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 enlarge | Brand: Canon
Category: Photography
List Price: $1,900.00
Buy New: $1,084.00
You Save: $816.00 (43%)
New (29) Used (2) Refurbished (1)
Avg. Customer Rating:  120 reviews
Media: Electronics
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Optical Zoom: 2.9
Maximum Focal Length: 70
Minimum Focal Length: 24
Shipping Weight (lbs): 4
Dimensions (in): 8 x 5.6 x 5.6
all-glass-optical
MPN: 8014A002
Model: 8014A002
UPC: 013803020090
EAN: 0013803020090
ASIN: B00009R6WT
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 Very sharp on the narrow end 40 to 70mm but heavy May 8, 2008
18 out of 19 found this review helpful
I purchased this lens as a backup to my Canon EF-S 17-55 IS for wedding photography. I will be using it when my daughter is photographing a wedding with me and she will be using the EF-S lens and myself the 24-70mm. I performed some tests back to back and both lens are amazingly sharp at normal distances. Plus it's a good compliment to the other lens because of a slightly different reach. I also found the 24-70 to be better at macro photography as it can blow the subject up larger and seems sharper at very closes ranges. And the 24-70 seemed to have a little better contrast and colors. The 24-70 is much heavier then the EF-S and does not have IS. But it does have a little more reach and is weather sealed.
I was disappointed that my copy of the 24-70 has the same poor grabby zoom feel as the EF-S lens. All my other Canon L zooms have buttery smooth zoom action especially my 17-40 F/4 L. The 24-70 is sharper then the 17-40 F4 L on the long end at 40mm but surprise of surprises the 17-40 is sharper then the 24-70 at 24mm towards the wide end.
Also the long length of this lens blocks the built in flash for 40D and Rebels in bottom part of photos. This should not be a problem for most people in this budget range as the cost of a Canon Speedlite is not that high and completely solves the problem.
Bottom line though is the color, saturation and sharpness of this lens are simply second to none in the Canon wide angle zoom arena.
Pros:
Very sharp stopped down
Weather sealed
Great lens hood included
Great colors and contrast
Great USM super fast auto focus
That little red ring around the end of the lens!
Length does not change when zoomed if lens hood is mounted
This lens has Auto Lens Vignetting correction using peripheral Illumination control see Auto Vignetting comments below:
Cons:
Cost
Size
Heavy
Repair prone, the most likely to need repair lens I have (see below)
Very soft wide open (sent back to Canon for Calibration and they fixed it see update 10-6-2008 below)
Wide angle a little narrow on cropped sensor cameras
Blocks built in flash for 40D and Rebels in bottom part of photos
Zoom action was poor and grabby when new but later went smooth after a few hundred photos
Would be nice if it had Image Stabilization IS (Canon does not have a single IS wide angle L lens)
8-6-08 Update
I find myself mainly using this lens during weddings when my daughter is using my Canon EF-S 17-55 F/2.8 IS lens. Over the zoom range the 17-55 is sharper and the contrast is very similar but the big difference is the 17-55 has Image Stablization (IS) and is much lighter and can go much wider when needed. The IS makes a huge difference in a very dark location like inside a church lit by candle light when you may already be at 3200 ISO just to get the shot. There are times I can use the extra reach of the 24-70 but more and more if I am free to move about and approach the bride and groom during the ceremony this makes the extra reach of the 24-70 unncessary. Still I am keeping the 24-70 for use on a full frame camera like the new 6D whenever it comes out.
For the most part the EF-S 17-55 IS F/2.8 is THE lens I have on my 40D most of the time. If I wasn't shooting weddings and wasn't going to be adding a full frame camera to my arsnel I would suggest buying just the 17-55 IS F/2.8 and not the 24-70 at all.
9-12-2008 Update Canon EF-S 17-55 F/2.8 IS vs Canon 24-70 F/2.8 L:
I am taking photos tonight of a stage special and again will need to use both my Canon 17-55 F/2.8 IS lens and my Canon 24-70 F/2.8 L lens since my daughter and I will be shooting at the same time. I can't help comparing the two again. The 17-55 feels much lighter but at the same time feels so much cheaper in the hand between the cheap plastic feel the grabbing in the center of the zoom and the plastic build. The 24-70 feels like a heavy quality jewel that will last two life times or more and it's weather sealed. Still if you have to carry the 24-70 around for a few hours you wish for the lighter weight of the 17-55. The 17-55 has a wider view but the 24-70 has more reach. The 17-55 seems sharper throughout the range but seems to have just a little less contrast and slightly cooler colors then the 24-70. The zoom on my 24-70 is now almost broken in and feels smooth as silk and totally professional the 17-55 zoom feels like a cheap plastic toy and when you zoom even with a lens hood the front of the lens moves in and out. The 24-70 length does not change as long as you have the lens hood mounted. The 17-55 has image stabilization and the 24-70 does not so I end up using a monopod for most dark shots with the 24-70. The 17-55 is an EF-S and will not fit a full frame camera, the 24-70 will. I'm thinking forward to the future when I will be adding a full frame Canon camera body to my collection and I think the 24-70 will be perfect on that camera.
9-16-2008 Update:
After comparing photos to my friends taken wide open at F/2.8 I'm seeing a problem with the photos being much softer then his. We both have Canon 40D's and so I have to wonder if there is a back focus or front focus problem. I am going to send in to Canon and see what they say.
