Customers Review Amazon Product

Budding Enthusiast's POV
I just received this lens. I am moving up from a Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM lens, which is the lens I bought with the body of my Xsi. This is my first DSLR, and got into it about 6 months ago with the birth of my first child. Since then I have been steadily getting better, fumbling my way into taking better pictures. After six months of taking about 5,000 pictures, I am now confident I can take technically correct pictures ( I learn the hard way). I decided I wanted to see what all the fuss was about with L lenses, also I wanted something with a constant aperture so I didn't have to mess with my settings every time I zoomed in or out.

After looking over several options I chose the Canon EF 24-70mm. Right out of the box, I knew I wasn't fooling around any more, the 24-70mm L Lens looks like it ate my EF-S 17-85mm. Heavy. But I am a big strong lad and don't mind......it is much harder to zoom back in by turning this lens, I assume because I am moving a lot more glass when I twist the ring. Looks to be durable. Happy that it came with the lens hood, I didn't really want to buy another piece of plastic like I did for the 17-85mm. The lens bag it comes with is also appreciated but doesn't protect the lens much so I assume it just to keep your lens from getting dusty.

As previously stated by more qualified people then myself, this lens produces some crisp images. After taking the time to set the correct exposure and white balance, I took a few shots and was very pleased with the output. I took the pictures indoors with no flash and at a high ISO, and the pictures were still, to my eye, great. I also have a little anxiety after plunking down a chunk of my hard earned money, I want to feel like I got my money's worth. I am happy to say this is not a purchase I regret, thus far.

Only downside to this lens is you can't hide with this thing,for a normal zoom lens its BIG. it draws attention along with bad jokes about your need to compensate for other short comings.

It's not cheap and it won't make you a better photographer, but it might let you do more in less then favorable light.

Quality lens, quality results
I ordered the new Canon 5D Mark II and the 24-70mm f:2.8L to arrive the day before Christmas (2008) and I was not disappointed as they arrived within about 30 minutes of each other. I was excited as I unpacked both and couldn't wait for the battery to charge. My other camera gear wasn't around so I didn't have a flash so my first pictures were an experiment in using the high iso settings on the 5DMKII. This is my first L glass, so I wasn't sure what to expect but I was amazed at the lens fast focusing indoors in a low light setting and the ability to take photos in very low light. On the first day, the few photos taken inside without a flash were just experiments with varying results depending on the settings. Taking photos inside with at 6400 iso were ok but I wasn't pleased with the color hues nor the sharpness, but I guess you could expect something less sharp at iso 6400. The very few photos taken outside with lower isos on a very cloudy/rainy day in East Texas were very good with great color and sharp as a tack.

I next used this lens on Christmas Day and used it without a flash indoors for a few family photos with similar results as the previous day and initial photos. The photos were ok and editing in Aperture made them usable as family prints to give others, but they were less than stellar. At this point, I didn't know if the color hue problems were due to the lack proper lighting, camera white balance, faulty lens, or other problems.

On Saturday 12-27-2008 we had our family Christmas and I took some 200+ photos with and without the flash. Funny, the first thing I noticed (other than the focusing speed) is that this glass is heavy. The heavy glass plus the additional weight of the 5DMKII over the 40D made me wish I had brought my mono pod I use for youth sports. I'm not sure why I didn't notice the weight on Christmas Day. Today the lighting was completely different from the previous two day's use and the color hue problem went away. I took photos at high isos without the flash and achieved good results...note: the walls in the home here were very neutral in color very much unlike the wall colors in our home for the previous photos. Yeah, I know the wall color in ambient lighting really affect the color hues of the photos...duh. Again, we experiment with manual settings, aperture priority, etc., and fully automatic. The fully auto setting for family gathering photos proved the camera was smarter than we were producing great results. The Canon 580MKII flash is awesome and provided the results that were were expecting from a 00 camera and 00 lens. Whew...

After reviewing the photos (589) from the three days, most were very good family photos and it appears that I'm going to be very pleased with the 5DMKII and the 24-70mm L glass. Shoot there is even one photo that I would gladly publish anywhere. I admit that I have a lot to learn moving from a 40D with a crop sensor to the 5DMK II full sensor.

