# EF 24-70mm



## ray5 (Sep 24, 2014)

Hi,
I have the F2.8L version 1 for the last several years and it has served well. I think it's time to move on. Wanted to see opinions about going for the Version 2, F4 version and why? I want to stick to Canon. The F2.8 II is quite pricey at $2099 currently. I am not sure I can get more than $800-900 for my current one. Also, there was an issue with some noise coming from the newer version( I remember that there were specific serial numbers that were affected), is that issue resolved? I like to do low light photography and landscape. Please suggest. Thanks,
Ray


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## alexturton (Sep 24, 2014)

I have a mk ii which makes a clicking spring sound when I Zoom in and out. I only notice it indoors, when it's quiet and I'm listening for it. I wouldn't worry about it. 

Other than that, a flawless performer. I've always found the colour rendition to be excellent


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## dbm (Sep 24, 2014)

am not a pro but went from version 1 to 2 when i went full frame with the 5d3
i am amazed by how sharp the lens is, and the color is great as well
i can count the eyelashes
no noise that i have detected
i got mine early, when it was ridiculously expensive, because of an upcoming vacation, but still haven't ever felt it was a bad investment
enjoy


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## ezorb (Sep 24, 2014)

Dirty rumor has it that Sigma is working on a 24-70 2.0 A, this would be worth finding out about. your already covered on the range and your looking at a pretty minor upgrade so a bit of a wait is not that big of a deal. If the current crop of Sigma A lenses is any indication, the sigma will crush the canon on IQ and the extra stop will be nothing but gravy. expect the price to be about the same. Weather resistance is the only reason I can think of not to buy a Sigma A. the New Sigma focus motors are every bit as fast and good as canons.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Sep 24, 2014)

The Mark 1 has a lot of issues, particularly curvature of field, the Mark II is head and shoulder better. Sigma has said that they are working on a 24-70 F/2, but it might not be possible. Don't expect it in the next year, or maybe longer. 

Right now, the Canon 24-70 is superb, so don't wait for vaporware.


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## ray5 (Sep 24, 2014)

I looked around and the price is currently $2099. Any upcoming or anticipated deals? Thanks


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## brad-man (Sep 24, 2014)

ray5 said:


> I looked around and the price is currently $2099. Any upcoming or anticipated deals? Thanks



There will be good sales at the end of the year, but I would wait for a refurb sale from Canon. They can be had for around $1550. You have to be fast though. They don't go on sale often and they don't last long when they do. A useful site: http://www.canonpricewatch.com/

Edit: Canon has refurbs right now for $1680. They come with a one year warranty. The bad news is that they charge sales tax and sometimes shipping.


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## pwp (Sep 25, 2014)

Just like a few other CR regulars, I had a shocker of a time with the 24-70 f/2.8 MkI. Over time, I had five copies and none of them were any good. Bluntly, they were all dogs. I personally know a number of pro shooters who would name the 24-70 f/2.8 MkI as their most disappointing lens. There are good copies out there, but you've got to be lucky.

In complete contrast, the 24-70 f/2.8 MkII has immediately established itself as a stunning lens, out-performing primes in the 24-70 range. My 24 f/1.4II, 35 f/1.4 and Sigma 50 f/1.4 overnight became an unused waste of space and have been sold. The new 24-70 f/2.8 MkII is nothing short of sensational. This is not just my personal viewpoint, read up on reviews and user reviews. This is a lens that _won't_ disappoint.

-pw


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## tomscott (Sep 25, 2014)

I must have a good one mine is a fantastic performer. Better than the 24-70mm F4 and the 24-70mm MKII at nearly 3 times the price doesn't deliver 3x the IQ. Its a cracking lens IQ wise but doesn't seem its build is quite up to the MKI.

The 24-70mm MKI is also a good design with its reverse zoom, more protection better hood. etc etc 

Unless you 100% need it I would keep the 24-70mm until the new version comes down enough to make it better acquisition.


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## pwp (Sep 25, 2014)

tomscott said:


> The 24-70mm MKI is also a good design with its reverse zoom, more protection better hood...



+1 Lucky you having one of the good copies. Hang onto that one!
I also preferred the basic design of the MkI. That great big hood was fantastic. 
The high price of the MkII was worth every penny to me, not just because it was able to displace my 
three primes; I can trust it on important projects where delivering optimum results to the client is essential.
-pw


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## sagittariansrock (Sep 25, 2014)

Canon price watch offers a street price of about $ 1900, no tax and full US warranty from an authorized dealer.
The lens is simply superb. Tough as nails, and exceptional even wide open (I hardly stop it down unless I am looking for higher DoF).


