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The Canon EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM Lens lens is a venerable wide-angle prime lens that provides sharpness and impressive performance at all settings. Its large maximum aperture of f/1.4 allows for superb low-light photographs, and its circular aperture and narrow depth of field provide pleasing background blur. It is the ideal tool for photojournalists, landscape and event photographers, and anyone who enjoys taking images from a wider perspective.
This version "II" improves greatly over its predecessor with the addition of two high-precision aspheric lenses, which correct aberration including curvature of field and distortion. Chromatic aberration common in wide-angle shooting is also reduced by the inclusion of two UD lenses, which ensure optimum image quality and corner-to-corner detail.
The EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM features Canon's near-silent Ultra Sonic Motor (USM), which provides super-fast auto-focusing with full-time manual override. The floating internal focus system also helps maintain high image quality throughout the focal range.
| Performance | |
|---|---|
| Focal Length | 24 mm |
| Aperture |
Maximum: f/1.4 Minimum: f/22 |
| Camera Mount Type | Canon EF |
| Format Compatibility |
35mm Film / Full-Frame Digital Sensor Canon (APS-C) |
| Angle of View | 84° |
| Minimum Focus Distance | 9.84" (25 cm) |
| Magnification | 0.17x |
| Maximum Reproduction Ratio | 1:5.88 |
| Groups/Elements | 10/13 |
| Diaphragm Blades | 8 |
| Features | |
|---|---|
| Image Stabilization | No |
| Autofocus | Yes |
| Tripod Collar | No |
| Physical | |
|---|---|
| Filter Thread | 77 mm |
| Dimensions (DxL) | Approx. 3.3 x 3.4" (8.38 x 8.64 cm) |
| Weight | 1.43 lb (650 g) |
REVIEW SNAPSHOT®
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Most Liked Positive Review
Worth the wait ... both of them
I do a great deal of outdoor, available light photography and have wanted a fast 24 mm lens for over 25 years. When Canon announced the Mark II version last year, it was time...Read complete review
I do a great deal of outdoor, available light photography and have wanted a fast 24 mm lens for over 25 years. When Canon announced the Mark II version last year, it was time to ante up even though I believe they overpriced it by $200. I placed my order with a great deal of trepidation; could any lens live up to a quarter of a century of expectations?
The answer is, eventually, … “yes.”
Straight out of the box the lens was a disaster as it suffered from major league front focusing. A trip to a Canon Factory Service Center (It was out of my hands for 10 days) made it a whole new ball game. I mention this because it should have never passed Canon’s QC in the condition in which I received it. My gripe is not with B&H; it is with Canon.
Getting down to the nitty-gritty, this lens focuses so quietly that I thought it was broken. A few simple tests showed me that, yes it is focusing and if I listen real hard I might hear the USM. It is easily the quietest AF lens I have ever had the opportunity to use.
Using it wide open is tricky, as the depth of field is paper-thin at “close” distances. Never the less, when the photographer knows what he or she is doing, this lens, at f/1.4, produces images with startling clarity and focus … and it only gets better. Images taken with the lens stopped down even slightly are tack sharp with unbelievable contrast and brilliant color. I bet the new lens coatings Canon applies to the elements have something to do with this as well. Images show just a hint of vignetting, if you look for it, when used on a camera body equipped with an APS-C sensor.
The construction is typical “L” lens, built like a tank. The manual focus ring seems to glide rather than move and is very responsive. It feels “solid” and the balance on a 20D camera body is perfect.
Oh yes, the lens hood slips easily on and off, but is very secure when on.
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Most Liked Negative Review
Great lens but mine didn't work well
It's really hard to say how I'd rate this lens, as the copy that I got wouldn't focus correctly beyond about 9 inches - it'd always frontfocus beyond that. As a lens that I ...Read complete review
It's really hard to say how I'd rate this lens, as the copy that I got wouldn't focus correctly beyond about 9 inches - it'd always frontfocus beyond that. As a lens that I could use fine during manual focus (@f/1.4), though, it served its purpose, and pretty well, as a fast, wide weather-sealed prime. I'm not a huge fan of the bokeh, and much prefer the 50 L (my favorite Canon lens), but in terms of a wide prime (which I'm looking for) there's not much else that'll beat it.
Reviewed by 163 customers
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Comments about Canon EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM Autofocus Lens:
Got this lens knowing I needed a nice wide to shoot with. I thought this would be a lens that I use on occasion, but I have almost used it more than any of my other lens. It is sharp and not too heavy. It is great in low light situations and when put at f/5.6 it give quite a bit of leeway for focusing. I highly suggest this lens!
