24-105 Upgrade Stories

[Dave Throgmartin]

What is your standard zoom lens that you use today?

Did you previously use the 24-105L first version? If so, can you share your story of replacing the lens, what your expectation was with the new lens, has it been successful, etc... ?

Regards
Dave

[Joel Eade]

I'm sure you will get different answers based on different situations for which people use their zooms lenses.

Currently I own 16-35mm f/2.8 III, 24-70mm f/2.8 II, 70-200mm f/2.8 II, 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 II.

All of these are capable of excellent image quality but I definitely use the 100-400 and the 16-35 the most.

I use the 16-35 for family events mostly indoors and the 100-400 (usually with 1.4 TC) for birds but it's also good for flowers, butterflies and large insects due to its amazing minimum focus distance.

I have never owned a 24-105mm but I did own a 17-40mm but sold it because the image quality wasn't stellar. I also had a 28-135mm that was a really good lens .... I gave it to my son when I bought the 24-70.

The 24-70 and 70-200 are nice portrait lenses and I have used them for taking outdoor images for things like high school prom or senior pictures or engagement pictures. These focal lengths are also nice for landscape. I just don't get to do that kind of photography much.

[Dave Throgmartin]

I use the 24-105 a ton. It's by far my most used lens.

Dave

[Kayaker72]

My upgrade story. For a "general purpose" zoom, I started with the EFs 15-85 on the 7D. Such an amazing combination when my wife wanted her own camera, we got her an 80D with the EFs 15-85. I have to admit, the times I've borrowed it, that is still a great combination. The IQ is better than good enough and the focal length is absolutely amazing for a walk around lens.

But, I upgraded to FF in 2013 and bought a 5DIII in a kit with the EF 24-105. I found the 24-105 Mk 1 to be a very capable lens. But I never loved it. The constant f/4 was nice, in theory, but, overall, it did not provide the FF experience I was looking for. As you know, it is a very good lens. But it was not necessarily better than the 7D and EFs 15-85 combination in terms of what it did. That may seem like an odd statement, but the EFs 15-85 was longer, had better, more consistent IS, and I tended to not use f/4 on the long end of the EF 24-105 as I found it soft, so I was stopping down to f/5-5.6 anyway.

So, I started looking at what could be done and I was considering two main options:

1. Keep the 24-105 as a travel lens and go the prime route with everything else. Maybe even mostly the non-L primes, which, when I was considering this had just been released. In particular, I was eyeing the 24 f/2.8, 35 f/2, and 85 f/1.8 in combination to the 50 f/1.4 I already owned. Of course, I also considered the "L" prime route.
2. Go to the EF 24-70 II

I opted for #2. Really, it is pretty simple, but add up those lenses, and the costs, simplicity and size/weight comparison all fell in favor of the EF 24-70 II. You had to go to the "L" route to optically get something better, and then cost and size/weight was really in favor of the EF 24-70 II. Plus, at the time, I was reading a lot of comments like "EF 24-70 II is like having a bag full of primes...." In fact, I am pretty sure out of the posts I made and comments I read, really it was Rick (HDNitehawk) that gave me some pause with a comment something to the extent that his family's favorite pics were usually from the 24-70 II, but HIS favorite pics were almost always from a "L" level prime.

So, I opted for the 24-70 II. In short, it does for FF what I want. It is fast enough to often get some blur, even at f/2.8-f/4 it is as sharp as I need and certainly at f/5.6-f/11 it rivals primes. But, more subtlety, I find it has remarkable contrast and overall just paints a scene very well. I tend to shoot it at 24-35 mm or 70 mm, but I would not say I miss 70-105. With 30 MP, I shoot at 70 mm and crop as needed. If I am shooting a scene that may require the full 30 MP, I switch to a telephoto lens.

I am not trying to talk you into a switch, but I have no regrets, I love mine. It is my most used lens by far and lives on my 5DIV even when not in use. If fact, it may be the lens I would give up last out of my collection. If someone was starting FF from scratch, it would be the first lens I would recommend.

The only pause I would give someone thinking of upgrading to it is the classic, does it do something you want/need enough, and then a play on Rick's observation, would what you want be better accomplished with a prime lens or two. But, as a general zoom, I love my 24-70 II.

[jamsus]

Used 18-135 IS STM a lot.

Now with a Fullframe i have the 24-105, but just for traveling. When i'm in town or in some festivals, 35 + 85 is my combination

[Dave Throgmartin]

Used 18-135 IS STM a lot.

Now with a Fullframe i have the 24-105, but just for traveling. When i'm in town or in some festivals, 35 + 85 is my combination

Andrea,

What 35 and 85 are you using?

Dave