Review on Canon EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM Wide Angle Lens - Fixed - Black, Model 2750B002 by Chris Pollreisz

Overall I was very impressed with this lens. I also had a 16-35mm ii and a 24-105mm, all established lenses. I thought it would be interesting to compare them. Unsurprisingly, this lens outperforms both in every respect: image quality, color saturation, distortion, sharpness, chromatic aberration, etc. As it should, considering 24mm is a prime number. or you usually shoot between f/5.6 and f/22, 16-35mm @ 24mm (actually the best place for this lens) pretty well but still little in terms of image quality compared to this lens - this one Lenses cost about the same. The added versatility of the zoom may also draw some people to this lens. At apertures from f/1.4 to f/5.6, however, this 24mm prime wins by a wide margin - chromatic aberration, contrast, color saturation and (superb wow!) sharpness were significantly better. The 24-105mm is a good general purpose lens, but it doesn't quite match its respective focal length or aperture - perhaps that's why they recently introduced the new 24-70 IS. While the bokeh isn't as creamy/dreamy as the 50L or naturally the 85L or 135L, it's not unpleasant. The weight and size are very reasonable - it feels solid, not heavy. The build is solid, as you'd expect from Canon's L-series, with full weather protection if you add a filter (I've used this lens in rain/sleet/blizzards with no issues). It has a short minimum focusing distance, which is a pleasant surprise and useful, and its 24mm focal length lets you get some interesting perspective shots too. A few more things worth noting: You may need to fine-tune the autofocus. At wide apertures there is some vignetting and corner softness, both of which quickly disappear at f/2.0 - which may be a desirable feature for some, but not so much for others. If you're looking for the best 24mm lens for an aperture of f/4 or wider, this is the ticket, albeit an expensive one. I really like this lens, fun to walk around in both good and low light. Good luck and happy shooting! Update January 2013 - I'm more in love with this lens than the day I bought it. I sold the 16-35mm f/2.8 II although I'm no fool, this lens is much better in every way. The first has a strong 16-20mm barrel distortion that was quite noticeable in full frame. Update October 2013: I recently had the opportunity to use the TS-E 24mm f/3.5L II a lot and wanted to sell one more. Comparison. The resolution and sharpness of the two different lenses are fairly close at the same aperture, meaning both lenses are very sharp. However, you do get some optical quality with the TS - while the EF (this lens) has excellent control over distortion and aberration, the TS has almost no distortion and aberration, which is a truly remarkable achievement. The most obvious advantage of the TS is its perspective control with its tilt and shift functions. The TS has an even shorter focus distance than the EF, making for a healthy zoom. With TS you do without autofocus, weather protection and a large aperture. My only suggestion for improvement is the same for both lenses, add an extra blade to the aperture to get more interesting star flares. These are two different tools and the effectiveness of each is incredible.