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Which 24-70mm???

bud297
Apprentice

Hi I currently have a 80d but I wil be upgrading to a FF(5d mark iv) by the end of the year. I'm in the process of purchasing a new lens but I am having a hard time trying to decide between the Canon 24-70mm f4l or ther Tamron 24-70mm f2.8 G2. The canon 24-70mm f2.8 is out of my price range. Which 24-70mm would be best for the 80d right now but more importantly best for the FF camera(5d mark iv) I upgrade to? 

1 ACCEPTED SOLUTION

diverhank
Authority

@bud297wrote:

Hi I currently have a 80d but I wil be upgrading to a FF(5d mark iv) by the end of the year. I'm in the process of purchasing a new lens but I am having a hard time trying to decide between the Canon 24-70mm f4l or ther Tamron 24-70mm f2.8 G2. The canon 24-70mm f2.8 is out of my price range. Which 24-70mm would be best for the 80d right now but more importantly best for the FF camera(5d mark iv) I upgrade to? 


From my perspective, you should always consider "buy it once, buy it right".  To me, this means getting the Canon 24-70mm f/2.8L II IS USM - top of the line, best of the best.  If you can't afford new, you might want to consider the used market. But then if you can afford the 5D mark IV, you can also afford the 24-70 II...it's a matter of willingness, I think :).

 

Many people I know keep getting a lesser model then keep upgrading...in the process they end up spending a lot more money than to just get the "right" one right away.  Performance-wise, it may be perfectly alright for the other models discussed herein but there's also a human element...unless you're immune, it will keep gnawing at you that you didn't get the best...sooner or later you will have to upgrade... Imho, the 5D Mark IV deserves a Canon 24-70 f/2.8L II.

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Diverhank's photos on Flickr

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16 REPLIES 16

ebiggs1
Legend
Legend

I could live with either but I think I would go Canon EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM Lens.  Two things enter here. I have the Tamron SP 24-70mm f/2.8 Di VC USD G2 Lens and I can say it is a fantastic lens.  Second place to the top of the mark Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM Lens in my book.  However, the two things, do you need f2.8?  And, the Canon f4 is very good and $300 or $400 cheaper. You mentioned budget!

EB
EOS 1DX and 1D Mk IV and less lenses then before!

If you're going to settle for an f/4 lens, you probably should also consider the Canon 24-105mm f/4L IS (Mk I or II). It's more or less the standard walkaround lens for Canon FF cameras. For me, it's the go-to lens outdoors in the daytime. I also have the 24-70mm f/2.8L II, but I consider that to be primarily an indoor event lens (paired with the 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II).

 

Those lenses and the ones you mentioned are a bit long on an 80D. They're all very usable on an 80D, but I don't think I'd buy any of them (in preference to the 17-55mm f/2.8 IS, for example) unless I were planning to go FF.

Bob
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania USA

"... you probably should also consider the Canon 24-105mm f/4L IS (Mk I or II)"

 

 

I like that idea too. But keep in mind the Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS II USM Lens is more expensive.  $200 more I think ?

The first version of the 24-105mil (there is no such thing as a Mk I) isn't in the same class as these newer ones.

EB
EOS 1DX and 1D Mk IV and less lenses then before!


@ebiggs1wrote:

"... you probably should also consider the Canon 24-105mm f/4L IS (Mk I or II)"

 

 

I like that idea too. But keep in mind the Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS II USM Lens is more expensive.  $200 more I think ?

The first version of the 24-105mil (there is no such thing as a Mk I) isn't in the same class as these newer ones.


The difference between the "first version" and the Mk II is $100 at B&H as I type this. That difference doesn't suggest that the prevailing wisdom considers them to be "not in the same class". I suppose that if I were buying today, I'd spring for the Mk II, But given that the Mk II is larger and heavier, I'll stick with my original for the foreseeable future.

Bob
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania USA

"That difference doesn't suggest that the prevailing wisdom considers them to be "not in the same class". "

 

The IQ doesn't even match up. Not debatable.

EB
EOS 1DX and 1D Mk IV and less lenses then before!

