# Canon EF 24-70 f/2.8L Officially Discontinued?



## Canon Rumors Guy (May 15, 2012)

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<strong>Canon EF 24-70 f/2.8L


</strong>A few reports around the globe about the EF 24-70 f/2.8L being officially discontinued. This was an inevitable event.</p>
<p>I’ve had at least 2 suggestions that have said the version II delay has been to dump excess stock of the version 1. How plausible is that? I don’t know.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/264304-GREY/Canon_8014A002_Zoom_Wide_Angle_Telephoto_EF.html/BI/2466/KBID/3296" target="_blank">Canon EF 24-70 f/2.8L @ B&H for $1579</a></p>
<p>There has been no mention of another delay for the version II. It’s still slated to start shipping in July. You can still <a href="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/843008-USA/Canon_5175B002_EF_24_70mm_f_2_8L_II.html/BI/2466/KBID/3296" target="_blank">preorder it at B&H for $2299</a>. Do not expect any sort of price drop on the version II for quite some time.</p>
<p><strong><span style="color: #ff0000;">c</span>r</strong></p>
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## Z (May 15, 2012)

In the UK at least, the 24-70 original seems to be steadily climbing in price as stocks dwindle. Glad I picked mine up when v. II was announced - it would now cost £200 more.


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## Dylan777 (May 15, 2012)

I bought 3 copies(mrk I) in the past, none of them gave me the sharpness I'm looking for.

Am I sad to see this news?.....   

Mrk II seems very promising, can't wait to attach mrk II on my 5d III.


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## chabotc (May 15, 2012)

There's entirely to much waiting for new products for my comfort level - I've had the 24-70 II and 1DX on pre-order from the moment they were open for them, and while I'm sure CR appreciates the views they get from me neurotically checking on news about them daily, I would much prefer actually using them 

I do know that the next lens announcement I'll be a whole lot more skeptical and careful about wanting it


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## Axilrod (May 15, 2012)

Is that why the price is insanely high right now? $1579 at B&H and the MSRP is still listed as $1399 on Canon's site....


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## dstppy (May 15, 2012)

Crap - I was hoping the Tamron was going to come down in price; can't help having no current competitors


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## Robert Welch (May 15, 2012)

Well, at least with this announcement, maybe I can get more for my 24-70 if I decide to sell it and buy the vII, but still not sure if I will. Mine is at least as good IQ as my 24-105, which IMO is acceptable, and I've probably got other things I need more than to replace a lens that doesn't really need replacing. Just good to know I might be able to get a little more for it than I could have just a few months ago, probably. I was thinking about it when they announced vII, and looked at what the used prices were on mine, looked like it was one of the most depreciated lenses in the Canon lineup, at least for an L lens.


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## llcanon (May 15, 2012)

The 70-200 2.8L IS II was on the Canon rebate list by the end of 2010 (the lens was announced in January 2010). So if you can wait, expect $200 - $400 off (with purchase of a camera body) in early 2013. I am still shooting with the legendary 28-70 2.8L which is as good as 24-70 Mk I except for loss of 4mm on the wide end.


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## elusive1 (May 15, 2012)

The 24-70 II is a lot of money and a huge increase over the Mark 1, and it has no IS. I have a feeling Tamron is going to sell a lot of their lenses.


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## VASH1291 (May 15, 2012)

I was going to buy this lens in another 4 months, oh well


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## awinphoto (May 15, 2012)

I guess that's one way to force you to buy the more expensive of the 2 lenses... but it was inevitable.


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## h4ldol (May 15, 2012)

I'm debating whether or not to buy the Mk1 for $1600 at Adorama/B&H, which is $700 less than the $2300 Mk2 but it feels lame since a couple months ago the Mk1 was $100-200 cheaper. With IS, $2300 would have been a no-brainer for me, or even $2400. But without it I'm less enthusiastic. Or maybe I'll buy the Mk1 to use this summer and just sell it in a few months and get the the Mk2 to replace it if it turns out to be significantly better than the Mk1. 

Decisions, decisions...


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## neuroanatomist (May 15, 2012)

I recall several threads from a while back with people saying they were waiting to buy the current 24-70mm because the release of the Mk II would drive the prices of the original down. I repeatedly pointed out that the exact opposite occurred with the 70-200mm II. Hate to say I told you so.....


