What is the best Canon 24mm lens?

[Ofer Levy]

Hi all,
I need to use a wide angle lens from close range. (70-80 cm)
I own the Canon 24-70 f2.8 and the Canon 24-105 f4.
Do I need to get a prime 24mm lens or my zoom lens will do the trick especially since I am going to stop down to f11 or ever f13.
If you recommend a prime 24mm - which is an excellent one for the specified needs?

Thanks,
ofer

[Alan Lillich]

Ofer,

(hoping someone who knows will chime in ...)

I don't understand why aperture should be an issue, or is that because you think neither the 27-70 or 24-105 are at their best at 24mm? If so, I wonder if the 16-35 is a choice - 24mm is in the middle of its range and it costs the same as the 24mm f/1.4. A possible big downside is that the 16-35 takes an 82mm filter (why Canon why?), the 24 prime uses 77.

Alan

[Aravind Krishnaswamy]

Depends on what you need it for. What are you going to shoot with it? Do you need critical sharpness in the corners (i.e. do you need the kind of resolution landscape shooters need and are you going to make big prints)?

Both the 24-70 and 24-105 when stopped down to f/11 are pretty decent even in the corners. The 24-105 has a bit more distortion than the 24-70 @ 24mm. Distortion is now easily corrected in either DPP or ACR/LR, but it can cause you to lose just a little bit of resolution in the corners.

IMO, its easier to come across a good copy of the 24-105 than the 24-70 so thats what I would go with, though the 24-70 has nicer bokeh so if thats important keep it in mind (at f/11 and 24mm and a subject distance of 10cm, your DOF will be about 90cm (on a FF camera)).

My favorite 24mm lens is the 24 TS-E II, but you have to be able to live with manual focus and if you had a need for movements that would make it more useful.

I also have the 24 f/1.4 II which is optically great but does suffer from field curvature which can have an impact depending on what you're shooting.

[Ofer Levy]

Thanks for your comments guys!

Aravind, thank you for the detailed information!

I would like to photograph crabs about 10cm in length in their habitat. I will probably leave the camera close to the crabs (up to 1 meter away) and use a radio remote control. I would like to have a wide dof as there will be a few crabs in a small area.

I will use 2 cameras at the same time covering different areas to maximize my chances. Will mount the 24-70 on the 7D and the 24-105 on the Mark 4.

Does this make sense?

Thanks,

Ofer

[Aravind Krishnaswamy]

Yep, I think you'll be fine with that set up. Good luck and can't wait to see the images!

[Eugene Malcovich]

I would recommend you to use 24 TS-E II. Good luck

[Eric Weaver]

You might look into the EFS 10-22mm for the 7D. It is an excellent lens at a reasonable price and will give you that 24 mm effective focal length on the 7D. I wish I'd never sold mine.