TCampbell
Elite
Elite

I have the Canon EF 24-70 f/2.8L USM (mark I).  If I were buying today, I'd get the mark II.  But I haven't bothered to upgrade my lens becuase it's not a lens I use very often.

 

If I'm taking something "artsy" and I want some background blur, etc. then f/2.8 doesn't generate a lot of out of focus blur in the 24-70 range... the 70-200, on the other hand, generates very pleasant blur (particularly at the long end).  This means my 24-70 is mostly relegated to candid shots (and often indoors), but not portraits (if they were portraits, I'd grab my 85mm f/1.4).

 

I will make a general comment... 

 

If you want a full frame camera because you were hoping for an improvement in image quality, then you're going to need to supply your camera with a diet of high-quality lenses.  

 

What you get when you move to full frame is a couple of things.

 

#1  You typically do get better low-light performance (especially with a 5D IV ... it's a nice improvement in both ISO and dynamic range).

 

#2  When comparing an 80D (or any APS-C body) to a 5D IV (or any full-frame body) using the same focal length (e.g. just pick on 100mm) you'll find you get a wider angle of view with the full-frame camera.    

 

For an APS-C camera at 100mm, the field of view is 12.8° in the wide direction.  With a full-frame camera it's 20.4° using the same lens.    The focal length is the focal length and all the math about focal lengths don't change.  BUT... since the angle of view is wider, the photographer will typically change how they shoot ... by moving in closer to the subject so they get the equivalent composition (e.g. suppose it was a portrait).  When they do this, the shorter camera to subject focus distance means that the depth of field was reduced and THIS means that the background blur will be increased.

 

If I take a subject at 16' away using a 100mm lens using a crop-frame camera, and then do the math to calculate the dimensional field of view (it's 3' 7.2" wide by 2' 4.8" or a diagonal of 4' 3.9") and I flip to a full-frame camera, I would get the SAME dimensions if I move closer... to 10' (notice that 10 x 1.6 = 16 ... so it literally is the difference of the crop factor).

 

But this difference will actually make quite a noticable change in depth of field.  For example, at f/2.8 (using a circle-of-confusion size of 0.019mm) the depth of field at 10' would be 16' would be 9.8", but the depth of field at 10' would be 3.8" (that's quite a noticeable reduction).

 

 

This is why you'll hear people say the full-frame cameras are better for things such as portraits... those people are probably going for the increase in background blur.

 

Tim Campbell
5D III, 5D IV, 60Da

diverhank
Authority

@bud297wrote:

Hi I currently have a 80d but I wil be upgrading to a FF(5d mark iv) by the end of the year. I'm in the process of purchasing a new lens but I am having a hard time trying to decide between the Canon 24-70mm f4l or ther Tamron 24-70mm f2.8 G2. The canon 24-70mm f2.8 is out of my price range. Which 24-70mm would be best for the 80d right now but more importantly best for the FF camera(5d mark iv) I upgrade to? 


From my perspective, you should always consider "buy it once, buy it right".  To me, this means getting the Canon 24-70mm f/2.8L II IS USM - top of the line, best of the best.  If you can't afford new, you might want to consider the used market. But then if you can afford the 5D mark IV, you can also afford the 24-70 II...it's a matter of willingness, I think :).

 

Many people I know keep getting a lesser model then keep upgrading...in the process they end up spending a lot more money than to just get the "right" one right away.  Performance-wise, it may be perfectly alright for the other models discussed herein but there's also a human element...unless you're immune, it will keep gnawing at you that you didn't get the best...sooner or later you will have to upgrade... Imho, the 5D Mark IV deserves a Canon 24-70 f/2.8L II.

================================================
Diverhank's photos on Flickr

"...you should always consider "buy it once, buy it right""

 

I totally agree with that.  Could not say it better.  Always buy the best you can afford.

 

"...people I know keep getting a lesser model then keep upgrading...in the process they end up spending a lot more money than to just get the "right" one right away."

 

Again, absolutely spot on.  Seen it  many times

EB
EOS 1DX and 1D Mk IV and less lenses then before!

Yes I've been on eBay and bid on a few Canon 24-70mm f2.8L II USM lenses. So I'm buying it right!
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