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## KyleSTL (May 15, 2012)

awinphoto said:


> I guess that's one way to force you to buy the more expensive of the 2 lenses... but it was inevitable.


Isn't this exactly what happened when Canon transitioned from 70-200 IS I to 70-200 IS II for $500 more? A short period of time where both were available, then suddenly v. I went out of stock, never to return.


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## h4ldol (May 15, 2012)

neuroanatomist said:


> I recall several threads from a while back with people saying they were waiting to buy the current 24-70mm because the release of the Mk II would drive the prices of the original down. I repeatedly pointed out that the exact opposite occurred with the 70-200mm II. Hate to say I told you so.....



Didn't the 70-200mm II have improved IS (one stop?) compared to the I? I think the issue with the 24-70mm II is that the main improvements are IQ, which have to be seen to be judged worth the huge price increase, whereas adding/improving IS or some other physical characteristic of the lens would be more tangible and result in larger demand for a much more expensive lens, thus decreasing rather than increasing demand/price of the previous version of the lens. If the 24-70mm II had been announced to have IS, I would guess that the prices of the 24-70mm I would be below MSRP right now, instead of $200 higher. 

Myself, I tried ordering the 24-70mm I from several sources recently and still waiting on the companies' buyers to see if they can get some more stock or not... probably not, in which case I may just get it for above MSRP ($100 or $200 is really not a big deal in the scope of things).


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## DB (May 15, 2012)

h4ldol said:


> I'm debating whether or not to buy the Mk1 for $1600 at Adorama/B&H, which is $700 less than the $2300 Mk2 but it feels lame since a couple months ago the Mk1 was $100-200 cheaper. With IS, $2300 would have been a no-brainer for me, or even $2400. But without it I'm less enthusiastic. Or maybe I'll buy the Mk1 to use this summer and just sell it in a few months and get the the Mk2 to replace it if it turns out to be significantly better than the Mk1.
> 
> Decisions, decisions...



I bought the 24-70 Mk I last December from an online discount retailer based in Luxembourg for 1,029 euros and the price has been rising since January of this year, up to 1,160 euros (close to US$1500) now on eBay:

http://www.ebay.ie/itm/f-CANON-24-70mm-EF-USM-F-2-8L-GARANTIE-EUROPE-4-ANS-60D-600D-7D-5D-MII-1D-/180880818544?pt=FR_IQ_PhotoVideo_Photbjectifs_Zooms&hash=item2a1d564170#ht_5571wt_1396

The date code on my lens is UZ1119 (so November 2011), so quite recent, but the really strange thing is that I had to wait more than 3 weeks for delivery as they were out of stock and were awaiting a fresh delivery batch. The recent lens date code suggests that end-2011 demand was still very high, I especially was aware of this as I also tried to buy 'used' on eBay and elsewhere, but 7-year old 'well-used' copies were still fetching prices of 950 to 1,000 euros.

Still today, there are not many for sale in Ireland or the UK, and when they do come up for sale or auction, they invariably achieve almost new prices???


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## neuroanatomist (May 15, 2012)

h4ldol said:


> Didn't the 70-200mm II have improved IS (one stop?) compared to the I? I think the issue with the 24-70mm II is that the main improvements are IQ, which have to be seen to be judged worth the huge price increase, whereas adding/improving IS or some other physical characteristic of the lens would be more tangible and result in larger demand for a much more expensive lens, thus decreasing rather than increasing demand/price of the previous version of the lens.



Probably irrelevant. 'Street price' is heavily influenced by supply and demand. Supply for the MkI has been tight lately (true for many lenses). It's evident that the Mk I will be discontinued at some point soon. The replacement is several hundred dollars more expensive, even compared to MSRP. But soon, you won't be able to get a new 24-70/2.8 cheaper than the street price of the MkII. Ergo, low supply + increasing demand = rising price. Even if the the changes to the MkII were basically nothing except the dramatically increased price, the impending unavailability of the MkI would drive up demand for the MkI, completely independent of the features of the MkII.


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## h4ldol (May 16, 2012)

neuroanatomist said:


> But soon, you won't be able to get a new 24-70/2.8 cheaper than the street price of the MkII.



