Canon EF 24mm f/2.8 Reviews

The lens is small and light and of fair to good construction quality (i.e. somewhat above, say, the 35/2, but below an 85/1.8 or 100/2)

The manual focus ring is narrow. For my taste it should also be dampened more to facilitate precise focusing. On the other hand it provides positive feedback (as opposed to e.g. the 50/1.4 with its spongy pseudo USM full-time manual).

Auto-focus works quickly with a low medium-high whirring noise which I don't find disturbing.

The lens is virtually free of flare and ghosting, even with the sun at the edge of the frame or even inside it. This property is very helpful at this focal length.

The dedicated twist-on lens shade is worthwhile having if only to provide some protection to the front element as it is not receded at all and therefore prone to inadvertent touching or worse.

Overall, this is a competent little lens optically, and of "good enough" construction and handling to be useful in the field.

Quite an under rated lens. Sharpness is very good. Very little flare unless the sun is in the frame and contrast is very good. No USM on a £300 lens is a bit poor but focusing is accurate and fast enough, just a little loud. Doesn't look great or particularly robust, but has actually sttood up to reasonably hard use without complaint.

It is small and light, but that's all. Mine was of average sharpness, ie rather soft, though had good color reproduction, no flare and no noticable CA. I gave it back after 3 months and bought the very good EF-S 10-22 in its place, which has met my expectations. I wanted a small and lightweight wide angle for my 30D, but this was not what I was looking for (good portraits and skin reproduction though). If it cost half the price I payed, I might have kept it, but 400 euros was money enough for a prime of this performance. I was sorry, because I really wanted this prime to be good. It cannot stand up to the new zooms, but if someone wants a lightweight wide prime, which doesn't cost like L glass, this is maybe the only existing canon alternative.

OK, I have to change my previous review. A new sample of the CANON EF 24mm f2.8 I have bought 7 months ago, about end of 2007, proved to be a very worthy and sharp species. I used it almost exclusively for 5 months and got very decent results with it. So the first one must have been a mediocre sample. Now I can recomment this lens, it's ideal for street photography, about 39mm on DSLRs. CA is not very pronounced, neither is flare, except on some rather extreme occasions. I even bought the lens for about only 320 euros new. This because it belonged to a 5D kit originally and was sold seperately.

Bought this as a fast wide angle on my 5D and really expected it to be decent at best. I've had two copies and both excellent. Hard not to take a nice picture and works fine wide open. Definately a Canon 'sleeper' lens that is worth a look if you want a small, high quality widey for full-frame. Works oK too as a wide to walkaround on a 1.3 crop body.

Small and lightweight lens which works well under almost any circumstances, both in how much light it lets in and how fast it focuses. Much less noisy than the 50mm 1.8. Nice and sharp, good contrast, good colour rendition. I've used it for landscapes, concerts, etc., and it never let me down.