The other day I bought 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 currently my favorite canon photographic lens. I had complete my research and understood what I was getting, but nevertheless, it didn't stop me from having a few troublesome doubts in my mind. Doubts about the $2,300 price was my primary concern. I understood it would be a fantastic lens, but was it really worth that much money? I've been a pro photographer for a few years now but that does not prevent me from thinking and questioning the worth of digital 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 understand the finer fine points of a subject in quite dull lighting. This is one of the benefits of using a fast lens. Fast lenses work perfectly in low lighting conditions. They do this because of the open aperture. But large fstops are not as clear as smaller fstops, right? Exactly. So what do we do about getting the right focus and sharpness in low light? Does this lens still maintain the clarity of the scene? Yes it does. There is sharp detail at F2.8 even if you underexpose a photo.
I took a handful of images about the office. I chose F2.8, no flash fill or normal room lighting was employed. I used 6400 ISO to assist get as much lighting as I could. My shutter speed was about a 50th of a second. To my delight I discovered my test photos to be clear and more sharp than expected. Clear and sharp in very low light? You bet they were!
Not only does the filtered light sharpness functioning delight me, so does the sensitivity of the lens. I found that whilst I worked on getting good focus on an region of a subject it locked on and held firm. I didn't have to keep getting the right focus and sharpness all the time. Some lenses I have employed in the past have had difficulty focusing, in particular when the scene was black or very dark gray. The lens held the focus quite sharply all the way to the edges. Admittedly I used a medium to small aperture to keep focus the entire picture, but it's the haste and accurateness of how the lens mastered this dim 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 sharpness. In a shady scene you would have absolutely observed camera motion.
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, clarity, enhanced colour capture and optimum low light performance is what I love about this lens. It's a bit heavy in weight, but all the L series lenses are. I am used to bulky 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 truly 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 understand the finer fine points of a subject in quite dull lighting. This is one of the benefits of using a fast lens. Fast lenses work perfectly in low lighting conditions. They do this because of the open aperture. But large fstops are not as clear as smaller fstops, right? Exactly. So what do we do about getting the right focus and sharpness in low light? Does this lens still maintain the clarity of the scene? Yes it does. There is sharp detail at F2.8 even if you underexpose a photo.
I took a handful of images about the office. I chose F2.8, no flash fill or normal room lighting was employed. I used 6400 ISO to assist get as much lighting as I could. My shutter speed was about a 50th of a second. To my delight I discovered my test photos to be clear and more sharp than expected. Clear and sharp in very low light? You bet they were!
Not only does the filtered light sharpness functioning delight me, so does the sensitivity of the lens. I found that whilst I worked on getting good focus on an region of a subject it locked on and held firm. I didn't have to keep getting the right focus and sharpness all the time. Some lenses I have employed in the past have had difficulty focusing, in particular when the scene was black or very dark gray. The lens held the focus quite sharply all the way to the edges. Admittedly I used a medium to small aperture to keep focus the entire picture, but it's the haste and accurateness of how the lens mastered this dim 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 sharpness. In a shady scene you would have absolutely observed camera motion.
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, clarity, enhanced colour capture and optimum low light performance is what I love about this lens. It's a bit heavy in weight, but all the L series lenses are. I am used to bulky 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 truly 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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