Auto Vignetting peripheral illumination control:
Canon has this super sweet Auto Lens Vignetting correction that works with this lens both in camera with JPEG's and in RAW using peripheral Illumination control in Canon Digital Photo Professional (DPP) when using newer Canon digital EOS cameras (Canon Rebel XSi, 40D, 5D Mark II etc.) . No more vignetting when shooting wide open!!! When shooting Raw open the file(s) in DPP and click on NR/Lens Lens Aberration Correction / Tune and click on Peripheral illumination. The cameras listed above have already picked up the amount of vignetting based on focusing distance, zoom setting and F stop from the lens and the camera has saved the information with the Raw file. You can then adjust the amount under Peripheral Illumination if you don't like the amount automatically suggested. If you shot JPEG then you get the auto amount. SWEET!!!
Conclusion: In the end I will just have to keep both of them.
Update 10-6-2008:
I got my Canon 24-70mm F/2.8 L lens back from the Canon repair facility and it is tack sharp at F/2.8 at all zoom settings close up and tack sharp from 35mm to 70mm out near infinity. It's still a little soft at 24mm at F/2.8 near infinity but much better then it was.
The zoom feels much better.
I'm a very happy camper!!!
Here's what they said was wrong with it.
"We have examined the lens according to your request, and it was found that the adjustment of the pcb assembly was incorrect the image was blurred. Electrical adjustments were carried out on the pcb assembly. Other electrical adjustments, inspection and cleaning and mechanical adjustments were carried out.
Grant
Lenses I currently own:
Canon EF-S 17-55 F/2.8 IS Ultra sharp, great colors, great low light, poor zoom action
Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 Rebel XTi Kit lens Muddy, slow, pile of junk
Canon EF 17-40mm f/4 L Fantastic colors, sharp zoomed 17 to 24mm, ultra smooth zoom action, light weight
Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L Fantastic colors and contrast, sharp zoomed 40 to 70mm, zoom a little stiff at first, heavy, repair prone!
Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Good budget portrait lens, light weight, disposable, sharp from F/2.5
Canon EF 85mm F/1.2 L II The best portrait lens for female and children clients, buttery smooth Bokeh, heavy and expensive it shares sharpness with 135mm
Canon EF 135mm F/2.0 L The best portrait lens for males and tied with Canon 85mm F 1/.2 for sharpest lens I own, buttery smooth Bokeh
Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L fantastic colors, sharp for a zoom, very versatile ego boosting and attention getting and heavy! My favorite zoom lens!!!
Canon EF 100-400mm f4.5-5.6L great IS, super colors, sharp for a zoom, extremely versatile, variable Bokeh, even more ego boosting and attention getting when extended and 400mm reach!!
My next lens purchase I'm saving for right now: _Canon EF 300mm F/2.8 IS L the finest lens ever
Amazing lens for all purposes. May 7, 2008
13 out of 13 found this review helpful
I bought this lens for my Canon DSLR camera about 3 weeks ago, and since then I've been using it for many projects and under different conditions. Let's see all the different aspects of the lens:
1- Build: Really professional and strong build, and that's what you would expect from an L-series lens. Hard plastic construction with rigid rubber on the focusing and zoom rings. It's manufactured to be dust and moisture proof (but I personally didn't test this, and I hope I won't).
2- Mount: The EF mount for Canon systems that comes with this lens is a perfect fit, once mounted on the camera, it will feel like it was built with the camera.
3- Aperture: With a maximum aperture of 2.8 you would be able to shoot in really dim conditions with no blurry results. Also at this aperture one can achieve really great depth of field effects (great in macro and portrait shooting).
4- Focal Lenght: 24-70mm means a good range for all purposes (check out the lens' offical link from Canon to see the MTF charts).
5- Weight: It's a bit heavy, and with a big camera the overall weight would be relatively heavy. But it's not a big deal when you achieve great imaging results.
6- Included Accessories: Deep hood that will prevent any sun flares, front and rear caps, soft leather bag.
7- Overall: Amazing lens for all purposes and under any situation. A great lens for anyone searching for a one-show lens.
I hope this review was useful.
Ahmed Safer.
If you could only afford one lens - this would be it May 6, 2008
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
Assuming that you are a "model based" photographer... and you were only able to afford one L series lens - this should be it.
The 24-70 range is great for shooting people at a comfortable working distance. My primary portrait lens is the 85 1.2L, but prior to going with a prime - this was my primary lens.
It's sturdy. It's really sharp at 5.6 and above. And though it only goes down to 2.8 - the zoom is really enough of a benefit to outweigh a limited specialty use of a wider aperture.
Downside: heavy and expensive.
Upside: great range, good sharpness, excellent color rendition
I strongly recommend this over the 24-105 4.0L IS. I have that one too - and I find that this lens is better for natural light situations - while I find myself using the other one more in studio.
 Quality of the 24-70mm f/2.8 vs Quality of 70-200mm f/2.8 April 28, 2008
3 out of 5 found this review helpful
Although the Canon 24-70mm f/2.8 "L" lens does a good job, it does not compare with the clarity, contrast, or the color saturation that I can get with the Canon 70-200mm IS f/2.8 "L" lens. The Bokeh of the 70mm-200mm is much more pleasing then the 24-70mm Canon lens and that may be due to the different focal lengths. I don't know if I have an execeptional 70-200mm or that I have a 24-70mm that is below normal standards for the lens.
Flawless lens. The L really is for "Luxury" April 25, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Save your nickels and dimes because this lens is definately worth the dive into your piggy bank. I've been shooting with this lens and the 70-200 f/2.8L IS and I have virtually all the focal length I need. If you are shooting on a body with a 1.6x crop factor it might not hurt to add an ultra wide to your arsenal to round things out. The images from this lens are ultra sharp at all focal lenghts. I have zero complaints.
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