Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 USM L - Full Format Review / Test Report - Sample Images & Verdict
Lens Reviews - Canon EOS (Full Format)
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Analysis
Sample Images & Verdict

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Sample Images

Click on a thumbnail to view the original file (opens in a separate window). Please note that the originals are FULL SIZE samples (=several megabytes) thus requiring a significant amount of bandwidth so please take care of the limited resources here.

Make Canon
Model Canon EOS 5D Mark II
ISO Speed 200
Focal Length 70.0mm
Aperture: f/2.8
Exposure 1/2000s
Make Canon
Model Canon EOS 5D Mark II
ISO Speed 200
Focal Length 54.0mm
Aperture: f/9.0
Exposure 1/800s
Make Canon
Model Canon EOS 5D Mark II
ISO Speed 200
Focal Length 45.0mm
Aperture: f/9.0
Exposure 1/200s
Make Canon
Model Canon EOS 5D Mark II
ISO Speed 200
Focal Length 70.0mm
Aperture: f/2.8
Exposure 1/2000s
Make Canon
Model Canon EOS 5D Mark II
ISO Speed 200
Focal Length 51.0mm
Aperture: f/9.0
Exposure 1/640s
Make Canon
Model Canon EOS 5D Mark II
ISO Speed 200
Focal Length 70.0mm
Aperture: f/2.8
Exposure 1/8000s
Make Canon
Model Canon EOS 5D Mark II
ISO Speed 200
Focal Length 24.0mm
Aperture: f/9.0
Exposure 1/400s
Make Canon
Model Canon EOS 5D Mark II
ISO Speed 200
Focal Length 70.0mm
Aperture: f/9.0
Exposure 1/400s
Make Canon
Model Canon EOS 5D Mark II
ISO Speed 200
Focal Length 65.0mm
Aperture: f/2.8
Exposure 1/2000s
Make Canon
Model Canon EOS 5D Mark II
ISO Speed 200
Focal Length 24.0mm
Aperture: f/10.0
Exposure 1/400s

Verdict

The Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 USM L is an impressive zoom lens upon first contact but it stayed somewhat short of the high expectations with respect to its optical characteristics. It can certainly produce sharp images if you know how to handle it but the pronounced field curvature at the wide end is a faux-pas which can often spoil the game. The vignetting and distortion characteristic is above average for a lens in this class. Lateral CAs are surprisingly well controlled and not field relevant. The quality of the bokeh is usually decent but not without flaws in certain situations.
A shining aspect is the mechanical quality of the lens but you expect no less from such a professional grade lens (optical sample variations seem to be an issue though). The AF is also highly impressive in terms of speed and also accuracy.
All-in-all we'd say that Canon should think about an update - it terms of price/performance it's not really an obvious choice on a full format DSLR.

Optical Quality: (downgrade due to field curvature)    
Mechanical Quality:
Price/Performance:
      
   What does this mean ?

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