Focal Length Range

The EF 24-105 f/4L is a general purpose zoom lens. Its range of focal lengths is very useful, going from wide angle at 24mm to telephoto at 105mm. You can shoot sweeping landscapes with the short end, then zoom in close for portraits, detail shots and the like.

Canon Digital Rebel XTi, 24-105 f/4L IS USM @ 24mm, f/5, ISO 400, 1/20

Photographers whose cameras have APS-C sensors will not see a wide field of view on the 24mm end of this lens due to their cameras’ crop factor. This includes the Digital Rebel series, prosumer series (30D/40D/50D etc…), and the 7D. If you have one of these cameras and are looking for a wide angle field of view, you’ll need to look at lenses around 20mm or less.

Aside from its effects on the wide angle field of view, a crop factor will give you a lot more reach on the 105mm telephoto end of this lens which most people usually appreciate.

A DSLR with a crop factor has a sensor smaller than traditional 35mm film. This has the effect of “cropping out” a smaller area of the scene, hence the name. Crop factors don’t change focal length or make this any less of a lens, but they do change your field of view and so you should be aware of their effects.

Wide Angle Distortion

The 24-105 suffers from very noticeable distortion at wide angles. Lines will curve and bulge out — depending on your position and angle on the subject, the effects range from very slight to pronounced.

Canon EOS 5D, 24-105mm f/4L IS USM @ 24mm, f/8, ISO 800, 1/5

Notice how the columns of the building bulge out like a barrel. This effect is sometimes apparent at the short end of this lens and disappears as you zoom in.

Image Stabilization

The Image Stabilization of the EF 24-105 f/4L IS USM is extremely useful. The IS enables 3 extra stops before you see blur from hand movement. I’ve made extensive use of this feature in dark environments and can attest to its effectiveness.

Canon EOS 5D, 24-105mm f/4L IS USM @ 24mm, f/4.5, ISO 1600, 1/6

Take a look at the details in this image. The lines on the barrel and in the writing are all sharp, and yet this photo was shot hand-held at 1/6 sec. Besides hand-holding at slower shutter speeds, IS is also the gateway to more depth of field in dark situations, and using lower ISO ratings to improve image quality and reduce noise.

Keep in mind that although IS reduces blur resulting from hand movement, it cannot reduce motion blur. In order to freeze moving subjects you must use a fast shutter speed.

Constant f/4 Max Aperture

The EF 24-105 f/4L IS USM features a constant maximum aperture of f/4. This is a welcome advantage over kit lenses and consumer zooms which usually have a variable maximum aperture in the f/3.5-5.6 range.

What?

In a kit lens, the maximum diameter of the opening through which light passes shrinks as you zoom in. This affects your exposure — you need a slower shutter speed or higher ISO in order to get a telephoto shot than you do when shooting the same subject zoomed out to a wide angle.

I cannot stand having to re-think my exposure settings as I change focal lengths, and so lenses like the 24-105 with a constant maximum aperture are a welcome upgrade. The 24-105 can shoot at f/4 at 24mm, and it still shoots at f/4 when zoomed in to 105mm. A kit lens might have f/3.5, or even f/2.8 at the short end, but will likely go to f/4.5 or 5.6 when zoomed in.

Background Blur

An f/4 lens usually isn’t associated with diffuse, out-of-focus backgrounds (“bokeh”), however the telephoto capabilities of this lens make subject isolation a little more possible. Get close to your subject, zoom in to 105mm, shoot wide open at f/4, put some distance between the subject and the background and you’ll get some nicely blurred out-of-focus backgrounds.

Image Quality

The EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM has very good image quality. It is respectably sharp starting at f/4, gets nice colors and contrast. Its wide angle distortion can be frustrating, but is also fixable if you’re willing to spend a few seconds doing perspective correction in Photoshop.

Build Quality

Like other L lenses, the 24-105 is built tough. The lens is weather sealed (requires a filter on the front element to complete sealing) and the barrel is rugged. How rugged? I dropped my 24-105 from chest height onto asphalt while in Europe. It hit the ground, took a bounce and rolled to my feat. After making sure the mount was not damaged I took it back to the hotel, put it on my camera, did a few test shots and discovered the IS, auto focusing and other features were still in perfect working order. I continued using the lens throughout the remainder of the trip. The only evidence of the incident are a few nicks on the barrel. I’d call that impressive.

Please do not try this at home.

Conclusion

The 24-105 is an extremely versatile zoom lens. The image stabilization makes low light photography much more accessible to photographers without top-of-the-line cameras, and the focal length range leaves you ready for almost any situation. This is an excellent travel lens — I’ve gone on many trips with the 24-105 as my only gear.

I cannot end this review without mentioning the Canon EF 24-70 f/2.8L. If you spend any amount of time on photography social networking sites and message boards, you know that the two of these are compared constantly. Many Canon photographers looking to upgrade their kit lens and move into “L territory” often consider these two similar lenses. The 24-70 lacks IS and does not zoom as far as the 24-105, but it does have a larger maximum aperture of f/2.8.

