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kitkat73 · Posted: Thu Nov 03, 2011 2:55 am

Tossing up between:
Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM
and
Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L USM
I want the lens to be my new walkabout lens to replace my 18-200mm. I use the wider end of this lens the most. At this stage I'm leaning strongly towards the 24-105 for the better reach and IS but thought I'd throw the question out there before I buy in case others have had unhappy experiences with this lens that they'd like to share. I believe both lenses are very good optically from the research I've done already.
Body is Canon 450D.

supertramp · Posted: Thu Nov 03, 2011 4:42 am

The 24-70mm has better CA and might be sharper. Corners especially. But you have the IS and more reach with the 24-105mm. I have the 24-105mm and its been fine. Bit cheaper, too.

scphoto60 · Joined: 26 Sep 2010 Posts: 70

I use a 17-40 F4L on my 7D (tack sharp and cheap) as my walkabout lens, would you miss the wider angle if you went for the 24-70 or 24-105?

Mike Price · Joined: 06 Jun 2008 Posts: 2919 Location: South Wales

I have the 17-40L too and really love it.

Mike

triceratops · Joined: 15 Nov 2006 Posts: 7870 Location: The other Nevada

I use the 24-70mm f2.8 as my walk-about lens. Never had a problem. If you should decide to get the 70-200mm f2.8 (which is the one I'd recommend as you'll need the higher speed glass for those action dog shots) then you've got it covered from 24 to 200mm. I have both. Nice thing about L glass is the extreme ends of the zoom range aren't as bad, distortion wise, as non-L glass.

kitkat73 · Posted: Tue Nov 08, 2011 5:14 pm

Thanks everyone for your responses.
triceratops - yeah, I'm leaning towards the 70-200 f/2.8 over the f/4 for the action dog shots :)
scphoto60 - yes, I will probably miss the wide angle of 18mm but not planning on selling the 18-200mm yet and the plan is to get a wider lens specifically for landscapes in future (can't afford right now as getting the 70-200 as well!)

rinder99 · Posted: Tue Nov 08, 2011 7:50 pm

Can't beat a dedicated 20MM prime.

ajancso · Joined: 18 May 2009 Posts: 1891 Location: Right Behind You

The 24-105 is a bit soft in the corners, but this is not an issue with a cropped sensor, which is your case. The 10-22 and the 24-105 are the two lenses I always have with me.

kaycee · Posted: Mon Nov 14, 2011 5:17 pm

I have the 24-105mm and the 16-35mm love them both...

omdim · Joined: 17 Mar 2011 Posts: 1 Location: Kiev, Ukraine

24-70/2.8 is definitely better in the corners wide open, though on cropped sensor this is not so important.

It is one stop faster - this is very useful. And its construction (maximum extension on the wide side) allows the lens hood to be effective.

It is better build too.

Get 24-70, it is a great lens!

markrhiggins · Joined: 28 Jan 2008 Posts: 2006 Location: Australia

17-40mm is great value and great for landscape , architecture, etc and gives a nice perspective wide. I use it for lots of shots but the 24-105mm is my most versatile lens even though it is not what I regard real L quality. It has a good range on full frame. CA is a problem with many lenses but PS CS% lens correction is a quick batch fix. The IS is great on the 24-105mm. It is interesting that many people stress about faster glass for low light. I find the big problem in non tripod low light is camera movement. I would rather have IS than an extra stop (each to their own I guess). I looked around for a reasonable wide prime and they are not easy to source. The 20mm wides are good but sometimes I want wider. 17mm compared to 24mm or even 20mm is very different.

kitkat73 · Posted: Thu Nov 17, 2011 7:02 am

Thanks to everyone who responded. I took delivery of the 24-105mm this week!