Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM Lens Review

The Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM is a standard zoom featuring a constant f/4 aperture, image stabilization and USM (Ultra Sonic Motor) focusing system for fast and silent auto focus operations. Being an “L” lens also means that the lens is built to a higher quality for durability and image quality. The image stabilizer allows you to hand hold with a 3-4 stop advantage. Read my Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM Lens Review to see how the lens stacks up.

Image Quality

The Canon L series lenses are known for their excellent image quality and the Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM does not disappoint. The lens does exhibit some barrel and pincushion distortion as well as some chromatic abberation, but these are very easy to correct in Post Processing when shooting in RAW and using a modern Raw processing tool such as Adobe Lightroom. On full frame sensor bodies such as the 5D and 6D cameras, you will notice some vignetting when shooting wide open, and on APS-C bodies the vignetting is not as pronounced, but this is also easily fixed in post processing.

Distortion

Overall the lens is pretty good, but not exempt from distortion. You will see some barrel distortion on the wide end and some pincushion on the telephoto side, but these are easily dealt with in post processing, especially if you shoot in RAW and use either the Canon DPP, Lightroom or other quality RAW conversion. Shooting in JPG with some cameras that have the built in lens correction profiles can be done as well, but not all cameras offer that feature.

Lens Flare

Lens flare is decent, but if you have the sun directly in your frame you can expect to see flare artifacts. These are not easily cleaned up in post processing so you want to be careful and be sure to use the included lens shade when the sun is just outside the frame. The lens hood does offer decent coverage for a standard zoom, but at the longer focal lengths the lens is not as well covered as with a dedicated prime lens.

Autofocus Performance

Autofocus is Fast and silent with the Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens, although the actual speed and accuracy will be determined by the Camera body to which the lens is mounted. When used in Live view, autofocus is slower than when using the viewfinder, unless mounted to the 7DII or 70D bodies that feature the dual pixel technology.

Build Quality

Like all Canon L lenses, this lens has excellent build quality. the body is mostly metal and fully weather sealed. The lens feels nice and solid in the hand.

What I Like

Professional Build quality
Weather Sealing
No Zoom Creep
Sharp & contrasty Images

What I Don’t Like

Size
Price (when purchased alone)

The Bottom Line

This is a great lens for Canon full frame DSLR cameras. This lens will provide you with excellent image quality, autofocus performance and great build. The image stabilizer works very well. If you are purchasing this lens in a “kit’ with a Canon DSLR, this lens is a great value, but when purchased alone it is a little expensive.

Pricing*

• Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM - $999.99

*Pricing from Manufacturer's website - Current selling price may be different.

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