Both the 24-70 and 24-105 are excellent lenses, and your decision between the two depends entirely upon your shooting style. Photographers looking for an all-around solution, a lens to put on the camera and leave there, would probably prefer the 24-105. On the other hand, prime lens shooters may prefer the optical quality of the 24-70.

I own both of these lenses. The 24-105 got constant use for a number of years, but I’ve recently switched to the 24-70 because I feel its image quality is closer to my prime lenses, which are what I prefer the most. In my opinion the 24-70 gets better color and contrast than the 24-105. The 24-70’s f/2.8 also makes it more possible to capture moving subjects, which suits a photojournalistic style.

With all that said, the 24-105mm f/4L IS is one of the most versatile professional quality lenses you can get from Canon, and if I had to choose just one piece of equipment to travel with, it would be the 24-105.

Where to to Buy the EF 24-105 f/4L IS

• Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM at B&H
• Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM at Adorama
• Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM at Amazon.com

Making purchases through these links helps support this site.

It turns out the rumors of Nikon making moves on Canon’s lens territory were true. The ‘net is buzzing with Nikon photographers talking about the two new lenses: the AF-S NIKKOR 24mm f/1.4G ED and the AF-S NIKKOR 16-35 f/4G ED VR.

As I previously wrote, these new lenses fill out two gaps that separated Nikon’s lens lineup from Canon’s: the lack of wide fast primes and light f/4 zooms. Both lenses feature Nikon’s nano coating which improves image quality by reducing glare.

Now that we know what this means for Nikon’s lense lineup, what does it mean for your wallet? About $2,200 for the 24/1.4 and $1,260 for the 16-35.

Where to get these lenses

At the moment, the 24mm f/1.4 is marked as “unavailable” and B&H while the 16-35 VR is “available for pre-order”. If you’re thinking of picking up either of these lenses, consider using our B&H links:

• Nikon AF-S Nikkor 24mm f/1.4G ED Wide Angle Lens at B&H
• Nikon AF-S Nikkor 16-35mm f/4G ED VR at B&H

I get most of my own gear from B&H, although I don’t plan on buying these specific lenses because I don’t shoot Nikon.

On February 9^th Nikon announced a new lens aimed at their entry-level customers: the AF-S DX Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G. This is prime glass boasting a wide f/1.8 maximum aperture, small size & light weight and an attractive price tag.

Nikon’s new 35mm f/1.8 is an introductory fixed focal length lens aimed at owners of Nikon’s entry-level cameras (the D40, D60 & D90) who are looking to experiment with this sort of equipment. Its wide f/1.8 maximum aperture enables low light shooting without a flash and allows for a shallow depth of field to isolate subjects and produce soft out-of-focus backgrounds. Plus the lens’ small size and weight makes it very portable.

Nikon’s release of the 35mm f/1.8 DX is a throwback to the SLR film days in that its field of view on a cropped DX sensor is approximately equivalent to the “normal” 50mm lenses that are prevalent among 35mm and full frame shooters. A 50mm f/1.8 lens is available from Nikon, but its field of view becomes slightly telephoto with the DX format of these entry-level DSLR cameras ands its auto focus system is not compatible with every Nikon DSLR. You can read more about why Nikon thinks their entry level customers want a normal prime and why “DX is not dead” in “35mm F1.8 for DX? What is Nikon up to?” by Digital Photography Review (link via Benjamin Golub on FriendFeed).

Last but not least is the 35mm f/1.8 DX’s price tag — an attractive $260. Good glass gets very expensive very quickly, which has had the side effect of creating a large market for cheap fast primes like the “nifty fifty” 50mm f/1.8 lenses (which run under $100.00). By engineering the 35mm f/1.8 as an accessible consumer-grade lens instead of professional glass, Nikon should be able to capitalize on two photographic effects that a great many SLR shooters fall in love with at first sight: ambient light shots and shallow depth of field.

In “Buying Digital SLR Cameras“ TechnoSailor editor Aaron Brazell makes the case for ignoring high-end digital photography equipment until one knows exactly what they need. He also offers a few tips for understanding the basics of exposure.

End of the day, rookie photographers can go and buy top of the line equipment but without a firm understanding of the techniques, it will not help them take great shots.

Aaron is certainly correct about the fact that great photos can be taken with any camera — hit up the Flickr Camera Finder choose any low-end DSLR or point & shoot camera, and take a look at the sample photos that Flickr chooses. You will surely see some amazing work by some very talented photographers no matter which camera you pick.

The Strobist has word that Best Buy is liquidating Nikon SB-800 flashes at great prices. You won’t find much of a deal, but you may be able to find prices as low as $159.95 in the brick & mortar stores.

Apparently prices vary greatly from branch to branch, so call ahead to check on the inventory status and the price tag.

Photo by geishaboy500.