Trying to decide between EF 24-105 f.4l IS and the EF-S 15-85 IS

bongEstrella wrote in post #10483414
thats a prime lols.. to the OP, 10-22/24-105 may seem to be the more logical choice, but depending on how wide you want to go (or how long), this combo might cause you to change lenses more frequently. personally id go for sigma 8-16/canon 15-85. but thats only because 15mm is usually wide enough for me, and for even wider shots, 8mm seem to really cut it. good luck!

Good post. I would say 15 is usually too wide for me and 24 is fine. That's why I went the way I did. I hate to say it, but a guy probably has to try a couple different setups before he settles in on what he likes best. I personally would probably be fine either way, but at this point in time I'm trying to get by without a 70-200 so the extra reach helps my coverage better.

KenjiS wrote in post #10482978
BINGO!

Also consider that you may not ever need or want 10-14, Contrary to what a lot of folks think it may not be as useful to you personally...Super-uber wide isnt for everyone after all and keep in mind that 15 on your 40D is giving you a wider field of view than the 28-80 on your Elan did

If you're doing a lot of traveling consider that you can take ONE lens, you dont have to take two, and something to carry your camera and both lenses in, a 40D and a 15-85 will easily fit into a decent messanger bag just fine (I did it with my 30D and I do it with my 7D)

I have owned both the 24-105 and the 15-85 and I'll say on crop I'd take the 15-85 every day of the week, its the better lens period for a crop camera

Yes the 24-105 is a -hair- faster and a constant aperture but the 15-85 is just as sharp and I've never been in a situation where just -one- stop would make the difference, the color and contrast on the 15-85 is pretty much equal to the color and contrast on the 24-105....

I personally tried the "have a UWA and a FF normal zoom" approach and didnt like it, Sure you cover the same, but sometimes i ended up having to stop and switch lenses every couple feet because i needed that 15-20mm portion on my 10-20....Sometimes in some places this just is NOT a convenient thing to do because people can be jerks and bump into you as you're juggling lenses around

I'd get the 15-85 and if i felt i wanted a wider lens THEN get the 10-22...

Thanks for all the great replies and thoughts in this thread, but this advice seemed best for me, and I ordered the 15-85 last night. I think I will be able to do most of my shooting with this lens. To the extent I miss shots with my current 28-80 on my Elan, it's the wider shots rather than the longer shots, the 15-85 would get those while the 24-105 would not. Also, I may find the 15 wide enough and not need a wider lens. Finally, it seemed that both the 15-85 and 24-105 are great lenses and I really couldn't make a bad choice. That being said, the significantly cheaper price of the 15-85 won out.

I had the 10-22/24-105 combo on my 40D and parted ways with it shortly thereafter in favor of the 15-85 and Sigma 100-300 f4.

I was switching lenses constantly and I needed to bring two lenses with constantly when I really wanted to bring only one (camping, backpacking/hiking, hunting, fishing). I figured the 15-85 was the perfect solution so I sold both for the combo I mentioned above.

I wish I didnt sell the 10-22, I still would have used that despite my previous thoughts the 15mm on the 15-85 would be wide enough. Ill buy that one again soon, or maybe the Sigma 8-16, but Ive not missed the 24-105 once.

I recently went with the 15-85 over the 24-105 mainly because it fit in my lens line up alot better. I found that there was too much overlap with my 70-200 and too big of a gap with the 11-16.

KenjiS wrote in post #10482978
I personally tried the "have a UWA and a FF normal zoom" approach and didnt like it, Sure you cover the same, but sometimes i ended up having to stop and switch lenses every couple feet because i needed that 15-20mm portion on my 10-20....Sometimes in some places this just is NOT a convenient thing to do because people can be jerks and bump into you as you're juggling lenses around

Ditto! It was for this same reason I abandoned the Sigma 17-70 and 10-20 combo in favor of the 15-85. Have not been dissapointed in the decision at all.

i guess it depends on how much you want to swap lenses while you're walking around on vacation.

24mm in not wide enough on my 40D (for my needs, i'd say that i'm a casual photographer myself, mostly family/vacation type shots)

i now have settled on the following combo; 15-85mm and 70-200mm

if i had gone the 10-22mm and 24-105mm route, i would be swapping lenses all day long. as i just don't go out and shoot one thing. it's a casual vacation outing, walking around with the family, you never know what you'll want to shoot. it's already a full time job trying to keep two little kids in check, without having to swap lenses.

one day i WILL get the 10-22mm though, just to use it when i know that i'll be shooting nothing but wide landscapes


anyway, that's my $0.02 on the subject of picking your lens combo

J.

In terms of focal length for crop body the 15-85mm may be better, but in terms of picture quality I would say 24-105L or the 17-55IS.

smeister wrote in post #10500618
In terms of focal length for crop body the 15-85mm may be better, but in terms of picture quality I would say 24-105L or the 17-55IS.

Having owned all three, this comment is false...

They're all roughly equal, so close that sample variation is the only thing that might come into play...


-edit- Glad to hear it btw OP, you'll love the 15-85

Add me to the list of the 24-105 L.
Constant f/4.
Better build quality
Super Image quality
"L" lens.
It is still my most used lens on my old trusty 40D and new 7D.

I love my 24-105L, but there are many times that I wish it was a touch wider.

If you shoot outdoors a lot, the 24-105 is probably a fine choice, but shooting inside with it can be...a bit challenging on a crop body, especially getting those spontaneous moments.

I have same question as OP for last few weeks. Over and over again: 15-85 or 24-105 for cropped sensor?
Price of EF-S lens is very attractive, but L is more water proved.
Why Canon doesn’t have weather resistant EF-S lenses? I’m taking a lot of pictures like this. (days like now, but I’m going to Niagara river in winter, well, on the river, actually)

Very helpfull

When I used a crop I had the 10-22 & 24-105L combo and loved it. Had a 17-55 efs for a while and found it a bit short. Moved over to FF and the 24-105 never gets left behind. Great value for the money.

great info and experience sharing here, I posted in the thread Hawaii Walk-A-Round on my T2i, reading here I'm 95% buying the 15-85 before the rebate ends.

I have used my 24-105 on a 20D and 5D. Its an excellent general purpose lens.