24-105L ii vs 24L i + 135L

as it says in the title, i have a chance of adding either the new zoom or the two primes to my 50L (which will cover the "hole" in the middle). cost is not a factor so we can discount that, neither is weight/bulk/size. mainly to be used on a 6d. my main concern is whether the improved 24-105 will have made the same strides in image quality as the recent vii lenses that canon have issued? afaik the zoom is unavailable for hire in the uk so i have to make a bit of a leap of faith here. what do you guys think??

bildeb0rg wrote in post #18131824
as it says in the title, i have a chance of adding either the new zoom or the two primes to my 50L (which will cover the "hole" in the middle). cost is not a factor so we can discount that, neither is weight/bulk/size. mainly to be used on a 6d. my main concern is whether the improved 24-105 will have made the same strides in image quality as the recent vii lenses that canon have issued? afaik the zoom is unavailable for hire in the uk so i have to make a bit of a leap of faith here. what do you guys think??

Haven't tried the new lens, but it is logical to assume the new zoom will be better, especially at the wide end.
My very personal preference is wide-aperture primes, no doubt, as the f/4 zoom lacks their character (there's more to a photo than sharpness).
You are not concerned about cost/weight/size, and that's fine, but be prepared to swap lenses during prime time

Do you like to shoot wide open or at night? I'd lean toward the excellent primes.
Do you need a general walk around jack of all trades? Consider the 24-105... however you may want to wait just a few months since the v2 will be released soon.

three primes and a 6d don't take up a lot of room, but i can't see me taking them all out at the same time tbh. i tend to plan what i shoot and only take what i think i need, which has caught out in the past by not having the "right" focal length. that's why the zoom appeals. ideal world i would have all three

The new 24-105 strikes me as just as much of a snooze as the old one. My STM is better than the old one. The new one won't be as good as any of my primes (28 1.8, 35 IS, 50 STM, 85 1.8, 135L) at f/2. I don't see it in my line-up.

unless I'm shooting wildlife i'm usually shooting off a tripod where primes rarely if ever have any benefit. why do you need to ask others what YOU need?

ed rader wrote in post #18132499
why do you need to ask others what YOU need?

Maybe because sometimes we don't know what we need.

Nothing wrong with a second opinion. Or any number for that matter. I've used zooms for the last nine years and only recently started using the 50L regularly so I'm looking for that one response that says "I've been there and primes/zooms are the way forward". I haven't been all prime since my film days and tbh I cant really remember if it was a real ball ache or not

well that's a honest answer. get out there and shoot and you'll figure it out. if you hang out here you'll end up flipping more gear and wasting more money than what's his name . anyhow my kit is based around three very boring zooms that I can do just about anything with. 16-35L f4IS, 24-70L II and 70-300L. but I also have the 100-400L II when I need something longer and the 14L II and 15mm FE when I need something wider.

the 100-400L II usually stays at home unless wildlife is involved, but the 70-300L is also capable of that duty.

According to the wife I shoot too much as it is and atm all I'm shooting is zooms so its hard to get a balanced view. I really enjoy the 50L which is colouring my vision on this. I wont be flipping anything, whatever I get will be an addition to my current gear so worries about losses