton of NR at 12800. The images still look good, but I need a supercomputer to do that level of NR on a 150mb image. I gave up pretty quickly on that idea.

 

[mpetersheim]

Compression/Distortion: this doesn't change between bodies, so it's still 70mm, not 112mm.

These are referring to perspective, and the only thing that determines perspective is distance to subject, i.e. focal length is irrelevant. Since you're further from your subject for the same framing on APS-C, there will be more perspective compression, which is usually viewed as a 'good thing' for portraits.

Really?!? So if I shoot a portrait on a medium format body with a 150mm lens and do another from the same distance with a 60D and 50mm lens, then crop both photos to identical framing the perspective will be exactly the same?

 

[ahab1372]

Really?!? So if I shoot a portrait on a medium format body with a 150mm lens and do another from the same distance with a 60D and 50mm lens, then crop both photos to identical framing the perspective will be exactly the same?

Yes exactly.
I don't have a MF camera available, but it's also fun to test with the same camera and your favorite zoom.

 

[mpetersheim]

Really?!? So if I shoot a portrait on a medium format body with a 150mm lens and do another from the same distance with a 60D and 50mm lens, then crop both photos to identical framing the perspective will be exactly the same?

Yes exactly.
I don't have a MF camera available, but it's also fun to test with the same camera and your favorite zoom.

Wow... apparently I don't know much about some of the more technical aspects of photography; I think I'll do just what you suggested. Thanks for confirming, and thanks to neuroanatomist for the initial correction. Now to go test for myself...

 

[gmrza]

It seems like a great lens, but the price just kills it for me. I still can't understand how Canon keeps coming out with new products at higher price points than ever while the world has been in a global recession and economies continue to suffer. It's very short sighted and clueless of Canon. I would buy this in a heart beat if it was $1,700.

After my 48 hour evaluation I'd buy one in a heartbeat if I could just get my hands on one. It's a two-three week wait where I live.

The price? I think I paid around $2200 when the MkI was released in November 2002. After ten years Canon would have well and truly made back their ROI on the MkI, enabling price reductions. I'd say for a new model this could be seen as a price drop when seen in its historical context. Canon has profit obligations to its shareholders. They're not a charity. Study supply & demand. Sometimes it's a valid & viable business strategy to be reassuringly expensive. It works for me.

-PW

I haven't spent nearly as much time as you with this lens, but what I have experienced so far is similar to what you describe. So far my perception is also that the colour rendition is very good.

In my mind, the only concern so far with this lens is that there seems to be some copy variance, which may be significant. - I can't help but wonder if the guys at photozone.de got one of the "inferior" copies.

 

[gmrza]

When can I hope for the next rebate program? Nothing before Xmas? right after?

At least in the European rebate programs Canon in just discounting older and standard lenses and some tele zooms - I wouldn't hope for an official discount on this one for one or even two years to come I'm afraid to say. More likely they'll do a kit with the 5d3 sooner or later, I remember it's been seen in Australia.

Kit Lens? For which camera? I don't think this will ever be a kit lens.

As Marsu42 posted, this is already a kit lens in some markets (Australia/NZ and maybe others).

I can confirm it is available as a kit in AU. I think the single box for the kit is taking longer to reach all dealers - we got ours as 2 separate boxes (not the one shown in the image).

You will find almost all Australian dealers are advertising this kit, which is advertised for about $6099 (including GST) but which can be had for around $5800 if you haggle a little. - That's about $5272 excl GST for those wanting to compare to American prices.