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## ray5 (Sep 25, 2014)

just checked out their website. Sounds pretty straightforward and legit. Anyone who has direct experience with them?


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## candc (Sep 25, 2014)

ray5 said:


> just checked out their website. Sounds pretty straightforward and legit. Anyone who has direct experience with them?



i bought a 50l a couple months ago. all good no problems.


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## ray5 (Sep 25, 2014)

From a legitimate and reputable dealer? And if any issues crop up do you deal with CPW or the dealer?
Have there been times that the deal is better than advertised ? Thanks


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## sagittariansrock (Sep 25, 2014)

ray5 said:


> just checked out their website. Sounds pretty straightforward and legit. Anyone who has direct experience with them?



I have not bought through street prices, but here are some things that they advertise and these are easily verified (and should be verified, IMO):
1. You will be dealing directly with the dealer.
2. It will be the same as buying from the dealer with warranty, returns, etc. as applicable.
3. Only authorized Canon dealers participate.
The reason for street prices to exist is the dealers cannot advertise the discounted prices openly, so CPW acts as a middleman bringing in potential buyers at the actual discounted price (or maybe a bit higher, taking commissions into consideration). So you are not buying from CPW.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Sep 25, 2014)

ray5 said:


> From a legitimate and reputable dealer? And if any issues crop up do you deal with CPW or the dealer?
> Have there been times that the deal is better than advertised ? Thanks



Its from a legitimate Authorized dealer for a US version, not gray market. Some have said that it was the same dealer they would have used otherwise. You deal with the Dealer, CPW merely points to one who has agreed to sell it for that price.


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## TeT (Sep 25, 2014)

alexturton said:


> I have a mk ii which makes a clicking spring sound when I Zoom in and out. I only notice it indoors, when it's quiet and I'm listening for it. I wouldn't worry about it.
> 
> Other than that, a flawless performer. I've always found the colour rendition to be excellent



It is one of you cables getting clipped by the zoom arm as it passes. Possibly will eventually degrade the cable.

Easy fix if you know someone who can disasemble a lens for you. Little adhesive and put it back where it goes...


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Sep 25, 2014)

sagittariansrock said:


> ray5 said:
> 
> 
> > just checked out their website. Sounds pretty straightforward and legit. Anyone who has direct experience with them?
> ...



There have been two recent threads discussing the street price with actual buyers reporting that they were happy with the deal.


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## unadog (Sep 25, 2014)

You can also look at used lenses at Fred Miranda .com or similar. Look to buy from someone with 15-20 "Great" feedback or more, and recent history (so taht you know it wasn't a dormant account that got hacked.) 

If you buy used at a good price it may cost you nothing to own the Version II lens, depending on where prices go with inflation (and also the value of the Yen.)

I own the 24-70 2.8 II and the 70-200 2.8 II. They are both absolutely fantastic lenses. Definitely the best lenses that I have ever owned.

I am shooting both Nikon and Canon. I could never switch completely to Nikon because I didn't want to sell my 2.8 zooms. I also had the Version 1 of the 24-70 2.8, also a wonderful lens.

While I love my Sigma 35 1.4 Art, Sigma has said that they won't be announcing any more lenses this year. So it could be March next year before they even announce something. Some early adopters also had trouble with auto focus on the 35 Art and 50 Art., Sigma fixed that with firmware upgrades, but it may not be best to be the first to get a new Sigma lens.

Good luck!
M.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Sep 25, 2014)

pwp said:


> Just like a few other CR regulars, I had a shocker of a time with the 24-70 f/2.8 MkI. Over time, I had five copies and none of them were any good. Bluntly, they were all dogs. I personally know a number of pro shooters who would name the 24-70 f/2.8 MkI as their most disappointing lens. There are good copies out there, but you've got to be lucky.
> 
> In complete contrast, the 24-70 f/2.8 MkII has immediately established itself as a stunning lens, out-performing primes in the 24-70 range. My 24 f/1.4II, 35 f/1.4 and Sigma 50 f/1.4 overnight became an unused waste of space and have been sold. The new 24-70 f/2.8 MkII is nothing short of sensational. This is not just my personal viewpoint, read up on reviews and user reviews. This is a lens that _won't_ disappoint.
> 
> -pw



This sounds like a repeat of my experience, five copies and none worth the price. The worst of the MK II's is better than the best of the MK i's, and that ignores the curvature of field issue that puts the edges of a image out of focus.

This is a chart detailing tests of many of the lenses with obviously bad lenses omitted. The red ones are the MK I. 

This does not mean that the MK I's are bad, but it puts claims about how great some MK I's are in perspective.