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Comments about Canon EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM Autofocus Lens:
Great quality and I use it a lot.
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Comments about Canon EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM Autofocus Lens:
Great lens and very fast. Using it primarily for Steadicam Merlin video shooting. It is heavier than my old Sigma 20mm F/1.8 but it is a third of a stop faster and very sharp wide open. The Sigma was not very sharp at 1.8 and I often shoot it this way, especially indoors on the Merlin. Also using it with a C300 and it is great on that camera.
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Comments about Canon EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM Autofocus Lens:
Currently using this lens on my T2i. What a great lens! Extremely sharp, especially at around f5.6 - 11. Sweet spot is around f8. USM lives up to its name as always and is super quiet focusing, although it would've been nice to through in image stabalization. Price is expensive, but you get for what you pay for and well I think you do get for what you pay for. Not wide enough for me because of the T2i's crop factor, but I bought this lens as an investment which I will be upgrading to a full frame eventually.
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Comments about Canon EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM Autofocus Lens:
For the most part the The Canon EF 24mm f/1.4 L USM Lens is soft wide open, increasing in sharpness until very sharp at f/2.8. Corners are somewhat soft until stopped down some - becoming very sharp for a 24mm lens. Light fall-off is very noticeable at f/1.4, and, as usual, improves as the lens was stopped down. The 24 L exhibits noticeable amounts of CA.
Compared its sibling, the Canon EF 35mm f/1.4 L USM Lens, the Canon EF 24mm f/1.4 L USM Lens was a bit less sharp at comparable apertures until stopped down to f/5.6 or so. The 24mm L was slightly sharper in the corners. Colors again were similar. Distortion on the Canon EF 24mm f/1.4 L USM Lens is low. Proneness to flare is relatively low - starting with very little wide open and increasing to noticeable at narrow apertures.
The quality of the Canon EF 24mm f/1.4 L USM Lens' background blur is nice. Creating a diffusely blurred background is not easy with a 24mm lens - a wide f/1.4 aperture is very helpful in this regard. Even at 24mm, depth of field for a close subject is shallow at f/1.4. You must get the focus exactly right for sharp results.
This wide aperture makes the Canon EF 24mm f/1.4 L USM Lens suitable for low-light and low-light action photography. Do you want to catch that indoor shot without a flash? This lens can do it better than most other non-IS lens.
The 24mm focal length yields a strong perspective to relatively close subjects - a dramatic separation of subject from the background by making the background appear farther away. This creates a strong sense of presence when used close to a subject.
This fact makes a 24mm the wrong choice for most close-up portraits. Noses will look like Pinocchio's during a lie. When used for portraits at a distance such as environmental portraits, group photos, stage photography ... the Canon EF 24mm f/1.4 L USM Lens works well.
This was a gift.
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Comments about Canon EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM Autofocus Lens:
So far so good. I used this on my 5dmkII for video work mostly and it's great to be able to shoot in low light when my 24-70 2.8 won't cut it. Possibly for stills on a 5dmkIII the zoom will work fine though so best to do some research to see if you'll need it. I'm happy that the lens is so light. Compared to my 85 1.2 it's featherweight. Autofocus is fast and quiet. Distortion is present but minimal.
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Comments about Canon EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM Autofocus Lens:
I use this lens to shoot northern lights. The colour is awesome and with the 1.4 f/s I can use a faster shutter speed. I find that the pictures are always slighly out of focus and soft. The stars are fuzzy and anytime I have something in the foreground it is never sharp. I now mostly use it indoors and still the pictures are never sharp.
I use a 50D and will be upgrading to the Mark 3 and hoping that the increased sensitivity will alow me to shoot faster shutter speeds for the northern lights with my 16-35 2.8 f/s.
For me, the 16-35 has taken over as my northern lights lens.
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Comments about Canon EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM Autofocus Lens:
I bought it in a travel to NY. I have 17-40L and 16-35L but no comparison are possible, it plays in different worlds, zooms are more versatile but 24LII lens has extreme quality and good sharpness in open range like 1,8-2.
Great lens!
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Comments about Canon EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM Autofocus Lens:
This lens feels very soild in the hands. The lens produces beautiful contrasting colors. You will be amazed with the images sraight out of the camera. The lens is sharp at f/1.4 for upclose portraits, but stop it down to f/2.8, and its as sharp as the Canon EF 135mm f/2L (which is Canon's sharpest lens). This lens is ideal for architectual,landscape, and enviormental portraits. This lens is the best walkaround lens for a full frame. Its more versable than a 28,35,and 50. Its better to include more into a scene, than have detail lost. And dont forgot its a f/1.4 lens, so its a low light lens (and Canon's fast wide angle lens), and beats out the 16-35 f/2.8L and the 14mm f/2.8L.
