Canon EF 24mm f2.8 review

Very happy with my Canon EF 24mm f/2.8 Wide Angle Lens for Canon SLR Cameras, and so are others who have been viewing my pictures of the Aurora Borealis. Crisp and clear.

For the money, this is a great overall lens. With the crop factor on the Canon t2i and t3i, this translates to a 38 mm lens, which is known to have broad applications for portraits, scenery, and even close ups. I get good images with this lens, both still and video, and use it more than any other lens. Also, being a prime, it works well in low light situations. It is also a light lens and can be used on a Steadicam as well. You can spend a fortune on glass, but like one reviewer has already said, you get a lot of bang for your buck with this. On Vimeo in the series titled Behind The Glass: An Intro to Lenses, Vincent Lafloret refers to the 24mm as a "bastard" lens because it is tighter than a standard 16mm and looser than standard 28mm, but seriously, it is a fine focal length! No one is going to criticize your focal length and say, "Hey, I would have loved that movie if only they hadn't used a 24 mm lens." Just move in or back away and the problem is solved!

My new lens will not work with my Canon new 7D. It will not screw on properly. I am returning it!

I compared this lens to a Sigma 30mm F1.4, the Canon 24mm was softer at the same f2.8 stop on both lenses. Neither lens is a great lens with the sun in frame, which I expected with the Sigma, since it is designed for speed. The Canon 24mm is not that fast of a lens at f2.8, so I thought I would use it as a sunset lens. The lens makes a horrible triangle shaped flare, along with other rainbow patterns. The lens also did poorly with shooting a skyline at night. I was disappointed, maybe stopped down it would look better, but that point your at f4, 5.6, 8, and there are plenty of lenses stopped down that look great. Also manually setting at infinity, wide opened, seemed slightly off the mark, I only shoot manual, since I am a professional and use a loupe to always check focus, but I was also hoping to have a lens I could pull out in a dark moonlit landscape and know for sure where infinity is. Might as well shoot though a lens cap.

I compared this lens to a Sigma 30mm F1.4, the Canon 24mm was softer at the same f2.8 stop on both lenses. Neither lens is a great lens with the sun in frame, which I expected with the Sigma, since it is designed for speed. The Canon 24mm is not that fast of a lens at f2.8, so I thought I would use it as a sunset lens. The lens makes a horrible triangle shaped flare, along with other rainbow patterns. The lens also did poorly with shooting a skyline at night. I was disappointed, maybe stopped down it would look better, but that point your at f4, 5.6, 8, and there are plenty of lenses stopped down that look great. Also manually setting at infinity, wide opened, seemed slightly off the mark, I only shoot manual, since I am a professional and use a loupe to always check focus, but I was also hoping to have a lens I could pull out in a dark moonlit landscape and know for sure where infinity is. Might as well shoot though a lens cap.