The other day I ordered the new Canon EF 24-70mm f2.8L II USM lens. After shooting with it for only 3 days, I can honestly say that this is now my preferred canon photographic lens. I had done my examination and knew what I was buying, but nevertheless, it really didn't stop me from experiencing a few awkward doubts in my mind. Doubts about the $2,300 price was my major fear. I knew it would be a terrific lens, but was it really worth that much money? I've been a photographer for a few years now but that will not prevent me from thinking and questioning the price of camera equipment.
When I got the lens home I placed it gently on my writing desk. I looked at it for a second almost as if I was letting the acquisition sink in. I opened the box and cautiously took out the lens. It's not anything marvelous to look at. It's just a lens. Okay, I will admit, I have the familiar "Red-Ring" fever. This is an affectionate way of describing a Canon shooters devotion to using nothing else but L series lenses. It describes me completely. Well, you can't blame me really, they are incredibly beautiful and sharp quality.
So what's so special about this lens that I plainly must put in writing an appraisal about it? Firstly, the glass quality is nothing like Canon have ever made in the past. If you hanker after clarity then this is your lens. I discovered that apertures at around F11 give more clarity and sharpness than other lenses at do at F11.
It will be able to detect the less obvious information of a subject in very filtered light. This is one of the advantages of using a quick lens. Fast lenses work skillfully in low lighting conditions. They do so because of the wide aperture. But wide apertures are not as clear as smaller fstops, right? Right. So what do we do about focusing in soft light? Will this lens still maintain the clarity of the image? Yes it does. There is clear detail at F2.8 even if you underexpose a photo.
I took a handful of shots around the office. I chose F2.8, no flash fill or overhead lighting was used. I selected 6400 ISO to assist get as much lighting as I could. My shutter speed was around a 50th of a second. To my astonishment I discovered my test images to be clearer and sharp. Clear and sharp in very low light? You bet they were!
Not only does the low light sharpness working impress me, so does the reaction of the lens. I discovered that when I worked on getting good focus on an region of a scene it grabbed it and held sharp. I didn't have to keep focusing all the time. Some lenses I have employed in the past have had trouble focusing, in particular when the subject was deep black or very dark grey. The lens held the focus quite nicely all the way to the edges. Admittedly I used a smaller aperture to keep focus the entire scene, but it's the swiftness and accurateness of how the lens mastered this dark subject that impressed me the most.
When I was doing my test shots, I did not use a tripod. It was pretty much hand holding the camera in really low light to see what would happen. I wanted to see how the lens kept focus and resolution. In a shady image you would have absolutely seen camera movement.
I have been talking about focusing in dim light. What about reaction and other performance issues? Well, apart from being quick to hold sharp focus, I am impressed by the absence of lens flare and no distortion at the edges. In a number of lenses you find some exasperating warping at the starting point or end of the focal length scale. For example some 24mm lenses can make the very edges of the frame of the image look like they were photographed through a portion of glass. That's because when the daylight hits the lens, it bends and creates a warping outcome. Not with this lens. I have not observed any warping at all. This applies to the 70mm end of the scale as well.
It seems to pick up colours a lot better than any other lens I have employed. So far all my colour modifications have been very minor. This is terrific for the reason that it means you do not have to invest ages retouching your pictures. It just seems to pick up more accurate colour than my other lenses.
Responsiveness, sharpness, enhanced colour capture and optimum low light performance is what I love about this lens. It's a little heavy in weight, but all the L series lenses are. I am used to heavy equipment now so it does not worry me in the slightest. I have yet to come across why this lens is so first-class. Canon have really set precedent for the whole industry. I highly recommend this lens.
When I got the lens home I placed it gently on my writing desk. I looked at it for a second almost as if I was letting the acquisition sink in. I opened the box and cautiously took out the lens. It's not anything marvelous to look at. It's just a lens. Okay, I will admit, I have the familiar "Red-Ring" fever. This is an affectionate way of describing a Canon shooters devotion to using nothing else but L series lenses. It describes me completely. Well, you can't blame me really, they are incredibly beautiful and sharp quality.
So what's so special about this lens that I plainly must put in writing an appraisal about it? Firstly, the glass quality is nothing like Canon have ever made in the past. If you hanker after clarity then this is your lens. I discovered that apertures at around F11 give more clarity and sharpness than other lenses at do at F11.
It will be able to detect the less obvious information of a subject in very filtered light. This is one of the advantages of using a quick lens. Fast lenses work skillfully in low lighting conditions. They do so because of the wide aperture. But wide apertures are not as clear as smaller fstops, right? Right. So what do we do about focusing in soft light? Will this lens still maintain the clarity of the image? Yes it does. There is clear detail at F2.8 even if you underexpose a photo.
I took a handful of shots around the office. I chose F2.8, no flash fill or overhead lighting was used. I selected 6400 ISO to assist get as much lighting as I could. My shutter speed was around a 50th of a second. To my astonishment I discovered my test images to be clearer and sharp. Clear and sharp in very low light? You bet they were!
Not only does the low light sharpness working impress me, so does the reaction of the lens. I discovered that when I worked on getting good focus on an region of a scene it grabbed it and held sharp. I didn't have to keep focusing all the time. Some lenses I have employed in the past have had trouble focusing, in particular when the subject was deep black or very dark grey. The lens held the focus quite nicely all the way to the edges. Admittedly I used a smaller aperture to keep focus the entire scene, but it's the swiftness and accurateness of how the lens mastered this dark subject that impressed me the most.
When I was doing my test shots, I did not use a tripod. It was pretty much hand holding the camera in really low light to see what would happen. I wanted to see how the lens kept focus and resolution. In a shady image you would have absolutely seen camera movement.
I have been talking about focusing in dim light. What about reaction and other performance issues? Well, apart from being quick to hold sharp focus, I am impressed by the absence of lens flare and no distortion at the edges. In a number of lenses you find some exasperating warping at the starting point or end of the focal length scale. For example some 24mm lenses can make the very edges of the frame of the image look like they were photographed through a portion of glass. That's because when the daylight hits the lens, it bends and creates a warping outcome. Not with this lens. I have not observed any warping at all. This applies to the 70mm end of the scale as well.
It seems to pick up colours a lot better than any other lens I have employed. So far all my colour modifications have been very minor. This is terrific for the reason that it means you do not have to invest ages retouching your pictures. It just seems to pick up more accurate colour than my other lenses.
Responsiveness, sharpness, enhanced colour capture and optimum low light performance is what I love about this lens. It's a little heavy in weight, but all the L series lenses are. I am used to heavy equipment now so it does not worry me in the slightest. I have yet to come across why this lens is so first-class. Canon have really set precedent for the whole industry. I highly recommend this lens.
About the Author:
Amy Renfrey is a professional photography teacher. She shows you how to take stunning photos every single time, even if you have never used a digital camera before. To discover how to take beautiful photographs/ visit her website today.
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