A Little Disappointed: 24-70 F4

Hi y'all ...

I was at a friend's house this past weekend where he strutted out his new 5D3 and 24-70 F4L combo. He's a physician, so he's got the tools

Anyhoo, it was an indoor evening shin-dig at their high ceiling-ed palace with incandescent lighting. I ended up shooting some pics and I just wanted to say - I was a little disappointed with the F4's focus speed. It hunted quiet a bit before locking; especially on the gents whose faces and clothes were rather drab and dull (compared to the ladies whose shiny attire/accessories are contrasty). I guess F4's still F4, no matter what year it's made.

I'm sure it's a fine lens for well lit outdoors, but I'm now thinking it may not be the upgrade to my trusty V1 that I thought it' be. Is anyone using it for indoor work as a cheap replacement for the 2.8? Is center point the solution?

Regards!!

It couldn't be the photographer with new gear though, because no matter what nothing takes practice.

If you already have the 24-70 2.8, why replace it with the f/4? Personally, I've never seen focus speed as an issue with the 2.8, although I have considered adding a 24-105 to have something that is smaller and offers more reach.

alphamalex wrote in post #17214426
I guess F4's still F4, no matter what year it's made.

Science would verify this. The only benefit to this lens over the V1 24-70 is the IS, shoot video with both first.

if you look at the benchmarks for the 24-70 f/4, it's pretty much on par with the 24-105, not the 24-70 2.8mk 1.

CoJM wrote in post #17214434
It couldn't be the photographer with new gear though, because no matter what nothing takes practice.

If you know how to take photos, using a new lens on a camera with AF isn't quantum physics especially when you have a gearlist like the OP's. You point, AF, and shoot. If the lens doesn't lock on when past experience indicates that other lenses would have, that isn't the photographer's fault.

c2thew wrote in post #17215209
if you look at the benchmarks for the 24-70 f/4, it's pretty much on par with the 24-105, not the 24-70 2.8mk 1.

um nope.... not sure which ones you were looking at? (and i'm not sure either whether you are suggesting the old 24-70 mk i is better or worse than the 24-105?)

several i've seen show this lens to be in between the performance of the 24-105 is and the new 24-70 2.8 ii. the iq is supposed to be very good in most areas. the old 24-70 2.8 mk i tends to perform closer to the 24-105. here's one... look for yourself:

http://www.lensrentals​.com …70-f4-is-resolution-tests

OP: did you happen to be using other lenses at the same time? it might be the case that all your lenses would "hunt" in the same way. i REALLY doubt that the AF of this lens is inferior to other Canons. there's just no way. the old 24-105 focuses super duper well. this newer lens could not possibly be worse than old tech. it has canon's newest finer-res drive mechanics too.

anyway, i will probably buy this lens for christmas as the IS would be super useful to me over my 24-70 mk ii when i don't need the 2.8.

now if there was a 24-70 2.8 IS.... the world would be such a better place...

EDIT: also keep in mind that this was not your camera. you do not know how it was setup. the 5d3 is a little different than your 5d2, and not all AF points are as accurate or sensitive.

I find the AF to be very fast and accurate with the 24-70 f4 IS, as you would expect. It is certainly as good or better than the 24-105 in this regard.

As it happens I just bought one of these lenses and although I haven't taken it shooting, I have completed my AF tests.

I had no trouble locking on with an outer point on my 1Ds MkIII in a room lit by compact fluorescents. It locked on every time, accurately.

In daylight it focusses at about the same speed as my 70-200mm f/4 IS. Its IS is a fair bit slower, so with IS on it is slightly slower than the 70-200 and with it off it is slightly faster.

I don't think my 70-200 f/4 IS is fast enough for much indoor use without flash and I never expected the 24-70 to be any good at that either. An external flash unit will get you an AF assist light, but you still have the dimmer viewfinder to contend with.

Sirrith wrote in post #17215223
If you know how to take photos, using a new lens on a camera with AF isn't quantum physics especially when you have a gearlist like the OP's. You point, AF, and shoot. If the lens doesn't lock on when past experience indicates that other lenses would have, that isn't the photographer's fault.

Right, because humans are ALWAYS perfect and completely consistant. I don't care about gear lists, anyone can have a fat wallet, whenever you pick up a new camera and more importantly a new lens, you have to keep in mind that there is always a learning curve.

Whenever I take a bad shot or cant lock focus I blame my camera and equipment too, cause inanimate objects really like to mess with me and produce bad images.


Moreso, seeing you are someone who has a 5d MKIII I will ask you, do you find the autofocus to be just like the autofocus on a MKII? 5DC? Maybe it is most similar to the OP's 7D.

CoJM wrote in post #17215915
Right, because humans are ALWAYS perfect and completely consistant. I don't care about gear lists, anyone can have a fat wallet, whenever you pick up a new camera and more importantly a new lens, you have to keep in mind that there is always a learning curve.

Whenever I take a bad shot or cant lock focus I blame my camera and equipment too, cause inanimate objects really like to mess with me and produce bad images.

Suit yourself

Xyclopx wrote in post #17215261
um nope.... not sure which ones you were looking at? (and i'm not sure either whether you are suggesting the old 24-70 mk i is better or worse than the 24-105?)

several i've seen show this lens to be in between the performance of the 24-105 is and the new 24-70 2.8 ii. the iq is supposed to be very good in most areas. the old 24-70 2.8 mk i tends to perform closer to the 24-105. here's one... look for yourself:

http://www.lensrentals​.com …70-f4-is-resolution-tests

OP: did you happen to be using other lenses at the same time? it might be the case that all your lenses would "hunt" in the same way. i REALLY doubt that the AF of this lens is inferior to other Canons. there's just no way. the old 24-105 focuses super duper well. this newer lens could not possibly be worse than old tech. it has canon's newest finer-res drive mechanics too.

anyway, i will probably buy this lens for christmas as the IS would be super useful to me over my 24-70 mk ii when i don't need the 2.8.

now if there was a 24-70 2.8 IS.... the world would be such a better place...

EDIT: also keep in mind that this was not your camera. you do not know how it was setup. the 5d3 is a little different than your 5d2, and not all AF points are as accurate or sensitive.

http://www.the-digital-picture.com …omp=0&FLIComp=0​&APIComp=0
I could have sworn the 24-70 mk 1 had better edge performance.

I think I was comparing the 24-105 and not the 24-70 2.8 to the 24-70 f4