Canon 28-70 vs 24-105

I've been researching these two lens. I have the 24-105. The comparison from The Digital Picture don't look very good for the 28-70. Most reviews and other site have high praise for the 28-70. what am i missing?

mikexlt wrote in post #17647666
I've been researching these two lens. I have the 24-105. The comparison from The Digital Picture don't look very good for the 28-70. Most reviews and other site have high praise for the 28-70. what am i missing?

Heya,

The 28-70 is an old, old lens. So it's not as sharp as today's stuff, wide open. It's a good lens, mind you. But it's the older USM (ring motor I think?), very well made lens, and totally unsupported too. Some copies were pretty sharp wide open at F2.8. But most found it wasn't "sharp" unless stopped down a touch. Big, old, heavy lens. If you're ok with slightly soft images at F2.8 (especially at 70mm, it's softest there than at wider angle), then it will do the job. But generally if you're looking at a 28-70 it's for the F2.8. If you're stopping down, you might as well be using the 24-105. But that came later in life.

Very best,

It's possible that TDP got a poor copy, or that the other sites reviewed the lens back when it was the only game in town. The 24-70, when released, was praised because it exceeded the image quality of the 28-70 - the best in class in its time.

I have both the 24-70 (much newer, better lens) and a 24-105. When I don't absolutely need the f/2.8, I still grab the 24-105 first every time. It's a lens which gets much less respect than it deserves. Don't be surprised if it rates much better than the 28-70.

As the other member said the 28-70 is quite old. Maybe you meant the 24-70 F2.8L. I have a Mark1 24-70 2.8L. I purchased it brand new from B&H in around 2010/2011. I am having a lot of problems with it. The focusing is a huge issue for me. I have managed to come right a little bit with the in-camera micro adjustment. After reviewing images (taken with 1dmk4) when I purchased the lens, and looking at my latest images, there are huge differences. A huge loss in focus quality. I have many Canon lenses from EF 15mm F2.8 to EF 400mm F2.8L and they have not acted up like this one lens (my 24-70). I know it needs to be serviced and calibrated by Canon. None of my other lenses needed this. For example my Canon EF 80-200 F2.8L I purchased in 1992 and it is still razor sharp. The 24-70 is one of my youngest lenses and it is by far the worst lens in my bag. After reading many other posts on the internet, I can see that I am not the only person with this problem. From my experience I cannot recommend the 24-70 mark1 lens. Hopefully the mark2 is better. I do not own and I have never used a 24-105.