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## LetTheRightLensIn (Sep 25, 2014)

The 24-70 II is flat out awesome. Very sharp wide open center frame (some copies peak center frame sharpness by only f/3.2!). Nice edges for landscapes at the wide end. Very resistant to longitudinal CA so barely any purple fringing garbage even in the worst circumstances. Ultra high precision AF engine when paired with 5D3/1DX center point. Reasonable distortion.

The 24-70 f/4 IS is pretty good too. Stopped down the edges are very good at the wide end. Micro-contrast doesn't have quite the same crazy bite as the 24-70 II does, but it's solid enough and the edges are much better on the wide side than with the 24-105L and such. The IS is helpful. The macro mode can be useful in a pinch. The 24mm distortion is the lowest for any 24-70/105 zoom. (the 16-35 f/4 IS has much less 24mm distortion though, about zero just about) It's pretty compact and light as well. It's relatively resistant to purple fringing, not quite as much as the 24-70 II but a lot better than the 24-105L and such.

They are two of the best standard FF zooms made.


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## sagittariansrock (Sep 25, 2014)

Mt Spokane Photography said:


> sagittariansrock said:
> 
> 
> > ray5 said:
> ...



Doesn't surprise me. As I said CPW is very transparent about their business and all the factors are easily verifiable, and you deal directly with the seller.
I haven't had the need to use their street prices, but I wouldn't hesitate to do so if needed.
I have benefited several times from their alerts (or lost money to G.A.S., depending on how you look at it, ;D)


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## Efka76 (Sep 25, 2014)

I would suggest to think "out of the box" and consider Tamron 24-70 2.8 VC. This lens is much better in all aspects than Canon EF 24-70 MkI, much cheaper than Canon's 24-70 MKII. Tamron is slightly less sharper than Canon, however it has built-in image stabilisation. Currently this lens is the most used lens from my bunch of lenses that I own. 

Canon produces marginally better lenses than competitors but for 2x price


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## ray5 (Sep 25, 2014)

Wow! I never thought the MK2 version is known to be that much better. That means getting new filters as well. Ouch!


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## mackguyver (Sep 25, 2014)

ray5 said:


> Wow! I never thought the MK2 version is known to be that much better. That means getting new filters as well. Ouch!


It really is that much better, but that doesn't mean the original is no good. What it does mean is that the upgrade is definitely noticeable. At 24mm & f/11, the main improvement is in the corners (see below), but distortion & vignetting are actually a bit worse. The color and contrast are significantly better, however, which is something not measured by DxO. Here's the 3 24-70s compared on their site, however:
http://www.dxomark.com/Lenses/Compare/Side-by-side/EF24-70mm-f-2.8L-USM-on-Canon-EOS-5D-Mark-III-versus-Canon-EF-24-70mm-F28L-II-USM-on-Canon-EOS-5D-Mark-III-versus-Canon-EF-24-70mm-F4L-IS-USM-on-Canon-EOS-5D-Mark-III___165_795_886_795_1074_795

Also, I can recommend CanonPriceWatch - I've had good luck with those guys, too.


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## mwh1964 (Sep 25, 2014)

Definitely the 24-70 f2.8 II. It is amazing and even lighter than the old version.


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## candc (Sep 27, 2014)

mackguyver said:


> ray5 said:
> 
> 
> > Wow! I never thought the MK2 version is known to be that much better. That means getting new filters as well. Ouch!
> ...



the 24-70ii gets all the love but according to that accutance map the f/4 looks to be the best at f/11?


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## Hjalmarg1 (Sep 28, 2014)

tomscott said:


> I must have a good one mine is a fantastic performer. Better than the 24-70mm F4 and the 24-70mm MKII at nearly 3 times the price doesn't deliver 3x the IQ. Its a cracking lens IQ wise but doesn't seem its build is quite up to the MKI.
> 
> The 24-70mm MKI is also a good design with its reverse zoom, more protection better hood. etc etc
> 
> Unless you 100% need it I would keep the 24-70mm until the new version comes down enough to make it better acquisition.


+1 I'm also very satisfied with my version 1 of the lens. It's sharp, opposite to most of the reviews and can't justify the extra money for me that I'm just a hobbyiest. However, if the price comes down significantly I will pull the trigger.


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## ray5 (Sep 28, 2014)

I think I am convinced to get the EF 24-70 F/2.8L Version II. I know there were some issues with a clicking noise with one of the rings. Focus/zoom, I don't remember which one. The Forum owner had posted some insider info about this informing about the serial numbers or dates of manufacture that were affected. Do you know where I can find that post? I tried searching but couldn't locate it. And do you know if that issue is now resolved or still ongoing? Thanks,
Ray


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