beginner question: 24-70L lens

shaylou

shaylou

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Shayne
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I have been trying to figure out what walk around lens to buy and this one really stands out. Yesterday I came across a professional photographer and we started talking. He had a 70×200L lens on (sweet) so I ask his opinion. Well well guess what he pulled out of his bag? Yep 24×70L. Today I came across another pro taking pics and she was using the same lens. I told her that was the lens I was interested in and she said hers was for sale. I'm in the u.s. and this lens cost 1400 dollars here (from Canon). When I ask her how much she said 700. That's half the price I can get it new. Wow !! I told her I wanted it and that's when she said, well this is all that's wrong with it. She had dropped it and it dented the front outter part. I'm sorry I dont know what that's called. It looked like if there was a good place to take the force of the impact this was it. The rim bent lessening the over all shock of the drop (IMO). She was using it for a paying customer at the very moment we talked about it so I guese it is still in good working order.

Can someone please give me some input about this. Could it be that the lens works fine close up (what she was shooting) but has problems with zoom? Any advise on this would be greatly appreciated. How do I know its in good working order? Can the outside rim be replaced? If so is it expensive?

Thanks for your help.
 
shaylou said:
I have been trying to figure out what walk around lens to buy and this one really stands out. Yesterday I came across a professional photographer and we started talking. He had a 70×200L lens on (sweet) so I ask his opinion. Well well guess what he pulled out of his bag? Yep 24×70L. Today I came across another pro taking pics and she was using the same lens. I told her that was the lens I was interested in and she said hers was for sale. I'm in the u.s. and this lens cost 1400 dollars here (from Canon). When I ask her how much she said 700. That's half the price I can get it new. Wow !! I told her I wanted it and that's when she said, well this is all that's wrong with it. She had dropped it and it dented the front outter part. I'm sorry I dont know what that's called. It looked like if there was a good place to take the force of the impact this was it. The rim bent lessening the over all shock of the drop (IMO). She was using it for a paying customer at the very moment we talked about it so I guese it is still in good working order.

Can someone please give me some input about this. Could it be that the lens works fine close up (what she was shooting) but has problems with zoom? Any advise on this would be greatly appreciated. How do I know its in good working order? Can the outside rim be replaced? If so is it expensive?

Thanks for your help.
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I'd be a bit sceptical about a 24-70 that is being offered for $700. I know things are more expensive on these shores but GBP800-900 is around what one would expect to pay for a used 24-70. I imagine you're familiar with the saying ' there's no such thing as a free lunch ', right? It's possible there may only be cosmetic issues with that $700 lens but no one offers a 24-70 for that kind of money. In your shoes I would save up for a bit longer and have a look at Adorama where refurbished units are occasionally available. Canon do have refurbished offers on their US site from time to time as well so keep a lookout for them. You could also look at POTN for any such lens which may be offered by a long-standing member.


Good hunting:thumbs:
 
Apart from a damaged lens being a risky business, what camera are you planning to use it on?

Most people find 24-70mm is a bit too long on the wide end for general walkabout shooting on a crop format camera.

IMHO 17-55 2.8 IS is a much better choice. Plus it's sharper, and cheaper, and has IS.
 
Houston1863 said:
I'd be a bit sceptical about a 24-70 that is being offered for $700. I know things are more expensive on these shores but GBP800-900 is around what one would expect to pay for a used 24-70. I imagine you're familiar with the saying ' there's no such thing as a free lunch ', right? It's possible there may only be cosmetic issues with that $700 lens but no one offers a 24-70 for that kind of money. In your shoes I would save up for a bit longer and have a look at Adorama where refurbished units are occasionally available. Canon do have refurbished offers on their US site from time to time as well so keep a lookout for them. You could also look at POTN for any such lens which may be offered by a long-standing member.

Good hunting:thumbs:
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Yeah I have been thinking about it and there's got to be a catch. This lady is a pro photographer surly she knows what the lens is worth. The only thing that I'm hung up on is the fact that she was using it for paying customer as I was talking to her. Hmmm... I'm old enough to know - if it sounds to good to be true, it is to good to be true....
 
HoppyUK said:
Apart from a damaged lens being a risky business, what camera are you planning to use it on?

Most people find 24-70mm is a bit too long on the wide end for general walkabout shooting on a crop format camera.

IMHO 17-55 2.8 IS is a much better choice. Plus it's sharper, and cheaper, and has IS.
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Canon T3i I think it might be called 600D where your at.
I have a 18-55 kit lens and it could just be me but I really dont get very good pics using it. I find my 50mm 2.8 is much sharper. I dont want to say I hate my 18-55 but....
 
Holy cow!!! The 17-55 is almost 1200u.s. it better be a good lens if it cost that much. With this lens you give up focal length and dont get as high of a quality built lens. This put me right back in the price range of - Expensive! Lol. If I'm back to this price range wouldn't a better choice be the 24-105L f4?? So confused....
 
shaylou said:
Canon T3i I think it might be called 600D where your at.
I have a 18-55 kit lens and it could just be me but I really dont get very good pics using it. I find my 50mm 2.8 is much sharper. I dont want to say I hate my 18-55 but....
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I'm not talking about the 18-55 kit lens...

