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Canon EF
24-105mm f/4 L IS USM Field Review
The 24-105 is a very popular
lens: this professional zoom is versatile thanks to the wide range of focal lengths and the image
stabilization; it has a good brightness, and high end built quality. It is the ideal lens for travel
and landscapes, in particular on Fullframe (35mm) cameras.
Lens
Specifications
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Focal length
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24-105 mm
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Lens construction
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18 elements in 13 groups
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Number of Diaphragm Blades
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8 blades
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Angle of view
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84.10º - 23.30º (on 35mm
camera); 64.18º - 16.31º (on APS-C camera),
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Max. Magnification
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0.23x (1:4.2)
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Maximum Aperture
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f/4
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Minimum Aperture
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f/22
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Image stabilization
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Yes
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Autofocus
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Inner ultrasonic motor
(ring-type USM)
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Full Time Manual Focus
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Yes
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Closest Focusing Distance
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0.45 meters
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Filter size
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77 mm
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Dimensions (Diameter x Length)
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83.5 x 107 mm
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Weight
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670 g
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Weather sealing
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Yes
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Price
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$ 1050
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Announced
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2005
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Accessories
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Canon Dust Cap E, front
cap, lens hood (EW-83H), soft case (LP1219)
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Description
The 24-105 has professionally
built quality - the lens barrel is made of metal and it feels rock
solid; moreover, it is weather sealed, and I wouldn't hesitate to
use it even in adverse ambient conditions. The body
is a little larger than the 17-40 L, but smaller than the
24-70 f/2.8 L, and it weights just 670g: overall, it is a
small and light lens, easy to carry everywhere.
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The ring
closer to the camera body is the zoom ring: it is tight enough
to ensure that you don't move it unintentionally, but is not
too stiff, and it allows precise and comfortable zooming between
24 and 105mm. The lens extends considerably at the longest
focal, but you don't have to worry: to sealed body protects
the lens elements from dust, sand, splashes and moisture.
Next to the ring, there are the
AF and IS switches. These switches are slightly recessed in
the lens body to avoid accidental changes: another nice touch,
that demonstrates how well this lens has been designed. The
autofocus is fast and silent,
thanks to the excellent Canon ultrasonic motor (USM), and it has
full time manual focus: you can focus manually
in every moment, even if the focus switch is set on AF. The
minimum focusing distance is just 45 centimeters: at 105mm, it
allows to get a macro ratio of 1:4.2, that is quite good for
flowers and details.
The image stabilization is one of
the advantages of this lens. The 24-105 has the third generation IS - it allows to handhold the lens at
shutter speeds three stops slower than what you could use
without IS. Even tough I take the majority of my landscape
photos with the camera mounted on a sturdy tripod, the
stabilization is a great help for travel photos, and other
occasions when there isn't the time or the possibility to
mount the tripod. The IS unit of the 24-105 is able to detect
the tripod, so in theory you could keep it always active, even with the
camera on tripod. In practice I suggest to keep it active when the
tripod is placed on an unstable surface, but when the support
is 100% still, it is better to turn off the
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| IS: it reduces a
little the battery
life, and it may reduce slightly the sharpness. |
The second ring is for manual
focus. As already mentioned, if is possible to use it in every
moment - even if the lens is set on "AF". The lens
doesn't extend during focusing, nor it rotates the front
element: all the focus operation are internal.
The Canon
24-105 is supplied with a bayonet mount lens hood EW-83H. I
use almost always the lens hood; other than reducing flare, it
protect the front element from the elements.
Similar
Lenses (for Canon EOS)
The mid-range zooms are the most
popular lenses - there are a lot of similar lenses, both from
Canon and other manufacturers. That said, there isn't any lens
that can really equal the 24-105 IS.
The Canon EF 28-135
f/3.5-5.6 IS USM was the only fullframe mid-range lens
with image stabilization, before the introduction he the
24-105. It is not a bad lens, but is slower, it doesn't have
the wide angle capabilities of the 24-105, it has first
generation IS (less effective and unusable on tripod), and it
has average image quality. Overall, a good lens for those who
have limited budget, but it can't compete with the 24-105 L
IS.
The Canon EF-S 17-55 f/2.8
IS USM equals to a 28-90mm lens on FF. It is not an L
lens, but is has excellent built and image quality, fast AF
and IS. That said, it is as expensive as the 24-105, and it is
EF-S: in other words, you can use it only on the amateur
bodies with 1.6x sensor. It is a good choice if you plan to
use just these cameras, but if you plan to upgrade to a
serious (professional) body as the 1 or 5 series, you have to
consider a fullframe alternative.