Um, are you really suggesting that at some point the Mk1 will cost the same, or even more, than the $2300 Mk2, purely based on supply-demand economics? That is so unlikely as to actually be preposterous. ???

No matter how low the supply gets, it would only get close to the price of the Mk2 if the Mk1 were considered a 'collector's item' (and Canon L lenses, great as they are, are not exactly collectibles... or at least when there is a newer version with the same basic specs) or superior in some way to the Mk2, which also seems rather unlikely. I doubt the Mk1, new, will ever get past $1800 because around that price point it is only $500 more to buy the newer, likely superior, Mk2 which also will have a higher resale value than the Mk1. 

I'm assuming you didn't really mean quite what you wrote...


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## Forceflow (May 16, 2012)

h4ldol said:


> neuroanatomist said:
> 
> 
> > But soon, you won't be able to get a new 24-70/2.8 cheaper than the street price of the MkII.
> ...



Actually with the discontinuation of the Mark I and the delay of the Mark II this might really happen. If one NEEDS a 24-70 and the only few to be had are Mark I the price might indeed skyrocket up to (and in theory even higher than) the Mark II. It's the same reason why there is such a big market for black market ticket sales. If the tickets are sold out but you really, really want one you'll better be prepared to pay much more than the regular price.


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## gleb86 (May 16, 2012)

It looks like the prices for used ones are coming down since I've been eyeing them. I've seen some that are almost mint for a little under $1000 on some forums. I sometimes scratch my head when I see some of the prices on ebay which can go to $1800. I really hope no one pays that much :-\


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## neuroanatomist (May 16, 2012)

h4ldol said:


> neuroanatomist said:
> 
> 
> > It's evident that the Mk I will be discontinued at some point soon. The replacement is several hundred dollars more expensive, even compared to MSRP. But soon, you won't be able to get a new 24-70/2.8 cheaper than the street price of the MkII.
> ...



I think you misinterpret. What I mean is that soon the original will be discontinued, and retail stock will dry up, and at that point, street price of the MkII will be the _only_ option for a new 24-70/2.8 lens (from Canon, of course), i.e. the MkII. That fact is what's going to drive up demand for the current 24-70. Here's what I mean:







During the last non-rebate period (most of 2011), the average list price of the lens was just under $1400. It's worth noting the Canon states the estimated retail price of the lens as $1399, and most of the retailers sold at or a bit under that price. Look at B&H or Adorama today - some retailers with the lens in stock are selling it for $1599, $200 _above_ Canon's estimated retail price for the lens. Why are they selling it for more than the 'usual' street price? Supply is low, and demand is high for the reasons mentioned above. There are still a couple of retailers with the lens in stock selling it at $1399, J&R and Sears, for example, and a lot more retailers listing it at $1399 but with no lenses to sell at that price. 

This is exactly what happened with the 70-200mm f/2.8 IS at the time the MkII was announced/released.


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## DB (May 16, 2012)

neuroanatomist said:


> I think you misinterpret. What I mean is that soon the original will be discontinued, and retail stock will dry up, and at that point, street price of the MkII will be the _only_ option for a new 24-70/2.8 lens (from Canon, of course), i.e. the MkII. That fact is what's going to drive up demand for the current 24-70. Here's what I mean:



Great chart, it shows graphically precisely what I've observed anecdotally, since the beginning of this year.

I wonder if Neuro knows what happened to 28-70 prices after 24-70 was introduced and the older 28-70 was then discontinued


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## DB (May 17, 2012)

Canon have just raised their 'official' MSRP for the 24-70mm f2.8L Mk I by more than 100 euros during May from €1,599 to €1,700 now (that's US$2,170)

http://www.canon.ie/For_Home/Product_Finder/Cameras/EF_Lenses/Standard_Zoom/EF_24-70mm_f2.8L_USM/

Plus two weeks ago I balked at the Harvey Norman price for this lens @ €1,569 when I looked at in in one of their stores and now it is €1,699 (I verified the price too with one of the sales staff)

http://www.harveynorman.ie/canon-24-70mm.html

Seems like Canon are raising guide retail prices,whilst retailers are following suit. You guys in the States are so lucky to be able to buy @ one-third off European prices.


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## h4ldol (May 18, 2012)

DB said:


> You guys in the States are so lucky to be able to buy @ one-third off European prices.



