Canon has updated one of its more popular L-series lenses, the EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM, with optics that reduce distortion and improve sharpness. The new lens, the EF 24-105mm f/4L IS II USM ($1,099), also sports a more modern fit and finish, with larger zoom and focus rings, and a lock to keep it at its shortest position when not in use. It's a definite improvement over the first version, but we still think the Sigma 24-105mm F4 DG OS HSM Art is a better value, and our Editors' Choice.
Design
The EF 24-105mm ($1,299.00 at Amazon) follows the same design motif as other L-series lenses from Canon. Its barrel is black polycarbonate, with a red ring toward the front signifying its place in the company's top-end line. It measures 4.7 by 3.3 inches (HD), weighs 1.8 pounds, and supports 77mm front filters.
The front and rear elements are coated with fluorine, which repels grease and water. This makes it easier to keep the lens clean—if you accidentally fingerprint the lens, you'll be able to clean it easily with a microfiber cloth. It's also protected from moisture and dust, so it pairs well with sealed Canon SLRs like the 5D Mark IV.
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The lens does extend when zoomed. There's a lock switch on the barrel. If you enable the lock, it won't zoom past the 24mm setting, so gravity won't make the barrel creep out when you've got your camera hanging on a strap at your side. In addition to front and rear caps, a reversible lens hood is included.
Large rubberized rings control zoom and focus. The zoom ring sits toward the base of the lens, with marked positions at 24, 35, 50, 70, 85, and 105mm, and the focus ring is right behind the front element. Full-time manual focus override is supported, even when the lens is set to autofocus mode, but you can switch to manual focus only using a toggle switch. There's also a toggle to turn the optical stabilization system on or off.
The lens focuses to 17.7 inches (45cm). The working distance is a little long at wider angles—your typical 24mm prime lens focuses to around 10 inches—so you won't get as close to subjects at wide angles as you can with a fixed lens. The shot of the ice cream cone above is captured at just about the minimum focus distance at 24mm. But at longer focal lengths you can get decent macro magnification, 1:4.3 life-size.
Image Quality
I tested the 24-105mm using the Imatest software suite and the 50MP Canon EOS 5DS R to capture images. At 24mm f/4 the lens scores a strong 3,432 lines per picture height on a center-weighted sharpness evaluation. That's markedly better than the 2,200 lines we want to see at a bare minimum, and is an excellent mark for a zoom. Image quality is strong through most of the frame, although details are a little less crisp at the outer edges—but they still show a good 2,756-line score.
Image quality improves all around at f/5.6, with the average score jumping to 3,509 lines and edges showing a very good 3,140-line score. At f/8 the average score is 3,585 lines, with even performance from edge to edge, and that level of quality is maintained at f/11 (3,534 lines). Diffraction sets in at f/16, cutting sharpness to 3,025 lines, and is more of an issue at f/22, where the resolution drops all the way to 2,101 lines.
At 35mm f/4 the lens is just as strong, with an average 3,422-line score and a better edge result (3,035 lines). Narrowing the aperture to f/5.6 improves the score to 3,576 lines, with edges that top 3,200 lines. Peak performance is at f/8; the average score is an excellent 3,606 lines and edges are almost as strong, just shy of 3,500 lines. The lens is also quite good at f/11 (3,459 lines), but suffers from the expected drop in resolution at f/16 (2,988 lines) and f/22 (2,134 lines).
The zoom loses some resolution at 50mm. At f/4 it shows 3,105 lines, with similar performance through much of the frame, but edges that drop to 2,229 lines. Results at f/5.6 are almost identical. At f/8 you get a noticeable bump in resolution, 3,424 lines on average with edges that show about 2,850 lines. Resolution is a little bit better at f/11 (3,484 lines), but edges show a big increase to 3,315 lines. Shooting at f/16 nets similar results to f/4 (3,143 lines), but with even performance from edge to edge, and stopping down to f/22 cuts clarity to 2,350 lines.
There's a more significant drop in resolution at 85mm. At f/4 the lens shows just 2,456 lines—better than what we want to see at a minimum, but not by much. Edges are blurry, at 1,376 lines. That's not a big concern if you're shooting a portrait, as depth of field is likely to blur the periphery, but it's a limitation when shooting relatively flat subjects at a longer focal length.
Image quality improves modestly as you stop down. At f/5.6 the lens shows 2,552 lines, but edges are still quite blurry, and the same is true at f/8, where the average score jumps to a good 2,824 lines, but edges only show about 1,400 lines. At f/11 the lens hits 3,125 lines and edges are much better (2,143 lines), but still soft. If you want crisp edges at 85mm you'll need to shoot at f/16—the average score is 3,015 lines and edges are a respectable 2,584 lines. There's a big drop at f/22, as expected, with the lens showing just 2,359 lines.
Things look a bit better at 105mm. At f/4 the lens scores 2,872 lines, and while edges are soft (1,837 lines), they're an improvement from what we see at 85mm. There's a modest jump in average resolution at f/5.6 (3,054 lines), but not improvement at the edges. At f/8 the lens shows stronger edge performance (2,390 lines) and a solid 3,353-line average score, but for the best edge-to-edge quality you'll want to shoot at f/11. Here it scores 3,433 lines on average with edges that top 3,000 lines. You can still get decent images at f/16 (3,102 lines), but avoid f/22 (2,410 lines).
In addition to sharpness, we look at image distortion, which can be an issue with zooms. At 24mm there is noticeable barrel distortion, 3.6 percent, which makes straight lines appear to curve outward. It's actually an improvement from the older version of the lens, which shows 5.5 percent at 24mm. Distortion changes to the pincushion variety, which makes lines appear to curve inward, as you zoom. You get about 1 percent at 35mm, 1.8 percent at 50mm, and 1.9 percent at 85mm and 105mm. If you shoot JPGs you can enable in-camera correction for distortion. If you opt for Raw capture, Lightroom includes a lens profile to correct distortion with a single click. The image above, shot at 56mm, is uncorrected, while the one below is corrected using Lightroom. You can see the pincushion distortion throughout the image, but it's especially noticeable in the brick wall at the bottom of the frame.
I also checked how even the lens casts light on the sensor using an ExpoDisc and Imatest's Uniformity tool. There is some vignette at the corners when shooting at f/4, about 1.5 f-stops (-1.5EV) throughout the zoom range. At narrower apertures that deficit is within our -1EV tolerance, and is negligible in real-world conditions. If the modest vignette is bothersome you can set your camera to correct for it automatically when shooting JPG, and Raw shooters can remove it using the same Lightroom profile that removes distortion.
Conclusions
The Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS II USM is a solid upgrade to its predecessor, a lens with some flaws that prevented us from enthusiastically recommending it when we reviewed it. It delivers sharper results with less distortion, but still suffers from a loss of sharpness when zoomed. But the Canon brand, fluorine coating, and a longer design than a more typical 24-70mm zoom making it an appealing zoom for general photography. That said, we think the Sigma 24-105mm F4 DG OS HSM Art is a better overall value—its sharpness is more consistent from 24 through 105mm, and it's priced at just $900. But if you prefer to shoot with Canon glass, the new 24-105mm is a definite improvement over its predecessor.
The EF 24-105mm f/4L IS II USM improves upon the first version of the lens, but isn't the best 24-105mm available for the Canon system.
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