24-70 or 24-105 walkaround lens?

Hi guys.


I'm looking for a new walkaround zoom lens, which I've narrowed down to either the 24-70 f/2.8 Lor24-105 f/4 L IS.


Comparing these two lenses, am I right to assume the wider aperture to be more valuable than the IS, even in low light?


I do have a tripod but, like I said, this will mainly be a walkaround lens for me. So day/night, indoors/outdoors, etc. Anything goes. [;)]


After this I'm hoping to purchase a 70-200 f/2.8 L IS. Considering this, it would make sense to get the 24-70, although getting the better lens is more important to me than a little overlap.


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I currently own

• Canon 450D (XSi)
• EF-S 18-55 IS (kit lens, soon to be sold)
• EF 100mm Macro f/2.8
• EF 50mm f/1.4
• Speedlite 430EXII
• Manfrotto Tripod

For my preference I went for the 105, down to the focal length, I wanted a lens that would stay on my camera more, and i felt with 70mm I would be changing lenses more so than with 105mm, that little bit more from 70-105 does a lot for me!
I would struggle to say which one was better, as they are both brilliant lenses (have used both), but both quite different. My opinion anyway!


Myself and a mate of mine take pictures indoors perfectly with the 24-105 lens (weddings).


My ideal personal situation one day will be 5D with 24-70mm, and say my 50D with 70-200mm, no worry to change lenses then!
Unfortuantely, I didn't have enough money to get all I wanted in one go! So i compromised with the 105.


Hope that makes sense as to why I went for the 105.

Here is what Bryan has to say


..."The Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM Lens quickly became one of my favorites. If I had only one lens, this would be the one. " ....


... "For my personal uses in this focal length range, the Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM Lens is on my camera more than the 24-70 L. If your needs are for wider focal lengths and you are using a 1.6x FOVCF body, you should also consider the [url="http://community.the-digital-picture.com/forums/Canon-EF-S-17-55mm-f-2.8-IS-USM-Lens-Review.aspx]Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM Lens[/url]. It is another excellent choice.
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"

You say you have the 17-55 kit lens...do you mean 18-55?


Take a look at your pictures and the EXIF data in them. Analyze what's blurry. If the whole picture is blurry, you MIGHT want to aim for IS, as your shutter speeds are likely too slow. If the subject is blurry but the background is crisp, your shutter speeds are high enough to eliminate shake but not high enough to stop action, so aperture is more likely what you want.

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Originally Posted by Maleko

For my preference I went for the 105, down to the focal length, I wanted a lens that would stay on my camera more, and i felt with 70mm I would be changing lenses more so than with 105mm, that little bit more from 70-105 does a lot for me!
I would struggle to say which one was better, as they are both brilliant lenses (have used both), but both quite different. My opinion anyway!
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The extra focal length is another small reason I'm looking at the 24-105. Although to be honest, i can't imagine switching between the 24-70 and 70-200 to bother me too much. I guess this is mostly down to a photographers style of shooting.


I've also heard the quality/sharpness to be better in the 24-70.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bob

Here is what Bryan has to say


..."The Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM Lens quickly became one of my favorites. If I had only one lens, this would be the one. " ....


... "For my personal uses in this focal length range, the Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM Lens is on my camera
more than the 24-70 L. If your needs are for wider focal lengths and
you are using a 1.6x FOVCF body, you should also consider the Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM Lens. It is another excellent choice.
"

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I'm staying away from EF-S lenses, as further down the line I plan on moving to a full frame camera. Possibly a 5D MKII - or equivalent at the time - though this will be some time.

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Originally Posted by peety3

You say you have the 17-55 kit lens...do you mean 18-55?


Take a look at your pictures and the EXIF data in them. Analyze
what's blurry. If the whole picture is blurry, you MIGHT want to aim
for IS, as your shutter speeds are likely too slow. If the subject is
blurry but the background is crisp, your shutter speeds are high enough
to eliminate shake but not high enough to stop action, so aperture is
more likely what you want.

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That's right, the 18-55. I've corrected my original post.


I've never used the 18-55 without IS, so I haven't much to base this on. Although your explanation has helped and from seeing subject blurriness with crisp backgrounds from a 70-200 f/4 I borrowed briefly, I think the higher aperture may be what I need.

My $.02


I found the 24-105 to be a bit too long for walking around with a 1.6 body, a 30D in my case. I found myself always changing to my 10-22.


It is a completely different story on my 5Dmk2. The 24-105 screams. Perfect.


Larry

I'm going through the same decision-making process right now...I've got a bunch of other lenses up for sale that will hopefully result in me having enough money for either of these.


The 24-70 and 24-105 lenses seem to be more similar than different, in a lot of ways. The 24-105 is sharper wide-open, but it's also a stop slower...so at f/4 it's even. The 24-105 has more distortion at the wide end, which is not surprising due to the increased range. The build quality is excellent for both. The 24-105 is more compact, but they're both a bigger than anything you currently have. For most people, the wider aperture is more generically useful than the image stabilizer, but it depends on what you shoot.


I'm leaning towards the 24-105...I generally don't shoot moving subjects in low light, so alI other things being equal I'd rather have an image stabilizer than a wider aperture (unless the aperture is three stops wider...). And my telephoto lens is a Sigma 100-300, so I wouldn't have the overlap you're planning to have.


But I'm sure you'll be happy with either lens...

I bought the 24 - 105 and couldn't be happier. I did a wedding last Saturday after only havinghours to get used to it. I was more then impressed with the results. I used fill flash for most of my shots on the day so the f/4 was more then fine and the IS just topped it off. I know a lot of people LOVE the f/2.8 and talk about light and speed, but I have looked back on a majority of my work and f/4 and above covers it for me.