Oh please, enough of the European whining about how the U.S. prices are so 'cheap'. While they may seem cheap to you given the current _dollar/euro exchange rate_, they are not 'cheap' to us over here. 

In any case, J&R cancelled my 24-70mm mark I order, saying that it was 'discontinued'. So it looks like the only option for now is $1600 at B&H or Adorama.


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## bdunbar79 (May 22, 2012)

The question remains as to whether the mark II lens could _possibly be updated ENOUGH to warrant that much of a price increase. I mean, how can you improve IQ that much over a lens that already performs very well? This must be some sort of "super lens."_


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## neuroanatomist (May 22, 2012)

bdunbar79 said:


> The question remains as to whether the mark II lens could _possibly be updated ENOUGH to warrant that much of a price increase. I mean, how can you improve IQ that much over a lens that already performs very well? This must be some sort of "super lens."
> _


_

No doubt about it. The current (now discontinued) 24-70mm is a good lens, but it has focus shift, and while the color and contrast are excellent, the sharpness is just good. If you compare the 24-70mm to several primes in the same range, the primes have better IQ. If you do the same comparison with the new 70-200mm II, you find that it equals most primes in that range - if the new 24-70mm II is the same, it's more than worth the price increase (to me, at least)._


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## bdunbar79 (May 22, 2012)

neuroanatomist said:


> bdunbar79 said:
> 
> 
> > The question remains as to whether the mark II lens could _possibly be updated ENOUGH to warrant that much of a price increase. I mean, how can you improve IQ that much over a lens that already performs very well? This must be some sort of "super lens."
> ...


_

Excellent point. What if the II version has the IQ (or close to) of say, the 24, 35 and 50 primes, then heck yeah, it'd be worth it. I think I am going to wait awhile to consider purchasing it though. If it matches IQ, I'll sell my 50's and just use the 24-70L II at 50mm since I never shoot at super low light at 50. Great point._


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## mbworldz (May 23, 2012)

I bought the Tamron 24-70mm f/2.8 Di VC USD, great lens! It works quite well with the 5D Mark III.
The new one from Canon is little pricy IMO and it has no IS.


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## DB (May 24, 2012)

h4ldol said:


> DB said:
> 
> 
> > You guys in the States are so lucky to be able to buy @ one-third off European prices.
> ...



Stop moaning about not being able to buy a discontinued model and pre-order the 24-70mm MkII to go with your pre-ordered 5D3. If you can afford three-and-a-half grand on a camera body, you can surely splurge two-thirds again on some decent glass?? Everyone in this forum has spent more on glass than their current camera body. And hey...if it's too expensive over there right now...well uh just 'charge it'... it would be positively un-American of you not to. ???


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## rambarra (May 24, 2012)

also the 5d2 in kit w/the old 24-70 are nowhere to be found bcs all vendors jumped on those in order to unbundle the lens. It is very odd how ppl never realize that items which are being discountinued usually raise in price, especially if it is the case of a very popular lens/camera. In the meanwhile also prices of the used items are driven up accordigly (as a general trend).

There is nearly always a very low price point which usually occurs months BEFORE of the actual EOL announcement and is due to manufacturer's dumping excess stocks to the market. When you see a good low price it is time to buy in volumes and then wait.


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## DB (May 25, 2012)

rambarra said:


> also the 5d2 in kit w/the old 24-70 are nowhere to be found bcs all vendors jumped on those in order to unbundle the lens. It is very odd how ppl never realize that items which are being discountinued usually raise in price, especially if it is the case of a very popular lens/camera. In the meanwhile also prices of the used items are driven up accordigly (as a general trend).
> 
> There is nearly always a very low price point which usually occurs months BEFORE of the actual EOL announcement and is due to manufacturer's dumping excess stocks to the market. When you see a good low price it is time to buy in volumes and then wait.



Your last paragraph made me think about the current EF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM lens (the first 'L' lens with 4-stop image stabilization) because the price of this lens both new and used appear to become a lot cheaper this month. I've noticed because I was considering selling mine and getting the f/2.8, but a lot have appeared on online adverts during May, plus camera stores are also discounting them by 50-100 bucks. Perhaps an EOL announcement is in the offing later this summer? Or maybe a Mark II?


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