To see how you might get on with 24mm as the widest setting, just restrict yourself to that as the widest focal length you can use for a few days, and see how you get on.

Also, you can often seach your image database and it will pull out a list of how many pictures were taken at different focal lengths. I'm just saying think about it as the 24-70 is designed primarily for full frame cameras. Canon made the 17-55 2.8 IS as a walkabout lens for crop format cameras.
 
Great advise, It seems so obvious after the fact. haha. I will try that and see how I like it. In the mean time I will look at my pictures at that range to get an idea. My first thought of on this is that I have a 50m that will work in those situations. I'm not sure if that's the way I should be thinking though, remember i'm a beginner..
 
As others have said the 17-55IS is the crop camera equivalent of the 24-70. But before you spend so much money, think about why you need a better lens. Make a list of features and prioritise them.

There are some great alternatives to the Canon lenses that could save you some money, but you need to ensure that the compromises aren't too much for you. Generally the IQ will be great but the focus motors won't have the low light ability, this is often irrelevant for non-pro's. Have a search here and the other forum mentioned for threads about the Tamron and Sigma 2.8 lenses.
 
shaylou said:
Holy cow!!! The 17-55 is almost 1200u.s. it better be a good lens if it cost that much.
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It is. Optically it is a peach and the IS is very good.

shaylou said:
With this lens you give up focal length and dont get as high of a quality built lens. This put me right back in the price range of - Expensive! Lol.
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The build quality is more than commensurate with your T3i. It is well built, just lacks the weather sealing of the L lenses.

shaylou said:
If I'm back to this price range wouldn't a better choice be the 24-105L f4?? So confused....
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The 24-105 is rarely off my camera, I love mine. In my opinion the perfect walk-about for Full Frame (for me at least). However, if I still owned a crop body there would have a 17-55 on it, not a 24-105.

Forget the issue of the lack of red ring, this 17-55 is one of Canon's best lenses.
 
For a crop then the 17-55 f/2.8 IS is the Canon lens of choice. I owned one when I had a 450d and it was brilliant. On full frame then it's a bit more difficult to identify one lens which is stand-out better than the rest, as they all seem to compromise slightly in one aspect or another. I have a 24-70 f/2.8 L at the moment and it's superb - just as sharp as the 17-55 but it lacks the IS. The 24-105 has more reach (which could be good if youre wanting a good all-rounder) and packs in IS but it lacks a stop and displayed more distortion than the 24-70 at the wide end. For $700 dollars, assuming it's optically clean, then the 24-70 you're being offered is a total bargain.
 
Or, to throw a spanner into the works...
You want a replacement to the kit 18-55mm, the 24-70mm f2.8L looks great but might be a bit too 'long'. The 17-55mm f2.8 looks amazing but is expensive.

Take a look at the Tamron 17-50mm f2.8. I really wanted the 17-55 but budget simply didn't allow for it. The 17-50 is pretty good imo!
 
ChrisJ_SLH said:
It is. Optically it is a peach and the IS is very good.

The build quality is more than commensurate with your T3i. It is well built, just lacks the weather sealing of the L lenses.

The 24-105 is rarely off my camera, I love mine. In my opinion the perfect walk-about for Full Frame (for me at least). However, if I still owned a crop body there would have a 17-55 on it, not a 24-105.

Forget the issue of the lack of red ring, this 17-55 is one of Canon's best lenses.
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I read that there is an issue with dust getting in because it lacks seals. I'm not sure how big of an issue this really is but there is a lot of complaining.
 
shaylou said:
I read that there is an issue with dust getting in because it lacks seals. I'm not sure how big of an issue this really is but there is a lot of complaining.
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I bought mine used, I think it may have had one small visible fleck behind the front element. I used it a lot for over a year before selling it on (with my 40D). The small fleck made no new friends in that time.

I did have a protection filter or a CPL fitted 99% of the time. Reputedly, with the dust "issue" you mention the entry point is around the front element and the use of a filter reduced the chances of this occurring. I don't know how reliable this theory is.

I use the word "issue" because it really isn't a problem. All extending zoom lenses risk sucking dust in and dust behind the front element will not cause any issue with photographs at all. Here is the standard link that demonstrates why a bit of dust behind the front element wont cause problems....

Incidentally, I'm still in contact with the guy who bought it (he's a friend of mine) and guess what? More than two years on still no more dust....
 
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Without knowing exactly what you shoot, no answer can be ideal, but as an earlier poster has said, consider the EF-S 15-85. It is a well built lens which is razor sharp in the middle of its range and very good at extremes. The IS is also extremely efficient. It is the lens which stays on my crop camera 95% of the time.
 
Yellowbelly said:
Without knowing exactly what you shoot, no answer can be ideal, but as an earlier poster has said, consider the EF-S 15-85. It is a well built lens which is razor sharp in the middle of its range and very good at extremes. The IS is also extremely efficient. It is the lens which stays on my crop camera 95% of the time.
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Man the more I read about this lens the more I like it.
I went on ebay and looked around. I found them from 700-900 Avg. Not bad at all. I also found one locally for 675 u.s. dollars btw. This particular lens has dust inside it. I looked up how to clean them and it doesn't seem complicated at all. Probably would just take it to a local dealer and have them clean it if I go this direction

I'm still looking around at my options. Thanks for your help.
 
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