[Review] EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II Latest Reviews Round-Up

Lighter and smaller than the original, yet solid and sturdy, the EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II is causing lots of discussion, mainly because of the price tag of $2200. Let’s start with some first impressions by fstoppers. More detailed is the lens test performed by lensrentals.com (comparison with other similar lenses). The EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II has an outstanding sharpness and resolution:

The resolution absolutely, positively kicks butt and takes names. It is way better than the lens it replaces. It’s better at 70mm than the best Canon zoom I know of, the 70-200 f/2.8 IS II. It’s even better at 24mm than the sharpest 24mm prime we have, the Canon 24 TS-E. In the center, in the corners, it doesn’t care. We only had 5 copies to test, but they were all very similar with little copy-to-copy variation.

Another test comes from borrowlenses.com, with comparisons with other lenses and interactive test charts.

EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II specifications:

  • Large f/2.8 Aperture Through Zoom Range
  • UD Lenses Minimize Chromatic Aberrations
  • Reduced Spherical Aberrations
  • Highly Resistant to Dust and Water
  • 9-Blade Diaphragm For Beautiful Bokeh
  • Lens Coatings Minimizes Ghosting
  • Fluorine Coating Reduces Fingerprints
  • Zoom Lock Lever For Safe Transporting

EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II price check: B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA EF 24-70mm f/2.8 price check: B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM Already In Stock

DigitalRev has the new EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM in stock (click here). Price depending by your check-out location.

  • Large f/2.8 Aperture Through Zoom Range
  • UD Lenses Minimize Chromatic Aberrations
  • Reduced Spherical Aberrations
  • Highly Resistant to Dust and Water
  • 9-Blade Diaphragm For Beautiful Bokeh
  • Lens Coatings Minimizes Ghosting
  • Fluorine Coating Reduces Fingerprints
  • Zoom Lock Lever For Safe Transporting
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[Rumor] EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM To Be Released September 6th??

According to Japanese site dcwatch (translated) the EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM II (click here for specs) lens will be released to the general public on September 6th, that’s in three days!! Price will be around $2300.

Lens initially announced on February 7, had been scheduled for release in April. Had postponed the launch in early July and then, I had been postponed again in mid-September the launch as “it takes time to make final adjustments to achieve the target performance high” on July 5. This time, Release date has been confirmed.

To pre-order check the following shops: Adorama (click here) and B&H (click here). If you live somewhere in Asia, DigitalRev could be the right choice for you, they have the lens available for pre-order too (click here, price depends by your location).

EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM II world-wide price check (and pre-order options): B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA

[via dcwatch]

[Patent] Canon 24-70mm f/2.8 Image Stabilized Lens

Egami (machine translated) found a new Canon patent for a 24-70mm f/2.8 lens with Image Stabilization. They suggest, correctly in my opinion, that Canon has to react to the release of the Tamron AF 24-70mm f/2.8 SP Di USD VC which has image stabilization (called VC, Vibration Compensation by Tamron).

  • Patent Publication No. 2012-123156
    • 2012.6.28 Release Date
    • 2010.12.8 filing date
  • Example 1
    • Zoom ratio 2.46
    • 68.99mm – f = 28.00 focal length
    • Fno. 2.88
    • 17.41 deg – 37.69 half angle of view.
    • Image height 21.64mm
    • 222.38mm – 192.25 full-length lens
    • BF 39.98 – 53.68
    • Effective diameter 74.47mm ball before
    • Effective diameter aperture 31.23mm
    • 19 sheets 12 group lens configuration
    • Three three aspherical surface
    • 2 UD glass sheet
  • Example 2
    • Zoom ratio 2.86
    • 68.70 – f = 24.00 focal length
    • Fno. 2.88
    • 17.48 deg – 42.03 half angle of view.
    • Image height 21.64mm
    • 224.86mm – 191.93 full-length lens
    • BF 39.85 – 55.68mm
    • Effective diameter 77.29mm ball before
    • Effective diameter aperture 32.58mm
    • Lens Construction 12 group 21 sheets
    • Three three aspherical surface
    • 2 UD glass sheet
  • Five-group zoom positive and negative positive positive and negative
  • (For Focusing group 2) Inner Focus
  • (Part 1 of the fourth lens group, anti-vibration unit is L4a) image stabilization
  • Positive refractive power of the first lens group
    • The aberration can be corrected and weaken, the lens is larger
    • Difficult to correct aberration and strengthen
  • The amount of movement of the second lens group and one, the first
    • Must be strengthened to reduce power and refraction, aberration correction is difficult
    • Diameter of the first lens group becomes larger and more

[Review] Tamron AF 24-70mm f/2.8 SP Di USD VC Getting More Positive Reviews

Chris over at thephoblographer.com just reviewed Tamron’s new zoom lens, the AF 24-70mm f/2.8 SP Di USD VC (click here) for Canon mount. As with the other reviews I featured (here, here, and here) this one too confirms the absolutely positive impression people has with this lens. The review is detailed and comprehensive, and comes with lot of sample images. From the conclusion:

The Tamron 24-70mm f2.8 VC SP USD wins nothing less than my highest recommendations. Sure, it is expensive, but when you really weigh what you’re getting, it is quite worth its weight in gold. You’re getting excellent image stabilization, great build quality […] excellent sharpness, accurate focusing that doesn’t need microadjusting, and versatile color rendition.

Tamron AF 24-70mm f/2.8 SP Di USD VC availability and price check: B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA

Image courtesy of thephoblographer.com