I have a 50D body. Hope this helps.


Scott


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I am leaning towards the 24-105 myself. I personally feel that the advantage of the IS is greater than the disadvantage of the f/4 vs the f/2.8 . Thanks for the pics.

Adding my two cents to this thread:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by OiCecil

although getting the better lens is more important to me than a little overlap.

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I'm curious: why are folks obssessed with not having overlap on their lenses? I think overlap is helpful. In some cases, it allows you not to have to change lenses, which can only be a good thing.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bob

Here is what Bryan has to say

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Actually the most important part of Bryan's review is the following, which basically summarizes the differences between the two:


Indoor event photographers will *probably* select the 24-70 L
while landscape/outdoor, travel and portrait photographers might prefer the Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM Lens.

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Originally Posted by TheRoff

I found the 24-105 to be a bit too long for walking around with a 1.6
body, a 30D in my case. I found myself always changing to my 10-22.

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And this is an excellent point. As I've said in other threads, even though I like my 24-105, I wouldn't use it as my sole walkaround lens (on my 40D / XTi). I generally couple it with the 10-22, and sometimes with the 17-40. In fact, in many situations, the 17-40 is a better walkaround lens than the 24-105 (for my taste at least).

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Fouad

I personally feel that the advantage of the IS is greater than the disadvantage of the f/4 vs the f/2.8.

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In my case (and I'm more of a landscape / cityscape photographer), this is definitely the case.


Tony

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Tony Printezis

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Fouad

I personally feel that the advantage of the IS is greater than the disadvantage of the f/4 vs the f/2.8.

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In my case (and I'm more of a landscape / cityscape photographer), this is definitely the case.

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And for me, f/2.8 is. It just depends on you shooting style.

Thanks for all the replies guys.


I've decided to go for the 24-70 f/2.8, which I feel will better compliment my shooting style.


This doesn't fit with all of your suggestions but every reply has helped me a great deal. Even those who opted for the 24-105; you've told me why you made that choice.


Thanks again everyone!

I have the both and prefer the 24-105 f4 L IS USM as a general walk about lens for the extra reach that it gives me.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by OiCecil

Thanks for all the replies guys.


I've decided to go for the 24-70 f/2.8, which I feel will better compliment my shooting style.


This doesn't fit with all of your suggestions but every reply has helped me a great deal. Even those who opted for the 24-105; you've told me why you made that choice.


Thanks again everyone!
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The main things is you have gone for the len you want, hope your enjoying it!

Hello OiCecil,


We use both the 24-70 &amp; 70-200 2.8 and find them to be quite up to the demands we put on them. I hope you will not be disappointed with either should you purchase a 70-200 2.8. Both lens are used on 1DMK11 bodies.


We find on our Xti/grip combo that each of the lens's render the combination to front heavy for extended shooting.


Have fun and be safe...

I went through the same process 2 years ago when I purchased a Canon 30D. I was considering between exactly the same 2 lenses and I went for the 24-105 since it has a better coverage and I don't like changing lens so this works better for me. Now I have upgraded to a 5D Mark II and I am using this lens with the full frame sensor has proven my decision was good.


If you are going to keep the XSi or in the future upgrading to a 50d, I would like to suggest you look at the EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM. This is a good lens with a better wide angle coverage. Excellent for traveling and a walkaround lens. If I have extra money, I definitely will go for this lens for my 30D and use it for travel.

im just curious about the IS.


it says its good for 3 stops of correction. i might have gotten the answer to this a while ago but forgot lol, but i prolly might have answered it already


the stops are implied to the shutter speed or full aperture stops?





wanted to bring this up because yes, one is f/4 and the other is f/2.8, but since f/4 has IS, wouldn't it be better to get the 24-105, sacrificing some DOF and some shutter speed possibilities of course?

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Originally Posted by luck101

it says its good for 3 stops of correction. i might have gotten the answer to this a while ago but forgot lol, but i prolly might have answered it already. the stops are implied to the shutter speed or full aperture stops?


wanted to bring this up because yes, one is f/4 and the other is f/2.8, but since f/4 has IS, wouldn't it be better to get the 24-105, sacrificing some DOF and some shutter speed possibilities of course?
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Normal rule of thumb is lenses for 35mm format can be handheld to 1/focal-length. On crop cameras, it's normally 1/(focal-length x crop-factor). Hence, for a 50mm lens on a 50D body, handhold threshold is usually 1/80th of a second. 3 stops of IS means you can likely handhold reasonably to three stops slower, or 1/10th of a second.


If you're shooting still items, the 24-105 has an advantage of 2 stops of handholdability (3 stops IS - 1 stop of native aperture). However, if you're shooting moving objects and want the ability to freeze the objects' motion, the 24-70 has an advantage of 1 stop (aperture is 1 stop larger, twice as much light, half the shutter time, half as much motion will be captured).


Hence the reason I always say, "look at your pictures". If the whole picture is blurry, IS might help (you're possibly beyond the limits of handholdability). If your subject is blurry but the background is crisp, aperture is more likely the better fix (need more light to speed up that shutter).

<span style="font-size: small; font-family: Times New Roman;"]I've got both, and I would say that, overall, I would heavily prefer the 24-105 as a walk around lens. Focal length, and IS...


<span style="font-size: small; font-family: Times New Roman;"]The 24-70 is superb, and faster, but it's also bulkier, and far less versatile.


Even though I have the 70-200 f/2.8 IS, I'd still lean twoard the 24-105 if i could only have one. If I was talking indoor event photography, like weddings, I'd swing back to the 24-70 f/2.8... The speed is worth it. Otherwise, I much prefer the 24-105.