The lens is heavy but then it's mounted on a Canon 5D. The point is to be prepared for the weight when you are going to shoot more than just a few photos. L glass of this quality is expensive. I'm very pleased with the results achieved, although, I'm not sure the results are worth the additional cost. There is always a cost to improved quality and there's always a decision to be made about spending the extra dollars for what I would call an incremental quality increase. I achieve very good results with a Tamron with VC (Vibration Compensation), but that's on a crop sensor and also after I learned how to deal with the very much slower focusing of the Tamron. I've also achieved very good results with a Canon 28-135mm non IS. I made a decision to spend the extra money for better photos, so now I just have to learn enough to make the investment pay off.

Pros:

Great build quality
Fast focus
Very smooth zoom
Short DOF at wide apertures
Nice brokeh
Color saturation
Very sharp
Nice macro capabilities

Cons:

No IS, but I knew that when I bought it
Expense of L glass

I was going to rate this lens a 4 because it didn't have IS and the weight, but then I felt as if my rating should be based on the quality of the results and the quality of the lens after my very short time with the lens. With the correct settings the lens is tack sharp, very fast focusing, provides great color saturation, etc. I purchased the lens without IS and read about the weight of the lens and coupled with the 5DMII then I shouldn't have been surprised. The performance of this lens deserves higher than a 4 rating.

Awesome lens
I was increasing disappointed with the quality of my pictures from my 30D and the 18-55 non-IS kit lens. I shot RAW only and had to adjust every picture to get close to what I wanted but could never seem to get what I expected.
I have now had the 24-70/2.8L for several months and I'm loving it. Contrasts are so well handled. I don't have to fight my pics on the computer; now I can only minor touch up some levels and my pics come out awesome.
It is a bit heavy (making the whole thing especially heavy with the extra grip) for which my wife complains about (at least I don't have to worry about her taking over my camera). I don't mind the heaviness at all. It isn't any more difficult to lug around than it was before with the kit lens.
I do miss the 18mm-24mm side but not very often. I think the extra on the long end and the f2.8 more than make up for it. I'm hoping to go for a 5Dmark? someday down the road so that tipped me over on my decision of what lens to buy and I'm very glad I went with the 24-70.

Only problem I had with buying this lens, I paid for overnight delivery but my credit card blocked the purchase since it was online and so expensive. Had to call them (Amazon Chase Visa) and allow purchase so I had to wait another day to get it (it about missed a vacation trip).

most used lens in my bag!
The lens can be found on my camera 80% of the time. As a wedding photographer the range is great for tight spaces where brides get ready and reception shots. The 2.8 aperture is great and where I keep it most of the time.

Why a 4 instead of 5? Does need to be serviced at least once a year to keep focusing sharp. Canon factory repair can service it no problem and then it focus' beautifully. Before I send it in I notice it back focusing.

Very nice images, but heavy
I picked up this lens along with a 40D for my wife. I did research for months and talked to every one I knew about what lens to buy. I finally settled on the 24-70 2.8L mainly because of the volumes glowing praise for the quality of images it would take.

the good:
The reviews are right, the pics are breath-taking. After just a few weeks of dinking around with the camera my wife is taking shots of our kids on par with what we get at the local semi-pro photographer studio. We also have some nice shots of bugs/flowers, this isnt a macro lens but it does a damn fine job at it if you ask me.
The long and short of it was I wanted 1 lens to use for pretty much all occasions and this delivered just that.

The Bad:
Its freaking huge! I was ready for heavy, and it is a little heavy, but the lens is so big my wife dosent like to take it with her. She complains it makes her stand out in a crowd. With the lens hood attached folks tend to stair making it hard to get candid shots. There is no-chance of blending into the background with this beast stuck to the front of your face.

The conclusion:
Was it worth the 1300 spent? Heavens YES! This is a fantastic chunk of glass. Ive had the chance to shoot some other glass in the last few weeks and I keep going back to it. The only reason for 4/5 stars is the size.