Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM Standard Zoom Lens for Canon SLR Cameras by Canon
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Digital camera reviews of Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM Standard Zoom Lens for Canon SLR Cameras
Digital camera Review: 1st L lens WOW
Summary: 5 Stars
I love this lens it was great for walking around at a wedding. The F2.8 is great for the low light situations at the reception. It was also great outdoors at the actual wedding. Price is high and IS would have been great but would recommend this to anyone.Digital camera Review: 24-70 mm 2.8L Lens Review
Summary: 4 Stars
I'm an amateur photographer with limited skills. I bought this lens to use to shoot waterfalls and other landscapes. I'm very pleased with it.Digital camera Review: 24-70 on a cropper
Summary: 4 Stars
I purchased the 24-70 in hopes it would attach to my XTi/7D and never come off. Unfortunately this lens disappoints, the sheer size and weight of it makes this lens odd to hold and use. I would not say this lens is "Sharp", especially not as sharp as previous L glass I have owned. I have read that a 24-70 on a cropper is not the best setup, but to really exploite the capabilities of the 24-70 you really need a Full Frame.Digital camera Review: A Great Piece of Glass
Summary: 5 Stars
I have had this lens for almost a month now, it was my Christmas gift from my wife (bought a few weeks early for use during the holidays) and it has become very quickly my standard lens. I use it with a Rebel XSI and was concerned that it would not be wide enough at the low end with the 1.6 crop factor but that has not been an issue. I have 2 young kids and a new puppy and so the f/2.8 is great - allows fast enough shutter to stop them in their tracks. I took it out to a field just before the holiday with the new puppy and I don't think there is one blurry shot even with the dog running full tilt.
You do have to respect the f/2.8 for what it allows you to do and also what it does not do. If the lens is wide open sometimes the depth of field for close objects is so narrow that a subject's nose and eyes are in focus but ears are blurred (or vice versa) - of course one simply stops down the lens to widen the DOF, but I was surprised that the effect was so dramatic there and was very happy that I had a couple weeks to play with the lens and learn to use it properly before the actual holiday.
I also have the 70-200 mm f/2.8 IS (my only other "L" glass) and this one is much more versatile. I got that one mostly for closeups (obviously) and to take shots at school programs without the annoying flash. As such, the IS feature is very important for that lens but less so for this one since shake is so much more obvious at the longer focal lengths. That said, it would be nice to have IS and I almost waited to see if an IS version would be released as rumors of that circulate. I can now honestly say that even if an IS version is released tomorrow I would have no regrets about this purchase (and in fact would buy the this same lens since IS will likely add ~$300 to the price tag).
The bottom line is this is a great lens, one that will hold its value and provide you with a lifetime of great pictures. Buy it without a second thought if you have the coin.
Digital camera Review: A Very Underappreciated Lens
Summary: 4 Stars
The Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM is a very underappreciated on the internet. While this lens is not without it's flaws, amateurs who only seem to know how to review a lens based on one criteria (sharpness) tend to spread a lot of misinformation that this lens being outdated. When reviewing any lens, it's important to carefully look at all aspects of the way a lens renders an image, not just sharpness. These include things like: Bokeh, Chromatic Aberrations, Color/Contrast, Build Quality, AF Speed/Reliability.
Overview: Bokeh (quality of blur, not depth of field) is extremely smooth with it's stunning 8-blade aperture. It's easily on par with some of the best lenses in this regard. Chromatic Aberrations are extremely well controlled with this lens, as good as it gets in it's class. The Color/Contrast is very good with this lens, it's exactly what you would expect from an "L" lens. Build quality is of course top notch as it is with most "L" lenses, and even includes some weather sealing for added protection. It feels good in your hands, MF ring is extremely smooth and Zoom ring is a perfect balance between Stiff and having some Play. AF Speed/Reliability is another aspect where this lens shines, it is extremely fast, silent, and accurate as the best "L" lenses. Center sharpness is not as good as it could be, but if you look across the frame you will find it's far sharper from Center-to-MidFrame-to-Edge than 75% of Canon's other lenses. Barrel distortion is noticeable at it's widest focal length but is quickly corrected as you move through the zoom range.
Again it's important to consider all factors before buying a lens, not just center sharpness. There's plenty plenty of lenses that may have better center sharpness, but seriously lag behind the 24-70L in every other aspect. Try this out, I was skeptical before I bought it but immediately found out why you see professionals using this more than any other lens. It's a work horse with outstanding image quality, fantastic bokeh, stunning colors/contrast, and extremely fast/accurate AF system.