Canon EF 24-85/3.5-4.5 Lens

by Philip Greenspun; created 1996

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Though its image circle will cover a 35mm negative, this is the lens Canon introduced with its EOS IX APS SLR. When used with the smaller APS format, it yields angles of view equivalent to that of 30-106mm lens on a 35mm camera. Aperture ranges from a reasonable f/3.5 at 24mm to a still-reasonable f/4.5 at 85mm.


Memorial Hall. Harvard University. (Note that this building is mentioned in the Henry James novel, The Bostonians.) Memorial Hall. Harvard University. (Note that this building is mentioned in the Henry James novel, The Bostonians.) Memorial Church. Harvard University. Carpenter Center. Harvard University. Note that this is Le Corbusier's only building in the United States

Admirably small and compact for a 35mm format zoom, the lens is huge and heavy compared to the (slower) 22-80 Minolta introduced with the Vectis S-1. Like the Minolta lens, the Canon zoom takes a bayonet plastic lens hood; unlike Minolta, Canon does not include the hood with the lens. That's a shame because a lot of amateurs won't know how to order the accessory part EW-73 and will never know how much contrast they are losing by not hooding this 12 group, 15 element lens.

On the plus side, the lens has a ring USM motor so you get full-time simultaneous AF/MF.

Oh yes, the image quality... I've only exposed a couple rolls film with it and they look reasonably good. The word from Canon is that it is performs about as well as the 28-105. It won't deliver the punch of the 28-70/2.8 or the prime lenses, but it won't leave a $1500 hole in your wallet or carve a notch in your shoulder either. I'd rather have the 24-85 than the 28-105 because I think the extra 4mm on the wide end are more useful than the extra 20mm on the long end.

Nit: The 24-85 uses a filter size of 67mm. All other Canon EOS lenses use 52, 58, 72, or 77mm filters. So this lens really doesn't fit that well in an existing EOS system.

Bottom Line: I've owned this lens for more than six months. It sits in my cabinet. For some reason, it simply isn't useful if you already have a full complement of higher-grade EOS lenses.

A little trip

Chinatown. San Francisco, California I had to go to San Francisco to meet with a publisher (see the book behind the book story) and the Environmental Defense Fund (some planning for www.scorecard.org). I started packing at 6 am for an 8 am flight. I knew that I'd only have a few spare hours in which to take pictures. I didn't want to take a P&S camera because I'm growing less fond of them. The camera that I could easily grab was the Rebel G plus the 24-85 lens. I walked around the city for an afternoon and exposed 85 pictures on Kodak Royal Gold 400, with the intention of adding them to this California exhibit. I mostly used aperture priority autoexposure and left the camera to autofocus (and pick its AF sensor) all of the time.

I sent the undeveloped film directly to Advanced Digital Imaging where they were scanned to a single Kodak PhotoCD (check it out if you want to see my yield). I converted them using the software that I describe in my book. Here are the best (IMHO) of the 85 images:

Near the corner of Haight and Ashbury streets in San Francisco, California. Haight-Ashbury District. San Francisco, California Chinatown. San Francisco, California Painted wall on the border between Chinatown and North Beach. San Francisco, California Chinatown. San Francisco, California The Painted Ladies Victorian houses of Alamo Square, sometimes referred to as Postcard Row because of the backdrop of downtown skyscrapers. The Painted Ladies Victorian houses of Alamo Square, sometimes referred to as Postcard Row because of the backdrop of downtown skyscrapers. Chinatown. San Francisco, California Ben and Jerry's store at the corner of Haight and Ashbury streets in San Francisco, California. Sic transit gloria hippie. Golden Gate Park. San Francisco, California Golden Gate Park. San Francisco, California

The dark side of the lens

Maybe it is the B+W UV filter that I keep on the lens, but I had a little flare problem taking pictures of the Transamerica Tower:

Transamerica Tower. San Francisco, California Transamerica Tower. San Francisco, California

The bottom line? I found the combination practical for this photojournalism-type assignment.

Bavaria

Siemens is an ArsDigita client so I find myself in Bavaria from time to time. In order to save weight, I end up taking just the Rebel G and this lens. Here are some results:

The painted town of Oberammergau

Oberammergau. Bavaria. Oberammergau. Bavaria. Oberammergau. Bavaria.

Mad King Ludwig's castles

People waiting to get into Linderhof. Where Bavaria's King Ludwig II lived. Front yard of Linderhof. Where Bavaria's King Ludwig II lived. Front door of Linderhof. Where Bavaria's King Ludwig II lived. Church at Linderhof. Where Bavaria's King Ludwig II lived. Waterfall in back of Linderhof. Where Bavaria's King Ludwig II lived. Horse Carriages taking tourists up to Neuschwanstein (King Ludwig II's great castle in Bavaria). People waiting to get into Neuschwanstein, Bavaria. In the summer, these lines can be 3 hours long. People die in the heat. Marienbruecke above Neuschwanstein, Bavaria. Neuschwanstein from Marienbruecke. Neuschwanstein from Marienbruecke.

Munich

Downtown Munich. Chinese Pagoda beer garden. English Garden. Munich. English Garden. Munich. Downtown Munich. English Garden. Munich. Airplanes. Deutsches Museum. Sign at front door of Deutsches Museum. Deutsches Museum.

Text and pictures copyright 1996 Philip Greenspun

philg@mit.edu