looking at walk around lens

i'm looking at a walk around lens to compliment m 5D2. thinking about the 24-70L f2.8, cuz i love to shoot wide open. but i've heard of issus with back focusing. how can i tell which serials are affected? is there a site that i can check?

another lens i'm looking at is the 24-105L f4. i kinda wish it's available in f2.8, but the price between the two is not that much different. also if i'm buying used, it could be just as good.

so i'm torn between the two. i have a 70-200, so going with the 24-105 might be a bit overlapping, but as walk around lens, it may not be that bad.

or maybe i should get the 28-300L as walk around... lol... trust me, i thought a lot about that. might be heavy as hell.. but i did it with my 70-200L f2.8 IS in SD Zoo and our trip in SD.. and it wasn't that bad.

I also use 24-70L on my 5D II as walk around lens, I see no focus inaccuracy with my lens.
I bet your 17-55 on 30D will do better job than 24-70L on 5D II
Sometimes I just miss IS on this lens. If you are shooting still a lot, IS will be more helpful.

EOS mE wrote in post #12836050
i'm looking at a walk around lens to compliment m 5D2. thinking about the 24-70L f2.8, cuz i love to shoot wide open. but i've heard of issus with back focusing. how can i tell which serials are affected? is there a site that i can check?

another lens i'm looking at is the 24-105L f4. i kinda wish it's available in f2.8, but the price between the two is not that much different. also if i'm buying used, it could be just as good.

so i'm torn between the two. i have a 70-200, so going with the 24-105 might be a bit overlapping, but as walk around lens, it may not be that bad.

or maybe i should get the 28-300L as walk around... lol... trust me, i thought a lot about that. might be heavy as hell.. but i did it with my 70-200L f2.8 IS in SD Zoo and our trip in SD.. and it wasn't that bad.

I like the 24-105.
If you like to shoot wide opened you need to close your eyes and hope and pray that you get a "good" copy of the 24-70. Stopped down to f/4 the 24-70 does nicely, at f/4 you might as well get a 24-105 with IS.

24-105 or 28-300L Overlap of zoom range is a very good. If you were maxxed out at 70mm you would probably appreciate the extra 35mm of range or the extra 230mm.

24-105 is a popular choice here. only negative is it's heavy

Another vote for the 24-105

rick_reno wrote in post #12836957
24-105 is a popular choice here. only negative is it's heavy

Heavy is a fairly relative concept. Considering we are debating the 24-70 vs. the 24-105 in this thread, I would say the 24-105 is light.

Dont forget the economical Tamron 28-75/f2.8 on the 5D MKII. Its lightweight and i have seen some pics taken with it that rival the heavy brick & the 24-105.

If your stuck on Canon & money is not a problem i would prefer the 24-70/f2.8 over the 24-105 for the extra stop since you do own the 70-200 already. But thats just me.

Regards whatever your decision,

I have both the 24-70 and 24-105 and would say the 24-105 is better as a walk around lens. The 24-70 is heavier and larger with less range. The IS is nice in the 24-105 also. Unless you are doing more low light photography I think the 24-105 would suit your needs. Pictures are really nice on the 24-70, but I just like the 24-105 size, weight and IS for photo days.

I went with the 24-105. My logic was F2.8 is only one stop better than F4 and for both I'd likely need a flash indoors. Outside the extra reach & IS of the 24-105 is nice to have. You really can't go too wrong with either choice though.

Another vote for the Tamron 28-75. Just look around for a sharp copy and I think you'll be pleased with the results, especially in the $350 range.

I love the 24-105. It's light weight, versatile and has IS. It overlaps nicely with the 70-200. I would then look at getting a fast prime.

I've never heard of back focus issues being common with 24-70/2.8. Even if a particular copy of the lens is off a wee bit, 5DII has Micro Focus Adjust anyway. I've used a couple different ones over the years and never had any complaints about them wide open, either.

I do know for certain that the 24-105 vignettes pretty heavily at 24mm. It's got as much as 3 stops light falloff in the corners at some f-stops. This is considerably more obvious on full frame, than on a 1.6X or 1.3X crop camera. You can use Peripheral Illumination Compensation on 5DII (it was the second model to have this feature, after the 50D) to correct this to some degree "in-camera", or correct it a bit in post production.

OTOH, the 24-70 is considerably bigger, heavier and more expensive. There's a reason it's nicknamed "the brick". I'm a big fan of IS on telephotos, but don't really find that I need it on this range of focal lengths... particularly on a 5DII that I feel comfortable using at ISO 3200 and even 6400. Sure, I'll take IS on any lens, especially if it doesn't cost anything extra... Just don't find it as "essential" on 24-70.

hi guys..thank you all for all your suggestions! i totally forgot the 24-70 didn't have the IS. glad someone pointed that out.

looks like 24-105 might be the best way to go. what would be a good price for a lens like that used? not sure what's the going price is now. if not too far from brand new price, might just have to bite the bullet or wait till canon has their rebate thingy.

just saw a brand new one in the FS forum for $945 or so. search and you'll find some good deals.