The Canon EF 24-70 f/2.8 L
USM is the only real alternative. It has the same
built quality of the 24-105; it has the same fast USM motor,
and the image quality is a little better - it has less
distortion and vignetting. You have to choose what is more important for
you:
the f/2.8 aperture of the 24-70 or the wider zoom range of the
24-105? For me, the zoom was more important, so I've chosen
the 24-105.
Image
Quality
Remember that you can easily
adjust color, distortion, chromatic aberration and vignetting
with Photoshop; even though I list every aspect of image
quality I don't consider these aspects very important as the
other three aspects that can not be corrected with Photoshop
(sharpness, contrast and flare). You can enhance a little
sharpness and contrast with PS, but the results are not as
good as a photo taken with a lens that is sharp and
contrasted.
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Sharpness
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the sharpness is pretty
good for a 4.3x zoom. From 24 to 70mm it is
very sharp even wide open in the center; the
corners are acceptable but you need to stop
down to f/8 or f/11 if you want a perfect
sharpness from corner to corner. At 105mm it
is a little softer, in particular if you
photograph very close subject, but still
good even at f/4. By stopping down a little
you get again perfect sharpness.
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Contrast
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the contrast is very
good.
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Color
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nothing to nit; the
colors are perfect, without any
lens-introduced color cast.
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Flare
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if you include a bright
light source in the composition it is quite
easy go get flare; sometimes there is so
much flare that the photos are unusable. It
may be a serious problem for sunrise and
sunset photos, and in my opinion it is the
main cons of this lens.
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Distortion
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there is some distortion
af 24mm, but you will notice it only if you
photograph straight horizons. From 35 to 105
there is no visible distortion.
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Chromatic aberration
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it has a little bit of
red/green CA at all focal lengths, but it is
more noticeable at 24mm and 35mm, even
though overall it is well controlled.
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Vignetting
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wide open, there is a
very strong vignetting at 24mm (the corners
are almost black!), but if you stop down by
1 stop the vignetting is acceptable even at
24mm. At all other focal lenghts the
vignetting is barely visibile and it is not
a problem at all even wide open.
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Overall, I am pretty happy by the
sharpness of this lens, but I'd really like some more flare
resistance - I have had to throw away many sunset/sunrise
photos due to the exaggerate flare that I got with the
24-105.
In-depth look: vignetting and distortion
Vignetting and distortion are the
Achilles' heel of the 24-105 at 24mm. Here, you can compare
the various focal lenghts - all photos had been taken wide
open at f/4. At 24mm the lens clearly exibits vignetting and
distortion, while at all other FL is it excellent even wide
open.
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 |
 |
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| 24
mm |
35
mm |
50
mm |
70
mm |
105
mm |
Image samples
The following sample show the
image quality of the Canon 24-105 L IS USM. The photo has been
taken in RAW format and converted with Photoshop CS3; I
processed it to optimize the image quality (contrast, color,
sharpness), and I saved it as high-quality JPEG for web
display. You can download both the processed JPEG and the
original, untouched RAW file.
Click on the image to download
the full size JPEG sample, or use the RAW link to
download the untouched RAW (large file!). Please respect the
copyright! This image can be printed only to evaluate the
quality of the camera, for personal purposes. All other usages
are prohibited.
 |
| Studio
Photo - 24-105 IS, ISO 50, 8" f/9 [ JPEG
/ RAW
] - the best image quality that you can get with
the 1Ds Mark III |
Other
Reviews
Conclusions
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Pros
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. Very good sharpness, even wide open
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. Superb built quality and excellent
design; weather sealed
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. Fast AF and very effective IS
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. Versatile zoom range
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Cons
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. In some situations is has strong
flare
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. Strong vignetting wide open at 24mm
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. Noticeable distortion at 24mm
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Conclusion
The 24-105 combines good image
quality with professional built quality and great versatility.
It is not perfect: in some situations it has an exaggerate
flare, and if you use it on fullframe cameras you will be
strong vignetting wide open at 24mm. In spite of these
shortcomings, overall I really like this lens on my 1Ds3,
where I can appreciate its native zoom range from true wide
angle to short tele, and I recommend
it to nature and travel photographers.
Do you have
comments or questions?
If you have comments or questions about this
article, feel free to ask in the Juza
Nature Photography Discussion Forum!
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