Thinking of buying a Canon EF 24-105mm f4 L IS USM, BUT?!

[CTrickle]

Hi All,

As the description says I'm thinking of buying a Canon EF 24-105mm f4 L IS USM as it seem like a good all round lens rather than swapping between my kit lens and telephoto.

Will this lens work ok with a Cannon EOS 550D? I read here - http://www.kenrockwell.com/canon/lenses/24-105mm.h... - that it might not be worth getting a lens as good as this with a camera that only has a 1.6x sensor.

Now I like photography but I don't really understand this.

Any help or advice would be great.

[nellyleelephant]

The only reason that it would put me off using it with a 1.6 crop is that it isn't really very wide at the 24mm end due to the crop factor. This may, or may not be an issue to you.

[Gemm]

It really depends on how you see things. It is a great lens which I've used on a full frame, 1.3x and 1.6x cameras. Yes, you can get a wider lens on a 1.6x camera BUT this is something you can deal with by being more creative. You just need to compose the shots in a way it suits this focal length. Personally I think people who immediately dismiss it are a bit spoilt. You just make the best of what you have. This is just my personal philosophy.

[toasty]

I've got one as my walkabout lens and used it on my old 40D and now the 7D. I've got no complaints.

At under £500 for a grey import, it seems like a bargain.

[CTrickle]

Thank you for the reply's, I don't really understand the stuff about it cropping the image. I assumed (I know - never assume!) that the camera just photographed what I saw in the view finder?!

Is there an easy way to explain it to me?

I will go for it either way, as you say it appears to be the perfect 'walkabout' lens!

[nellyleelephant]

CTrickle said:

Thank you for the reply's, I don't really understand the stuff about it cropping the image. I assumed (I know - never assume!) that the camera just photographed what I saw in the view finder?!

Is there an easy way to explain it to me?

That's correct, but on a full frame body the wide end of the lens will give a wider field of view. It's nothing to worry about, the lens just won't be as wide as it would be on a full frame body.

[CTrickle]

nellyleelephant said:

CTrickle said:

Thank you for the reply's, I don't really understand the stuff about it cropping the image. I assumed (I know - never assume!) that the camera just photographed what I saw in the view finder?!

Is there an easy way to explain it to me?

That's correct, but on a full frame body the wide end of the lens will give a wider field of view. It's nothing to worry about, the lens just won't be as wide as it would be on a full frame body.

Groovy, thank you! Now to spend the Christmas money!

[flat-planedCrank]

CTrickle said:

Groovy, thank you! Now to spend the Christmas money!

And you'll have a nice L lens for when you're back in here asking about buying a full-frame camera body

[flat-planedCrank]

CTrickle said:

nellyleelephant said:

CTrickle said:

Thank you for the reply's, I don't really understand the stuff about it cropping the image. I assumed (I know - never assume!) that the camera just photographed what I saw in the view finder?!

Is there an easy way to explain it to me?

That's correct, but on a full frame body the wide end of the lens will give a wider field of view. It's nothing to worry about, the lens just won't be as wide as it would be on a full frame body.

Groovy, thank you! Now to spend the Christmas money!

Basically, if you set your current kit lens to 24mm then that's exactly as wide as it'll look on your new 24-105

[wetny]

I have got this lens on a 7D. I think it's great but I wish it was a bit wider. Having said that it's a great general purpose lens with constant aperture at all focal lengths. Mine came from Digital Rev that I have used a few times and I have found them to be a good supplier.

[wetny]

I have got this lens on a 7D. I think it's great but I wish it was a bit wider. Having said that it's a great general purpose lens with constant aperture at all focal lengths. Mine came from Digital Rev that I have used a few times and I have found them to be a good supplier.

[ExPat2B]

I have this lens. The great thing about this lens is that it is sharp at f4.0 at all zoom levels.( with one small bump ) It's no good having a f2.8 that is not sharp wide open. Really benefits from canon basically deciding that it wasn't going to be a fast lens and putting all the cash into being great at what it does, very little pincushion or barrel distortion. Read the dxomark report - its one of the most consistent performers there is. It is a big old beast but its lovely and fast to auto focus and whisper quiet. Future proof for when you get an fx and sharp enough to perform on the next generation of sensors.

