Canon 24-70mm f/2.8 EF L-Series Lens

The Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM Lens is a very sharp lens - few zoom lenses reach this level of sharpness. The 24-70 L is sharp in the center at f/2.8 at all focal lengths and performs very well in the corners. Some corner softness is visible at the wide end of the focal length range and more softness is apparent in the 50-70mm corners. As usual, stopping down (selecting a narrower aperture) to f/5.6 makes a big difference in the longer focal length corners.

The wide open 24mm corners are most-affected by vignetting. Vignetting is very well controlled, but apparent in the corners at f/2.8 at 24mm on a full frame body. Vignetting improves as the focal length increases and the aperture is narrowed. At comparable apertures, the 24-70 L shows less vignetting than the also-excellent Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM Lens - a typically-expected result when comparing a fast lens to a slower lens.

Like most 24-xx zoom lenses, the 24-70 L shows some barrel distortion on the wide end. More specifically, a bulge in the middle of the frame. Barrel distortion disappears around 35mm. A very slight pincushion distortion begins at 50mm and becomes moderate by 70mm.