Canon 24-105 f4

Hi all, quick question about this lens. How well will it perform on a 5d iii

-low light shots?
-action shots?
-portrait work?
-all purpose walk around kinda lens?

positives and negatives accepted!
thanx

it comes standard with the kit,
if you can Get the Kit, Epic deal. And if you for some crazy reason are displeased with the lens performance, sell it for more then it cost in the kit =)
IS sure makes up over the 24-70 in low light.

^^^ Dig it!

Well, I used the 24-105 on a crop, but there it was a great walk around lens.
I can imagine on FF, it is even better, tough i don't have the lens anymore.

So, low light:
With still subjects no problem (IS helps a lot)
Moving subjects, well, the 5D3 has great HIGH ISO, so should be still not that bad.

Action shots:
I had no problems with it, altough AF is not super-fast, I have taken a lot of action pictures with it. mainly motorsport (rally) without problems.

Portrait:
I would not suggest the lens for portraits.
f/4 is not that super, and the Bokeh of the lens is also not really great.
But then again, its not bad. But its not great either.

Walk around, all purpose:
One of the best you can get.
As my father aways sad, a "jack of all trades is a master of none".
And that is very true for this lens, but if you can have only 1 lens, or you don't wish t bring the whole equipment with you, the 24-105 is a great choice.

I have that combination and although the 24-105 is seldom my first choice for action or portraits, it still does a pretty good job of both. As a walk-around lens on a full-frame camera like yours, it's an ideal choice. Low light shots shouldn't be a problem with the 5DIII. For me, I wouldn't be without this lens in my kit.

I use the 24-105 on a 6D and find it's an awesome walkaround lens. It's decent for a zoom in low light though I still prefer a fast prime. It's fine for action if you have a reasonable amount of light but not great for low light action. I find it does a great job for group portraits (if you stand back so you're not shooting really wide with it) but I still prefer other lenses for singles.

thanx everyone, great insight and assisstance. I especially like the "jack of all trades, master of none" comment, very true!

I have a feeling i will be keeping this one for a while. I am just not a big fan of the 24-70 lens, I always wished that it went a bit further. I think I may ditch that lens and buy a used 50mm 1.2

I see some criticism of this lens for portraits. Why?

Lone Rider wrote in post #16098016
I see some criticism of this lens for portraits. Why?

because you can't shoot a decent portrait without a prime?

I would consider a 85mm prime for portraits, super sexy time... I need to pick one up speaking of which.

milleniumking wrote in post #16098008
thanx everyone, great insight and assisstance. I especially like the "jack of all trades, master of none" comment, very true!

I have a feeling i will be keeping this one for a while. I am just not a big fan of the 24-70 lens, I always wished that it went a bit further. I think I may ditch that lens and buy a used 50mm 1.2

That has been my approach to building my lens kit -- general purpose zoom lenses (17-40L, 24-105L, 70-200 f/4 IS L, 100-400L) supplemented with fast primes. It has worked out very well for my purposes. The zooms give me the flexibility I need when traveling, as I shoot mostly landscapes and wildlife then. The primes give me the fast glass I need for lower light shooting.