Canon's popular L-series lens, the EF-24105mm f/4L IS USM has been updated with new optics to reduce distortion and increase sharpness. New lens is the EF-24105mm f/4L IS II USM (1,099). It features a modern design with larger zoom rings and focus rings and a lock that keeps it in its shortest possible position while not being used. Although it is a significant improvement on the original version, we believe the Sigma 24-105mm f/4L IS II USM Lens is still a superior value and Editors' Choice.
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Design
Amazon's EF 24-105mm (Opens in a New Window) has the same design theme as Canon's other L-series lenses. The barrel of the EF 24-105mm is made from black polycarbonate with a red band at the front to signify its status in Canon's high-end product line. It is 4.7x3.3 inches in height (HD), weighs about 1.8 pounds and can support 77mm front filters.
Fluorine is used to repel grease and water from the front and rear of the lens. This makes it easier to keep the lens clean—if you accidentally fingerprint the lens, you'll be able to clean it easily with a microfiber cloth. The lens is also resistant to dust and moisture, making it compatible with sealed Canon SLRs such as the 5D Mark IV.
Zooming in will extend the lens. The barrel has a lock switch. The lock will not zoom beyond 24mm if you activate it. This is to ensure that gravity doesn't cause the barrel to move when your camera hangs on a strap. A reversible lens cover is available in addition to the front and rear caps.
Rubberized rings with large diameters control focus and zoom. The base of the lens has the zoom ring, which is located at the center. Marked positions are 24, 35, 50 and 70. 85 and 105mm respectively. And the focus ring, which lies right behind the front element, can be found just below the front element. You can have full-time manual focus control, even if the lens has been set to autofocus mode. However, you cannot switch to manual focus using a toggle switch. You can also toggle the optical stabilizer system on and off.
Focuses to 17.7inches (45cm). The working distance is a little long at wider angles—your typical 24mm prime lens focuses to around 10 inches—so you won't get as close to subjects at wide angles as you can with a fixed lens. Above, the shot of an ice cream cone was taken at 24mm focus. But at longer focal lengths you can get decent macro magnification, 1:4.3 life-size.
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Image quality
I used the Imatest software to test the 24-105mm lens. The 50MP Canon EOS 5DSR was also used to take images. The lens scored a solid 3,432 lines per picture at 24mm f/4 on a center weighted sharpness assessment. This is a remarkable score for a zoom, as it's significantly higher than we need to see 2,200 lines. Image quality is strong through most of the frame, although details are a little less crisp at the outer edges—but they still show a good 2,756-line score.
The image quality increases at f/5.6. It jumps to 3,509 lines, and the edges show a good 3,140 line score. The average score at f/8 is 3,585 lines. Edge performance is even. This level of quality can be maintained at f/11 (3.5334 lines). At f/16, diffraction occurs, cutting off sharpness at 3,025 lines. It is worse at f/22 where resolution falls to 2,101 lines.
The 35mm f/4 lens has a similar strength, with an average score of 3,422-lines and better edges (3,035 line). The score is increased to 3,576 lines by reducing the aperture to f/5.6. Edges are at the top of 3,200 lines. The maximum performance occurs at f/8. This score averages an impressive 3,606 lines. Edges are just shy of 3,500. It is quite sharp at f/11 (3 459 lines), although it suffers from the predicted drop in resolution at both f/16 (2 988 lines) and at f/22 (2 1,134 lines).
At 50mm, the zoom drops in resolution. It shows 3,105 lines at f/4, which is similar through most of the frame but with edges dropping to 2,229 line. The results at f/5.6 look almost identical. A noticeable increase in resolution is seen at f/8, with an average of 3,424 lines and edges showing about 2,850 lines. The resolution is slightly better at f/11 (3384 lines), however, the edges have a significant increase of 3,315 lines. F/16 produces similar results as f/4 (3.143 lines), but the edges show a much better performance. Stopping down at f/22 reduces clarity to just 2,350 lines.
At 85mm, the resolution drops more. At f/4 the lens shows just 2,456 lines—better than what we want to see at a minimum, but not by much. At 1,376 lines, edges are blurry. This is not an issue if you are shooting portraits, since depth of field will blur the edges. However, it can be a problem when photographing flat subjects with a longer focal length.
The image quality is slightly better as the aperture drops. The lens can see 2,552 lines at f/5.6, however, edges remain blurry. At f/8 the score is good for 2,824 lines. However, edges show only 1,400 lines. The lens can hit 3,125 lines at f/11, while edges show 2,143 lines. However, they are still very soft. If you want crisp edges at 85mm you'll need to shoot at f/16—the average score is 3,015 lines and edges are a respectable 2,584 lines. As expected, there is a significant drop in f/22 with only 2,359 lines.
At 105mm, things look better. The lens has 2,872 lines at f/4. While edges look soft (1,837 line), this is still a significant improvement over what you see at 85mm. The average resolution increases slightly at f/5.6 to 3,054 lines, but there is no improvement around the edges. The lens has a stronger edge performance at f/8 (2,390 line average) but a solid 3,353 line average score. However, f/11 will give you the highest edge-to-edge quality. It scores an average score of 3,433 lines with edges above 3,000 lines. Good images can be obtained at f/16 (3.102 lines), but you should avoid f/22 (2.410 lines).
We also look at sharpness. Image distortion can cause problems with zooms. There is a noticeable barrel distortion at 24mm, approximately 3.6 percent. This makes straight lines seem to bend outwards. This is actually a significant improvement over the old lens which had 5.5 percent at 24mm. The distortion is caused by the pincushion type, making lines look inwardly as you zoom. At 35mm you get around 1%, at 50mm 1.8%, at 85mm and at 105mm 1.9 percent. If you shoot JPGs you can enable in-camera correction for distortion. Raw capture allows you to fix distortion in one click. Lightroom also includes a profile for your lens. Above image, 56mm. The one below was corrected with Lightroom. The pincushion distortion can be seen throughout the image. It is most noticeable at the brick wall at bottom.
I used an ExpoDisc (Opens in new window) to check how the lens casts light onto the sensor. Imatest's Uniformity also helped me verify this. The corners show vignette when you shoot at f/4. It is about 1.5 f stops (-1.5EV). This happens throughout the zoom range. This deficit can be reduced to a minimum of -1EV at narrow apertures, but it is not noticeable in actual-world situations. You can adjust your camera to remove the slight vignette when you shoot JPG. Raw photographers can also correct it by using the Lightroom profile.
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Conclusions
While the Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS II USM lens is a substantial upgrade over its predecessor, it has some shortcomings that made it difficult to recommend it enthusiastically when we first reviewed it. Although it produces sharper images with less distortion, the zooming process can cause some loss in sharpness. It is appealing for general photography because of its Canon brand and fluorine coating. That said, we think the Sigma 24-105mm F4 DG OS HSM Art is a better overall value—its sharpness is more consistent from 24 through 105mm, and it's priced at just $900. The new 24-105mm lens is an improvement on its predecessor if you want to use Canon glass.
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