Customer reviews from usa.canon.com
Canon - 24-70mm f/2.8L USM Zoom Lens
Average customer rating
4.3
(69 Reviews)
Rating breakdown 69 reviews
5 Stars
46
4 Stars
8
3 Stars
7
2 Stars
4
1 Star
4
78%of customers recommend this product.
(
54 out of
69)
Customer Reviews for Canon - 24-70mm f/2.8L USM Zoom Lens
Customer Rating
5
Superb lens!!!
on November 15, 2008
Posted by: doctor
from Athens
I own this lens for a couple of years now. I can only say good things about it. It is an absolutely superb lens offering excellent analysis, sharpness and contrast. The autofocus is spot on every time and with the EOS 1VHS i use it with, it is very fast too. It is built like a tank and it's a little weighty but the quality is worth the price.
Pros: Super-sharp images, Superior build quality, Fast auto-focus
Cons: weighty
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
5
You'll Fall In Love
on December 8, 2011
Posted by: ABQ.Joe
from Albuquerque, NM
Almost every serious Canon enthusiast goes through the 24-70 f/2.8L vs. 24-105 f/4L IS debate before buying. As a freelance photographer, the 24-70 gives my clients the best possible images in dynamic situations, and gives me artistic satisfaction, along with a significant competitive advantage.
Even though I use this lens on a 7D and not a full-frame camera, the range is walk-around perfect for me. I use the 24-70 (38-112 on the 7D,) for candid client photos, events and certain landscapes; situations where a 'normal' zoom really excels. The zoom mechanism is fast and moves like silk, and the USM is virtually silent: attributes I really appreciate.
The color and contrast that this lens produces are nothing short of stunning. The first time you see the results, you'll be floored by the look: I even find myself sacrificing the wide angle of my 17-40 for landscapes when possible (it's that nice.)
My copy came very sharp out of the box, the sharpest zoom I own. It's well known that some of these lenses ship with factory settings that are a bit off, causing their owners call it soft. If your camera body doesn't have focus micro-adjustment, return your lens for a new one: the 24-70 is definately NOT SOFT.
One thing you don't hear a lot of people say about the 24-70, is that it has fantastic macro capability--they may just not know. Make sure you try it out! All things small look amazing through this glass.
Speaking of glass, a beautifully engineered zoom like this requires a bunch of elements to make its magic, so this lens isn't exactly lightweight. But that kind of heavy--the weight of quality--seems natural.
If you're a more casual photographer, your vacation shots will be better than good with the 24-105. Hey, it's a great lens, and your neck and wrist will thank you. The 24-105's 3-stop IS will help steady your shots in almost every situation, except in low light with moving subjects.
Still, the only way I'd own the 24-105, is if I could afford both; the 24-70 has been well worth the extra coin for me: this lens never disappoints.
Pros: beautiful color, excellent contrast, fast accurate and quiet focusing, very sharp for a zoom, good weather sealing, great macro capability, buttery smooth bokeh, minimal vignetting, low chromatic aberration, very solid build quality
Cons: slightly heavy, lacks image stabilization
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
5
Great Wedding Photography Lens
on March 17, 2011
Posted by: SPurcell
from Los Angeles, CA
This is a great all around lens for wedding photography. I never photograph a wedding (or an engagement session) without it. Extremely clear and sharp photos. Great for low light situations.
Pros: Super-sharp images
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
5
Awesome lens
on January 18, 2009
Posted by: Corey
from Michigan
I could not be any happier with this lens. For anyone thinking about buying it dont stress out about deciding if this is the right lens, because it is. It is a little on the heavy side but with a constant aperature of f2.8 what do you expect. I have used this lens on my 5D and my 40D for weddings, sports, and in the studio. The image quality is suberb no matter what camera you put it on. It works great on both my cameras and I would recommend it for any use if you want to spend the money for a great lens. Plus I think it is the cheapest L series lens with a aperature of f2.8. The other added pro is that at 70mm it functions in macro mode which just makes this lens a even better choice. Thanks Canon
Pros: Super-sharp images, Superior build quality, Fast auto-focus, macro functions
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
5
My other workhorse lens
on February 14, 2009
Posted by: amfoto1
from San Jose, Calif.
I reviewed the 70-200/2.8 I.S. earlier as probably my single most used lens, and a real workhorse. Well, the 24-70/2.8 comes in a close second and is nearly equally hard working for me. These two lenses on two camera bodies cover many of my needs during a full day of shooting.
I've seen people comment that while a 24-70 is a great lens on a full frame digital or film camera, it's not wide enough on a crop sensor camera. I respectfully disagree. For my purposes, it's a great range on 1.6X crop cameras!