[cteagles]

It will work fine, in fact it will probably make a huge difference to a 550d kit lens. Glass has the biggest impact on image quality not the camera body. Its better to invest in good glass and then when you do upgrade the body you have good lenses already. As everyone else has said the 24mm end of lens will not be as wide as you are used to. However the zoom will magnified. Its personal choice on what you feel you use more of. Best way to work out what you want it is probably to try and borrow (or rent) one. This is probably the best way of understanding how it all works.

If you are worried about loosing the wide angle end of the lens I would suggest a Canon 17-40mm F4 L, this is perhaps more suited to a crop sensor camera. And you still end up with a nice bit of L glass!

[flat-planedCrank]

Can always have a look through your existing photos and check how often you take wide shots, could be that 24mm is wide enough for 90% of the time

[mikee boy]

Here's a shot with that lens and a 550D



I was really impressed with the build quality and the sharpness of the lens. If you want a full size pic I've got quite a few that would allow you to see the quality.

[LongQ]

I have one. It's a great lens and gives lovely results.

I don't have a full frame digital body, just the traditional 1.6 crop factor and a 1.3 crop factor effect with my 1D3 body.

So the lens would give the field of view of 24 to 105mm using a Full Frame (aka 35mm field of view as per the old film days).

On a 1.3 crop sensor body the equivalent field of view becomes like having a 32mm to 135mm lens (approx) if one was using a full frame body.

On a 1.6 crop sensor body (e.g. the 550D and most Canon non=professional oriented bodies in recent times) the equivalent field of view is about the same as a 38mm to 168mm lens if one was using a full frame body.

For more reading with some useful practical examples try here.

http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/digital...

The article is very understandable taken in conjunction with the practical illustrations. It gets deeper into the physics as you go through it. Possibly best taken in several chunks especially the bits after the example calculators provided.

[CTrickle]

mikee boy said:

Here's a shot with that lens and a 550D



I was really impressed with the build quality and the sharpness of the lens. If you want a full size pic I've got quite a few that would allow you to see the quality.

Thats excellent and a really nice picture thank you. Any other examples of the 550 with that lens would be good to see.

[CTrickle]

I don't think the crop side of things will be a problem, I have an EF-S 10-22 Cannon lens which is my favorite but is so limited regards zoom and so makes it limited as a 'walkabout' lens.

[Mr Will]

CTrickle said:

I don't think the crop side of things will be a problem, I have an EF-S 10-22 Cannon lens which is my favorite but is so limited regards zoom and so makes it limited as a 'walkabout' lens.

The problem with the 24-105mm on a crop is that it becomes limited the other direction. It doesn't really do 'wide' at all, to the extent that groups of people can become an issue.

I'd strongly suggest looking at the EF-S alternatives before making up your mind; the 15-85mm is high quality and will give you a much more useful range in a lot of circumstances (roughly a 24-135mm equivalent) but there is also an 18-135mm if you are really keen on the telephoto end (~ 28-215mm). Both are smaller, lighter and cheaper simply because a lens that only covers an APS-C sensor requires a lot less glass.

[CTrickle]

wetny said:

I have got this lens on a 7D. I think it's great but I wish it was a bit wider. Having said that it's a great general purpose lens with constant aperture at all focal lengths. Mine came from Digital Rev that I have used a few times and I have found them to be a good supplier.

Hi Wetny,

I had a look at Digital Rev and they were really competitively priced, so I bought one! Thank you!

I'm going on the basis that someone else mentioned which is to try the lens when I get it and see if I like it, they allow returns so if it is not suitable than I'll return it and try one of the other lenses suggested.

As someone else stated, this is a good investment for the future as no doubt I'll end up with a 'real' camera at some point!

Thanks again to everyone, what the hell did we do before forums?!