Lens Test: EF 24-105mm f/4l IS II USM
Revamped and revitalised, the Mark II edition of Canon’s 24-105mm aims to strike back with a vengeance
Has this new version of Canon’s decade-old lens been updated enough to pique interest?
canon’s veteran 24-105mm constant-aperture lens is more than a decade old and has faced stiff competition from Sigma’s newer Art-line equivalent, and more recently from Canon’s own lightweight and relatively inexpensive IS STM variable-aperture counterpart. Indeed, the 24-105mm L-series optic didn’t make the grade when Canon drew up its list of approved lenses for use with the high-resolution EOS 5DS and 5DS R. The new Mk II edition has something to prove. Maintaining a constant aperture throughout its extended zoom range, the 24-105mm offers greater telephoto reach than Canon’s 24-70mm lenses, making it more ideal for reportage, travel and event photography. As you’d hope for in an L-series lens, weather-seals are fitted and the Mk II is redesigned to be more resistant to shock and vibration, along with muck-repellent fluorine coatings on the front and rear elements. It certainly feels very well engineered and robust.
Focusing is fully internal, so the front element neither extends nor rotates. The zoom and focus rings are silky smooth in operation, but there’s no hint of zoom creep. It’s bigger and 125g heavier than the original lens, being almost as heavy as the EF 24-70mm f/2.8l II USM.
A revamped optical path aims to deliver improved corner-to-corner sharpness throughout the entire zoom range. Canon’s top-grade Air Sphere Coatings are a new addition, to further reduce ghosting and
flare, while maximizing contrast. A new-generation image stabilizer is rated at four stops, compared with the older edition’s 2.5 stops, while also adding a panning mode with automatic detection. And for movie capture, the ring-type ultrasonic autofocus system is re-engineered to give smoother focus transitions.
Performance
Sharpness is slightly better than the original lens, especially towards the edges and corners of the image frame, but the Mk II still isn’t among the sharpest tools in Canon’s box. In our tests, we couldn’t see any real increase in sharpness over the 24-105mm IS STM, which is far less expensive to buy. Yet, Canon confirmed to us that the Mk II will be on the hit list of approved lenses for the 5DS and 5DS R.
Autofocus is fast for stills but, while it’s not massively jerky for video capture, transitions are more jumpy than when using the IS STM (Stepping Motor) lens. Our tests confirmed that the image stabilizer lives up to its four-stop rating.
Barrel distortion at 24mm isn’t quite as dreadful as from the original lens, but still quite heavy. Vignetting is also well controlled for this class of lens, while bokeh benefits with an increase from eight to ten diaphragm blades, producing a better-rounded aperture.