Canon 24-105 or 24-70 Mk I?

I currently have a Canon 5D III together with a Canon 17-40 mm L, Canon 100 mm f 2.8 macro, Canon 70-200mm f2.8 II L and a Sigma 150-500 mm. I am considering adding either a Canon 24-105 mm or a Canon 24-70 mm Mark 1 lens. I can't afford the Mark 2! Which one of these would be preferable?

It really depends on what you want to use it for. As for sharpness its about a wash as they are both sharp. The 24-105 is lighter, has IS, and more reach. The 24-70 has 2.8. For weddings, or event work the 24-70 has the edge with the extra stop of aperture for background separation. For a walkaround lens its hard to beat the 24-105, its versatile and lighter.

gonzogolf wrote in post #15976487
It really depends on what you want to use it for. As for sharpness its about a wash as they are both sharp. The 24-105 is lighter, has IS, and more reach. The 24-70 has 2.8. For weddings, or event work the 24-70 has the edge with the extra stop of aperture for background separation. For a walkaround lens its hard to beat the 24-105, its versatile and lighter.

+1, this pretty much says it all.

We're going to California in July so it sounds as though the 24-105 would be a good bet as a general 'walkabout' lens. Thank you!

Chris Hall wrote in post #15976435
I currently have a Canon 5D III together with a Canon 17-40 mm L, Canon 100 mm f 2.8 macro, Canon 70-200mm f2.8 II L and a Sigma 150-500 mm. I am considering adding either a Canon 24-105 mm or a Canon 24-70 mm Mark 1 lens. I can't afford the Mark 2! Which one of these would be preferable?

to me the 24-70L but I really don't like either lens much especially after getting the 24-70L II ! how about the tamron 24-70?

ed rader wrote in post #15977394
to me the 24-70L but I really don't like either lens much especially after getting the 24-70L II ! how about the tamron 24-70?

I'll look at the Tamron but I've heard concerns about distortion and vignetting at 24mm.

my 24-70 M1 is pretty much tack sharp and Ive seen very little to get me to buy another one at present, 24-105 was ok but I never saw the wow pictures from it

i had both and ended up keeping the 24-105

its a workhorse, for me i liked its extra reach and how light it is (compared)

for events it stays on the camera 95% of the time


ps. maybe i just had a bad copy but the 24-70 did nothing for me, wasn't wowed by it at all

+1 for the 24-105. Mine has been awesome.

Distortion never bothers me on the wide end, as I have the correction box checked by default in LR4. Never even see it.

Thanks all. On balance, I've just ordered a 24-105 mm lens.

Chris Hall wrote in post #15980316
I'll look at the Tamron but I've heard concerns about distortion and vignetting at 24mm.

The 24-105 has well documented issues with these things at 24mm as well. Although, I'd still probably go with that one out of the choices you listed. The old 24-70 never really interested me much due to it's large size, weird hood and siginificant price increase for no extra quality...just the extra stop at the expense of IS and extra range.

But, despite this I think the Tamron might be worth checking out at least - along with the Canon 24-70 f4 IS.