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Comments about Canon EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM Autofocus Lens:
This lens is fantastic in small spaces. My images are super sharp and the bokeh it produces is beautiful! I'm so glad I chose this lens. :)
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Comments about Canon EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM Autofocus Lens:
Pretty awesome lens. Difficult to focus just because of the/at the 1.4, especially on cameras you can't adjust the lens but so worth it!
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Comments about Canon EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM Autofocus Lens:
Wedding photographer's light bringer & ultra wide prime lens. Creative Artsy wide/tall low light level images no other lens can capture.
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Comments about Canon EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM Autofocus Lens:
This lens is my new favorite lens in my collection. I use it for still night sky photography timelapses. I also have used it doing alot of video on my 7D. The shallow DOF at 1.4 is very nice when doing product shots. Overall I give this 5/5!
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Comments about Canon EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM Autofocus Lens:
Use for steadicam video
Great sharpness and low light
A tad on the heavy side for video
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Comments about Canon EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM Autofocus Lens:
Really nice solid body, perfect for shooting video in low light conditions because of the luminosity of the lens, nice weight too, not plastic.
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Comments about Canon EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM Autofocus Lens:
This is what you need for low light environments. However, you gotta watch your focus at low aperture.
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Comments about Canon EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM Autofocus Lens:
If you are spending this kind of money on a lens, hopefully you know what you are doing. If you do, you are going to get some super killer images as this lens is wonderful.
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Comments about Canon EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM Autofocus Lens:
I am a professional photographer who specializes in weddings and portraits. This is great lens on both full frame and crop factor cameras. If offers advantages on both size sensors. The lens quality is typical of Canon L series lenses. It is well built, focuses very quietly and quickly. The images are sharp and have beautiful bokeh.
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Comments about Canon EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM Autofocus Lens:
Obviously I'm a little inexperienced, so take this with a grain of salt. I'm in the process of upgrading to fast, prime lenses from the 2 zooms (11-22mm and 18-200mm) I use with my APS-C format EOS 50D. The first "nice" lens I bought was this 24mm beauty.
I chose this lens thinking that it was a medium-wide, very fast lens that would be useful for natural-light interior shoots, which I'll be doing soon. Yes, I'd done the crop/magnification factor math, but I guess I was in denial...I really thought this would be wider than it was.
I bought this one because it seemed like a reasonable compromise--very fast, reasonably wide, and affordable (with $300 worth of B&H gift certificates I'd received for Xmas). What I got was an awesome lens, but not exactly what I was looking for.
Just out of the box I could tell this was "serious" glass, with an appropriate heft and build quality. I took a series of various hand-held test shots to get an idea of depth-of-field, and the range is excellent. The sharpness and clarity were were and immediate and obvious improvement.
As more evidence of my inexperience, I may have had unrealistic expectations for the difference between this f/1.4 lens and my other slower, cheaper zooms. It's obviously faster, but not dramatically so. When I used it to shoot a live band performance on a very inconsistently lit stage, I still struggled to get usable shutter speeds even with the lens wide open. Nonetheless, once I did get a handle on it, the exposures were very nice.
On my 50D, this lens becomes something like a "normal" 50mm lens would be on a full-frame film/digital camera, and I confess I have little recent experience with "normal" lenses. I ended up buying the 14mm f/2.8 shortly afterward, and got more of what I'd been looking for with this lens. In retrospect, I probably should've bought the 85mm f/1.2 and the 14mm.
But eventually I'll get a full-frame camera and this lens will better occupy the space it was intended for, so it's not going anywhere.
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Comments about Canon EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM Autofocus Lens:
Overal Opinion
I must say firstly, I have the "L" fever. A large part of why I got this lens was because of the fever, but It is not without just cause. Build quality is 10/10. Use with video 8/10, you have to want the bokeh, and be able to deal with the constantly wide 24mm. If you are shooting video with this lens, make sure you have your other focal lengths available if you need them. This is a very, very, nice lens. If you can afford it, think you need the 1.4, don't mind a very heavyness, than this is a great lens for you.
Pro's
1.4 apperature
Top notch build quality
Heavy
Con's
Heavy
Expensive
Fixed Focal length
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