The Great 24-70 vs 24-105 Debate

[crosbyharbison]

http://www.juzaphoto.com/eng/articles/canon_24-70_f2-8_vs_24-105_is.htm

[Keith B]

http://www.juzaphoto.com/eng/articles/canon_24-70_f2-8_vs_24-105_is.htm

"From the results of this test, it would seem obvious to go for the 24-105 IS. That said, I have some doubts about the 24-70 I have tested - can it be actually that bad? Or is it a bad copy? The bad copy option would seem the most likely, but some months ago I did another 24-105 vs 24-70 test with another copy of the 24-70, and the results are the same. At that time, I did not publish the test because I thought that it was for sure a bad copy or there was some error in the test, but the results of this new test confirm my previous findings. So, either I got two bad copies, of the 24-70 has so-so image quality...personally, I'd say two bad copies. I have read many opinions about this lens and the majority say that it is very sharp, while some others (about 10%) complain about the lack of sharpness: essentially, I think that Canon has a lot of sample variation on the 24-70 and poor quality control"


I think this was a bad copy of the 24-70. In my own experience I have found the 24-70 better in the corners than the 24-105, especially at 24mm. At 24 I found the CA of the 24-105 unacceptable from the mid frame to the corners. That was the main I sold it.


I found my results very similar to Bryan's


24-70 v. 24-105 @ 24mm

[alex_sb]

http://www.juzaphoto.com/eng/articles/canon_24-70_f2-8_vs_24-105_is.htm

Crosby, hi!





I found "Juza" a bit biased towards 24-105: 24-70 shown dirty (which may mean he used it more, in fact), while 24-105 shown clean.

[alex_sb]

MikeG2012, hi!





I would go, along with the camera, to the nearest shop selling photo gear and try both lenses for shooting sellers (PJ, as you said). If your particular camera body (1D ?) doesn't show any advantages when using 24-70, then buy 24-105 and save cash.


I have 7D + 24-70. The lens is amazing, IMO.