Canon 24-105mm f/4L IS USM EF Review Round-Up

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Get information and user reviews for this lens from Amazon: Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM Lens for Canon EOS SLR Cameras

Photo Review

A high-performing lens for general photography. A superb general-purpose lens, Canon’s EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM is equally at home on the EOS 400D and the ‘full frame’ EOS 5D cameras, giving a focal length range equivalent to 38.4 to 168mm on the former. Compact for its specifications, it is relatively light and comfortable to use as well as being very well built. The lens barrel carries switches for IS (on/off) and AF/MF (Autofocus/Manual Focus). They are recessed into the lens barrel itself, which means you’re less likely to re-set them inadvertently. READ FULL REVIEW

Other Canon 24-105mm f/4L IS USM EF Reviews

Photo Zone

Regarding its equivalent zoom range (39-168mm) on an APS-C DSLR the Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 USM L IS may not be the most sexy lens here but its performance figures are very impressive nonetheless. In fact the resolution results beat those from the EF 24-70mm f/2.8 USM L and match the EF 28-70mm f/2.8 USM L with its much more conservative zoom range (but higher speed). There’s a slight decrease in performance at 105mm but even here the quality remains on a very high level. … The lower price tag plus the extra IS should compensate the slightly more moderate max. aperture for most users. Is it a perfect lens then? Well, there’re also downsides like pronounced barrel distortions and higher than expected CAs at the wide-end of the zoom range. However, the package remains extremely attractive if you can live with the rather unattractive zoom range on an APS-C DSLR … READ FULL REVIEW

SLR Gear

In our testing on a sub-frame camera, the 24-105 ranged from astonishingly good at 24mm to merely excellent at 105mm. At wide angle, this lens is exceptionally sharp from corner to corner, even wide open. From f/4 to f/8, sharpness is superlative, diminishing only slightly at f/11 as diffraction limiting comes into play. As you move toward the telephoto end, the lens gets slightly softer up to about 70mm, and then maintains that level of sharpness more or less unchanged until 105mm. At 105mm, it’s slightly soft wide open, improving when you stop down to f/5.6, but then softens slightly again as you continue to f/8 and beyond. Still though, even in ranges wMORE it’s “soft,” it’s noticeably better than most zooms you’ll find. Paying a lot of money for a lens won’t always buy you great performance, but the Canon 24-105mm f/4 L is one lens that easily justifies its price. READ FULL REVIEW

Camera Labs

Offering decent wide-angle to short telephoto coverage, Canon’s EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM is an ideal general purpose lens for full-frame bodies. Indeed, many stores sell it as a bundle with the EOS-5D, making it one of the classiest ‘kit’ lenses around. The EF 24-105mm performed well across its range, particularly in terms of corner sharpness at wide angle, while essentially matching our EF 85mm f1.8 prime in terms of resolving power when both were mounted on an EOS 5D body. We were also impressed with the Image Stabilisation which allowed us to handhold at much slower shutter speeds than normal. Compared to lenses designed for bodies with smaller sensors though, it suffered from a worse degree of light fall-off, but this is par for the course for wide-angle lenses designed for full-frame bodies. READ FULL REVIEW

Camera Labs (review for small-sensor SLRs)

There’s no denying the Canon EF 24-105mm is a high quality lens. It has decent optics, the excellent mechanical and build quality you’d expect from Canon’s L series, while the USM auto-focusing and Image Stabilisation are both very effective in use. Mounted on a full-frame body like the EOS 5D, the EF 24-105mm is an ideal general-purpose zoom lens for those who demand high quality, but how suitable is it on a cropped-frame body … ? The build quality, mechanical performance, constant f4 aperture, focusing and stabilisation remain equally effective and applicable on cropped-frame bodies, but the range is of course very different. On a full-frame body, the EF 24-105mm takes you from decent wide-angle to short telephoto, whereas with the 1.6x field reduction of cropped frame, the range is transformed into a far less exciting 38-168mm. This takes you from modest wide angle to average telephoto coverage … READ FULL REVIEW

Digital Picture

The Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM Lens is one of the best and most popular Canon general purpose lenses made. The Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM Lens quickly became one of my favorites. If I had only one lens, this would be the one. This lens gives us a very nice general purpose focal range to work with. When you care about the pictures, you want a well-built lens with great optical quality. The 24-105 L delivers in both of these regards. the Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM Lens is solidly built. The zoom and focus rings are smooth and the entire lens feels nice and handles even better. I really like the size and weight of this lens in the field. READ FULL REVIEW

Pop Photo

This would be great for travel photography and about 90% of a wedding photographer’s work. But as an f/4, it can’t help in low light or with defocusing many backgrounds, so most wedding shooters will still have to carry another higher-speed lens in its zoom range. Also, on film and full-frame-sensor cameras, its vignetting and visible distortion preclude more clinical applications. But on the EOS 20D or 30D, the lens is equivalent to a 38-168mm, ideal for studio or location portraiture; and with their APS-sized sensors, the vignetting disappears. This is Canon’s widest IS zoom, so if wide angle and stabilization are priorities (and budget isn’t), it may be for you. And if you can live with its imperfections, it may turn into your most-used L-series zoom. READ FULL REVIEW

Photo.net

The Canon 24-105/4L IS lens is reasonably high quality, reasonably fast, reasonably wide range, and reasonably light. It is designed for the latest generation of full-frame digital SLRs such as the Canon EOS 5D. Producing a high quality 4:1 zoom lens is very challenging, but the “L” in “Canon 24-105L” assures you of professional quality images, rugged construction, and substantial weather-proofing. The 24mm wide end is wide enough to be dramatic and the 105mm telephoto end is long enough to provide a significant flattening effect for portraits. With the light weight achieved by designing for an f/4 rather than an f/2.8 aperture, the 24-105/4L is a great travel lens.READ FULL REVIEW

Luminous Landscape

The new lens is noticeably smaller and lighter than the 24-70 mm., although its front element is about the same diameter. It is a more conventional zoom in that it extends with the focal length; the 24-70 mm gets longer as the focal length gets shorter, which makes its lens shade, fixed to the mount and not the end of the lens, more effective. If there has to be a winner here, it’s the 24-105 mm lens on account of higher contrast. READ FULL REVIEW

Ken Rockwell

The Canon 24-105mm f/4 L IS is among the worlds’ best lenses, but difficult to use over extended periods. My fingertips actually hurt after using this lens for a while because of the stiff zoom ring and its cramped wide-angle end. READ FULL REVIEW