In this in depth Canon 24-105mm f/4.0L USM review, we are going to look at the features, functionality, as well as the pros and cons that the Canon 24-105mm f/4.0L USM has compared with other zoom lenses of the same kind.
The Canon 24-105mm f/4.0L USM is a 670g, 4.4x standard zoom, 8 circular aperture blades lens for the Canon full format DSLRs. It is a lens that boasts a superb build as well as optical and mechanical quality just like most other Canon L series lenses. This lens has an optical construction of 18 elements in 13 groups that include 3x aspherical elements and 1x SUD element. It has a widely used range of focal lengths, making it one of the most popular general purpose lenses.
Again, this lens is quite compact when compared with others in its range. It is also moderately light in weight. To add to this, it comes with an image stabilizer (IS).
The lens structure materials
This Canon lens is made with high quality materials. These materials also have high tolerances, with this combination of factors giving this lens a strong build. It also has an almost non-existent inner lens tube wobbling. The focus control rings and the zoom work smoothly, with the build materials giving it the ability to survive in just about any condition, whether harsh or not. This is further aided by the moisture and dust sealing on the lens. The handling of the lens feels great especially because of its light weight and the smooth focus rings and zoom.
Canon 24-105mm Focus
When using a polarizer without a hood, you will encounter no focusing issues with this lens. This is because the front element does not rotate as you adjust focus. The conventional mechanism of the zoom also extends towards the range’s longer end.
The Canon 24-105mm f/4.0L USM lens has a 77mm non-rotating filter size which allows sharing of filters between this lens and other better Canon lens that also have similar filters. This gives this lens a cost saving, as well as travel convenience due to its ease of packaging. The 24-105 does not extend when one is focusing. During the same process, there is no rotation of the barrel. This makes similar filter dependent rotations, as well as circular polarizing easier. The lens has very good corner sharpness, with very slight improvements noted when sharp wide open is stopped down.
Autofocus (AF)
This Canon lens has a low AF noise and an extremely fast AF speed thanks to the front focusing system. This focusing system is based on ring type Ultrasonic Motor (USM) AF drive. The ring USM is quiet, internal, fast and accurate, giving this lens an unmatched autofocus. The AF accuracy is also very high. In a one-shot AF mode, there is always the possibility of a full time manual (FTM) focusing.
The Image Stabilizer (IS)
This lens’ image stabilizer gives a shutter speed effect equivalent to a 3 f-stops gain of the hand-held photography. There is, however, no second mode for “panning” because the image stabilizer works on static scenes only. This is not a major drawback for a lens since action photography is never the primary application for such a lens.
Distortion
Just like with other lenses in this focal length range, this lens also shows some significant barrel distortion. This is at around 4.3% at 24mm. The distortion starts at 24mm and disappears at around 40mm. The pincushion distortion starts at 80mm and disappears at around 105mm. This distortion is, however, most noticeable on a full frame body.
The Canon 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM lens has excellent contrast and color. It has a rectangular baffle, which reduces flare and increases contrast, placed on the lens’ rear. It also has a well controlled Chromatic Aberration (CA). Some CA is even visible in an area of harsh contrast from both focal length range ends, and especially on the full frame edges.
The aperture
The IS USM lens features an f/4 aperture setting that is fast widest and one that remains constant all through the range of the zoom. The lens rounds out the f/4 zoom lens line, at least up to 200mm.
The 8 circular aperture blades offer a perfect quality of defocused image. Even though the f/4 is not the best in this focal length range at creating blurred backgrounds, subjects that are close, within 105mm can have very pleasing blurred backgrounds.
The latest IS from Canon provides some extra 3-stops hold-ability by hand in this particular Canon IS USM lens. This should be a favorite for any photographer. The lens does not “jump” while starting and is well behaved and quiet. Although this IS may be unable to stop subject motion blur, it is perfect at stopping a shake on the camera. To increase depth of field (DOF) is the allowance for narrower aperture settings in hand held shots for non-moving image subjects. The IS also allows the use of shutter speeds that are longer which help create blur motion. You can also use the IS to shoot, using a wide open lens and during low light, to get a steady shot.
Recessed Switches
This Canon lens comes with recessed on and off IS, and also AF / MF (Autofocus / Manual Focus) switches. The previous Canon switches are ok. However, they are easier to accidentally get switched to a different unwanted setting due to their protruding nature. These recessed switches get rid of this problem. They are also easy to use.
The short Minimum Focus Distance (MFD) gives a very reasonable Maximum Magnification (MM). Although it does not give a perfect shot like the macro lens’ 1:1 result, it can be used to take great product pictures and flower shots. To allow for closer focusing distances, you can use the Canon D500 which is a close-up lens that can be attached to the filter threads.
Canon 24-105mm Price
If price is a basis for your buying decision, this may not play out as a major factor with this Canon lens. The quality of materials that make the lens, its build, and the quality of the images taken using this lens all speak volumes about how worth this lens is. The lens is sharp, with a good contrast and color quality. It also has a less fall off light wide open, only showing CA in the worst of harsh conditions, and at their widest focal length.
As clearly indicated in this Canon 24-105mm f/4.0L USM review, this lens is a notch above many others of its range and it a great recommend for anyone who want to experience top notch photography.