I replaced a Canon 28-135 I.S. with this lens. I had no complaints at all against the 28-135 in terms of image quality. In fact I think it's excellent and a great value. But, I really needed the constant f2.8 aperture for use with manual flash/studio strobes, along with low light situations and the nice background blur this lens can produce. And, because I'm often shooting in less than ideal conditionas, I also needed the better dust sealing this L-Series lens offers.
I've now been using the 24-70 for two years now and expect I'll be using it for many more. It's close focusing abiliies were better than I expected... A nice bonus you might say. I don't hesitate to recommend this lens.
The only "con" I noted really isn't very much of one. The lens hood for the 24-70 is huge, but once you see how the lens zooms it makes sense and clearly needs to be as large as it is.
While it's an L-Series lens, I don't feel the 24-70 is quite up to the build quality standards of other L-Series I own and use now or have owned or used in the past. I didn't mark this as a "con", since it's not really all that short of those other lenses by very much. More just my impression of the lens, than anything else. So I gave it one less "Quality" star ranking.
Don't let this stop you from considering this lens, it's a top performer in many respects.
Pros: Super-sharp images, Superior build quality, Fast auto-focus, close focusing
Cons: huge lens hood
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
5
Good, sharp lens
on August 25, 2010
Posted by: criticalmass
from Worcester, MA
As others have said, this is a heavy lens and somewhat bulky with a 72mm filter size. But it gives a very fine quality image. For the last couple of months since I got the lens, I've been using it as my primary lens. I regret that it doesn't extend to perhaps 80 or 90 mm focal length so it would slightly overlap the focal range of my 70mm to 300 mm lens, but that's not a terrible sacrifice.
One of my primary reasons for picking this first L-series lens was the f2.8 maximum aperture. I passed on the 24mm to 105 mm lens because of it, even though that lens had image stabilization. IS is great when your subject is stationary, but to help freeze a moving subject you need that extra brightness from the wider aperture. Along with the higher ISOs found in the 5D Mark II I felt that losing the IS would be acceptable. I haven't always been successful with that idea, but often it has worked out very well.
One thing to remember with these wide-aperture lenses is that you will be paying a premium for filters. Don't expect to get a decent 72mm polarizer for a low price. Instead anticipate a hefty piece of change. Even UV filters will take a good bite out of your wallet. But don't sacrifice the quality of your lens by going too cheap with a filter. This lens is crisp, with great sharpness, great contrast and great color. Get good filters to complement it.
One of my primary reasons for picking this first L-series lens was the f2.8 maximum aperture. I passed on the 24mm to 105 mm lens because of it, even though that lens had image stabilization. IS is great when your subject is stationary, but to help freeze a moving subject you need that extra brightness from the wider aperture. Along with the higher ISOs found in the 5D Mark II I felt that losing the IS would be acceptable. I haven't always been successful with that idea, but often it has worked out very well.
One thing to remember with these wide-aperture lenses is that you will be paying a premium for filters. Don't expect to get a decent 72mm polarizer for a low price. Instead anticipate a hefty piece of change. Even UV filters will take a good bite out of your wallet. But don't sacrifice the quality of your lens by going too cheap with a filter. This lens is crisp, with great sharpness, great contrast and great color. Get good filters to complement it.
Pros: sharp, great for low light
Cons: heavy, bulky
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
5
Great Lens
on July 8, 2009
Posted by: Falling for L
from NJ
Upgraded from the 18-55mm IS kit lens to this. Huge difference (but if you're looking into L-series lenses, you already know that!). I love the wide aperture, and only slightly miss the IS. Below 40mm though you'd never know the difference.
Amazing colors (occasionally I've had to desaturate images in post processing to make them look "normal", that's how vibrant this lens is). Excellent sharpness which also responds well to a bit of sharpening in post processing when necessary. Bokeh is excellent as well.
The lens is somewhat heavy, but not overly so for a f/2.8 aperture and quality metal construction. Haven't had to rely on the weather sealing yet, but it's nice to know it's there. Would definitely recommend this lens to others looking to cover 50mm and similar ranges.
Pros: Super-sharp images, Superior build quality, Fast auto-focus
Cons: heavy
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
1
Disappointed
on May 30, 2012
Posted by: Landseer
from CT
The extra f-stops I gained with this lens wasn't worth the issues it has. I was debating between this lens and the 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM.
The lens has soft focus and now has developed back foucsing issues. It has been to repair twice in the three months I have had it. It's on it's way for a third trip. When it takes a good pic, it's really nice, I just can't predict when that good pic will happen.
For the price and an L-series lens, huge dissapointment for me.
Pros: good in low light
Cons: Semi-sharp images, back focusing
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com