I've been thinking of getting the Canon 24-105 f/4L lately.
Anybody here own this lens? If you do, what do you or don't like about it?
I think I like it because I find myself constantly switching lenses.
With this lens, I think it will solve that problem.
By the way, someone is selling this for $900 (brand new).
Thank you for stopping by.

I am not a pro, but I would really recommend going with the 24-70 f2.8L. The wide aperture is very valuable in indoor photography. Of course this can depend on what lenses you already have. So on that note, what lenses do you already have?

I own this one. Not a big fan. I too recommend the 24-70 2.8L or waiting until canon makes this 24-105mm a 2.8, I would imagine this could be in the works.

My lenses are 16-35 f/2.8, 24-70 f/2.8 and 70-200 IS f/2.8.

Well, I'll throw some support behind it. I have the 24-70 and the 24-105 (I use one and the wife uses the other) and I actually prefer the 24-105 in most cases. With the IS, I can shoot at lower shutters than with my 2.8 in my experience. UNLESS, you are in a dark church or something where you just have to have that bigger aperture because your subjects will be moving, in that case, your F4 is not going to work. The focal range is so much more useful than the 24-70 on my 5D. For receptions, I love it since I shoot mostly at F4 anyway to try to get both faces captured and to handle movement better. Long story short, they both have their place, but I find myself grabbing the 24-105 more often than the 24-70. If I must have a little more bokeh, I bring out a 50 1.4.

Hope that helps. I would grab the 24-105 and a 50 1.4 over a 24-70 and 50 1.4. Just my opinion though.

Or if you shoot with a 40D, they have the 17-55 2.8IS. It sounds pretty sweet.

Thank you Chris.
As I mentioned earlier, I already own the f/2.8 L-lenses.
I just don't like switching from 24-70 to 70-200 lens a lot of times specially when I don't go lower than f/4.
Anybody else own this lens?
Is this lens sharp?

Hi Jose,

I own this lens and can say this lens is tack sharp even at F/4.

This lens will compliment your lenses rather than replacing the 24-70, it is just a good range for travel (on a 5D of course). So go for it !

That being said, I also want to have the 24-70

I own both too. I picked up the 24-105 when I dropped my 24-70 at one point and broke it. I planned on selling the 24-105 once the other was fixed, but I ended up keeping it because I liked the IS. I go back and forth on which one I like better. Lately I'm liking the 24-105 better on the 5d and the 24-70 on the 40D. I use the 24-105 mainly at the reception at night. I off camera light the whole reception anyway and f/4 is right for most of the night. That little bit of an extra range helps me out during the receptions. One other positive is it's a heck of a lot lighter than the 24-70. At the end of the night when I'm tired I appreciate the lightness of it. A bad thing about it is it vignettes like mad on the 5d - I know most folks around here end up adding vinyetting in lightroom anyway - but sometimes I just like clean borders. I don't use it at all for my stock photography work due to the vignette.

Be aware that the lens with an f/4 max aperture will not enable the high precision x-type AF sensors.

I use both and my impressions are:

24-70/2.8
- much better bokeh, smooth and creamy
- much more useful indoors
- faster to autofocus in low light
- sometimes unreliable autofocus for group portraits
- big and bulky

24-105/4 IS
- average bokeh, not good with bright out of focus highlights
- super sharp
- very useful outdoors
- very practical and reliable for group portraits
- IS is very helpful for lower shutter speeds, especially when zooming in
- more compact

Thank you so much for sharing.

I have this lens and I like it. I am mostly a prime shooter, but on certain times where I need flexibility, this lens gets the call. I used it exclusively with the canon 5D. One reason I like about this lens is you can zoom, and go wide pretty quickly. A few times, during a ceremony, you just can't move. I use it mostly on the wide end to capture the overall scene. Then I use my 70-200 2.8 for tight shots using my 40D. On the 5D though, it does produce a little bit of vignette on the 24mm mark, just to let you know. I use it mostly for outdoor wedding ceremonies, and during formals as well as my engagement shoots. It shares time with my Canon 35mm 1.4, which is a lens that I truly love. I generally dont use it for indoors however, unless I couple it with a flash, and in most cases, I prefer to use this lens only during the reception.

I hope this helps

A big fan here, but I will say that it's not a primary lens for us.

I use it mainly for formals and studio photography because it's extremely sharp wide open, has IS and it doesn't have the back focus issues that we experience with the 24-70. Someone else earlier mentioned receptions and off-camera lighting...great lens for that and I use it that way sometimes as well, particularly with large parties where going wide then tele very quickly can yield some great results.

I have it too and I use it as a "walk-around" lens when I want to only take the 5D and one lens to a ball game, on vacations, etc...it is perfect for that. If you are trying to shoot natural light indoors, you know already you have to use something else unless you break out the flash, but it is a good all purpose lens to have in the bag IMHO...i like that little extra zoom and the weight of it when I am wanting to pack light.

kate

Honestly, having gone prime recently, I would get another body and shoot with two rather than going to a lens which you can't use in low light without risking motion blur. Remember, IS can't compensate for your subject moving and they tend to move during weddings.

I personally think this would be a bad decision, regardless of your shooting style.