Help me choose - New 24-70 f4L, or Used 24-70 f2.8L MK1

Which lens for me?

  • Canon 24-70 F4L

    Votes: 1 33.3%

  • Canon 24-70 f2.8l (mk1)

    Votes: 2 66.7%
  • Total voters
    3
dav3evans

dav3evans

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Hi all,

So I'm in the market for a new lens. Originally I was thinking of getting the 24-70 f4L, but have noticed that the f2.8 mk1 can be had for a similar price online.

Is there anyone here that could give me an opinion on which I should go for? I've essentially over Googled it now and can't stop trying to confirm the focus shift issues that have been mentioned in the f4l lens, which for the most part I don't think will be much of a concern, as this seems to be mainly when going for Macro shots which is a rarity for me.

It will be my new general purpose lens, used for event photography and weddings incase you needed to know :)

Thanks in advance for the assistance :)

Dave.
 
Hey guys,

I do indeed mean the Canon lenses, as per the poll at the top :)

That said, is the Tamron worth a look?
 
f2.8 is the way forward. Brand is up to you- Tamron gets many glowing reports and few threads on here recently. Not used one but Tamron optics have always been pretty decent with AF often being the drawback in the past. Their new AF modules are very good though as is their VC so putting altogether in this lens and you assume it should be decent enough which is what people seem to be saying.

f4 is too slow- or certainly for what you are going to use it for- just doesn't provide the flexibility often required.
 
Thanks for the reply, I'll add it to the maybe pile as well then and do some research on it tomorrow :)
 
Dr_O said:
f2.8 is the way forward. Brand is up to you- Tamron gets many glowing reports and few threads on here recently. Not used one but Tamron optics have always been pretty decent with AF often being the drawback in the past. Their new AF modules are very good though as is their VC so putting altogether in this lens and you assume it should be decent enough which is what people seem to be saying.

f4 is too slow- or certainly for what you are going to use it for- just doesn't provide the flexibility often required.
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Agreed, although its easy to think that an f4 lens will be ok, for what you're doing the extra light that a 2.8 gives is near enough essential ( in my eyes anyway). Don't let the fact that the Mki has been replaced by the Mkii, its an excellent lens, and is a real bargain at the current prices they go for S/H. I know, I've just sold mine!
 
For event and wedding photography with the likelihood of low light situations with your current body, canon 550D, I would go for a f2.8 lens. A used 24-70mm f2.8 is going for around the £700 mark.
 
That body is serving as a spare more recently, having rented a better body for the more important events, but the second hand 2.8 is starting to make more sense at this point.

Does anyone have recommendations for places to look for one of these? I know there's a few at varying prices on MPB, and there's the classifieds to keep an eye on here as well of course but interested to know if there are any preferred second hand dealers you know of.
 
From someone who hasn't used either of these lenses, but may be looking to make a similar choice sometime soon, is the extra weight of the 2.8 likely to be an issue for you? On lighter bodies I imagine it results in a more unbalanced, front heavy set-up. Having said that the significant advantage of f2.8 over f4 is probably worth it.
 
My 550D is weighted down a good bit more as I always have a battery grip and two batteries in there as well which may balance it out a good bit more. As for the additional weight consideration in general, I'm happy to undergo the work out on my arms if it means my images will be that much better. I once spent 3 days solid using a Sigma 70-200 F2.8 EX lens at a festival, which comes in at 1.4kg on it's own. Took a bit of getting used to but that wasn't too bad in the end so I'm sure 950gs will be ok :)
 
I do just about :) Though that seems a little old, I'm sure I've seen a 2010 date coded version of this lens go for not much more than is being asked on the thread linked above. Can't remember where though!
 
Hey all, slight spin on my thought process.. Given the cost of body rental Vs. lens rental, thinking logically I believe it would make more sense to invest in a new body now, and then rent the lens(es) that I need for any given event. As it stands, the rental of a body like the 6D is ~£140 inc postage, whereas the 24-70MK1 2.8 is about ~£40, effectively "saving" £100 per event. Thoughts?
 
dav3evans said:
Hey all, slight spin on my thought process.. Given the cost of body rental Vs. lens rental, thinking logically I believe it would make more sense to invest in a new body now, and then rent the lens(es) that I need for any given event. As it stands, the rental of a body like the 6D is ~£140 inc postage, whereas the 24-70MK1 2.8 is about ~£40, effectively "saving" £100 per event. Thoughts?
Click to expand...

I can see your logic. I use a 6d and 1Dx. It's full frame, has built in Wi-Fi which the Dx doesn't, and depending on what you're photographing this can be useful.
Build is good. Part metal and part plastic (due to the Wi-Fi), but not a 'cheap' plastic if you know what I mean. I use mine with the DX not as a spare. (Couldn't afford two Dx's). Am very pleased with it and would recommend. OR what about a 2nd hand 5 MkII/III ?
 
I considered both the 5Dii and 5Diii, but ultimately the 5Diii is out of my range for the time being, and for the price of a second hand 5Dii (or thereabouts buying from HDEW) I get a camera that is considered by many as the 5Dii 2.0, but more importantly has warranty :)

This is what I ended up doing in the end today as well, Bagged a 6D body which will arrive on Tuesday. Can't wait ^_^
 
dav3evans said:
I considered both the 5Dii and 5Diii, but ultimately the 5Diii is out of my range for the time being, and for the price of a second hand 5Dii (or thereabouts buying from HDEW) I get a camera that is considered by many as the 5Dii 2.0, but more importantly has warranty :)

This is what I ended up doing in the end today as well, Bagged a 6D body which will arrive on Tuesday. Can't wait ^_^
Click to expand...

You'll like it. Enjoy.
 
Hope these thoughts aren't too late.

I hired a 24-70 f2.8 for a wedding gig last year (my 24-105 broke a week before!). Anyhoo, this was a MkI version but the optics were superb. I'd buy one in a heartbeat if I could afford it.

Even though my 24-105 is stabilised another big plus for me for the f2.8 is the brighter viewing screen. I've installed the better focusing screen in my 5D MKII but i don't get much benefit with the F4 lens. Mind you, that's only useful if you manually focus (which I do quite a bit).

As others have said the lens is like a brick but that's not always a bad thing.

BTW I rented mine from LensesForHire - great service.

Hope this helps.
 
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