The Canon EF 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5 USM lens is an ultra-wide zoom lens with portrait-length telephoto capability. By having multiple lens groups move during zooming, the lens was made compact and lightweight. The Ashperical element suppresses distortion. High contrast is maintained at all focal lengths and sharp images are obtained. (Canon)
Reviews
The 24-85 is a nice travel lens combining a nice general purpose focal length range in an easy-to-take-with-you package. Though 24mm is not real wide on a 1.6x body, it is noticeably wider than the 28mm some similar zoom lenses provide. The 24mm end is wide enough to take landscape shots and the 85mm end is long enough for portraits.
Fred Miranda Forum User Reviews
I am totally surprised and satisfied. This is a great lens. I find it sharp wide open at 24mm, and at all other settings.
The focusing is fast and accurate, and completely silent. I have no idea how old my lens is, but there is no zoom creep or looseness anywhere. It impresses as very well built.
All-in-all the lens is capable to beat the cheapo EF-S 18-55mm as well as the EF-S 17-85mm IS and regarding sharpness it can even rival the the EF 24-70mm f/2.8 USM L (on APS-C). If the focal length range was more attractive here the lens would have been a killer but as such it is just a good compromise.
I’ve only exposed a couple rolls film with it and they look reasonably good. The word from Canon is that it is performs about as well as the 28-105. It won’t deliver the punch of the 28-70/2.8 or the prime lenses, but it won’t leave a $1500 hole in your wallet or carve a notch in your shoulder either. I’d rather have the 24-85 than the 28-105 because I think the extra 4mm on the wide end are more useful than the extra 20mm on the long end.
Photography Review User Reviews
It is a great lens with outstanding contrast and acceptable sharpness throughout all the aperture ranges. It is tack sharp especially in f/8. I like most the contrast and tone of this lens and I sold my 28-105mm and 50mm as I got really good results with this lens.
Where to Buy
First off, consider going to your local camera store (and I don’t necessarily mean Wolf Camera at the mall). By going to your local camera store, you’re supporting your community and you just might build a lasting relationship with people you can rely on when you need some help or answers. If you’re buying online, I recommend sticking with Amazon, B&H Photo or Adorama. These three vendors are reliable, trustworthy and generally have the best (legitimate) prices.
[tags]Canon, EF, 24-85mm, f/3.5-4.5, USM, lens, review[/tags]