What's the difference between these two camera lenses?

Question

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM Lens ($1100)

and

Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM Standard Zoom Lens ($409)

I'm looking for a good travel lens and aside from price, what are the major differences between these two?

Answer 1

The difference is not to do with dust and moisture resistance - it has to do with lens quality and constant aperture.



With a variable aperture zoom, you often find that as you zoom to follow something and the aperture varies, the camera moves from a situation where there is sufficient available light for a good shot into one where the shot will be underexposed. Also, as the amount of light decreases, focusing become slower and less reliable. With a constant aperture lens wherever you zoom to follow the action the aperture and speed will remain the same. Every shot is properly set up. Such lenses are of a much better quality and command a much higher price.



If you can afford it, the constant aperture F4 would be a much more rewarding lens to own.

Answer 2

If I were you, I would save my money and buy a fast telephoto or prime lens instead.



If you know how to read lens names, you'll already know the differences: the 28-135mm goes a little longer at the telephoto end but is not as wide, it has a slower f-stop rating of f/3.5-5.6 as opposed to the 24-105's constant f/4 rating. The 24-105 is a "L" lens, which basically stands for luxury. It is built with better material, weather sealed, and heavier than non-L lenses. It is similar to those huge Canon white telephotos you see at sporting events.

Answer 3

The EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM is a professional level zoom lens, which is optically excellent...and your camera is a professional level dSLR (EOS 5D mark II). There is absolutely no question that this lens is better than the other one.



Your 5D Mark II deserves a quality lens...the cheaper lens is not in the same league as the EF 24-105mm, optically or in build, etc.

Answer 4

Full Frame lenses:



# Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM, $1190 (review), heavy, but very high quality and the ultimate wedding reception tool

# Canon EF 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5 USM, $322 (review)

# Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM, $1059 (review), much lighter than the 24-70, but still superb optical quality, the loss of one f-stop compensated for somewhat by the provision of image stabilization

# Canon EF 28-80mm f/3.5-5.6 II, $150, cheap "kit" lens designed for the film Rebel

# Canon EF 28-90mm f/4-5.6 II USM, $98 (review), cheap "kit" lens with a faster quieter autofocus

# Canon EF 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5 II USM, $230 (review), reasonably cheap, reasonably good for outdoor use

# Canon EF 28-105mm f/4-5.6 USM, $149 (review), spectacularly cheap, spectacularly crummy

# Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM, $410 (review), average image quality, image stabilization useful if you must take pictures from an unstable platform, such as a boat

# Canon EF 28-200mm f/3.5-5.6 USM, $375, convenient range, acceptable image quality if used on a tripod and stopped down to f/8

# Canon EF 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6L IS USM, $2300 (review), incredibly heavy, exceptional range, reasonably good quality, image stabilizer enables handheld use at longer focal lengths without the use of a tripod or flash

---

The L lenses are Canon's expensive lenses designed for professional photographers. An L lens will always have good optical performance, even if it is a wide-range zoom that is challenging to design. An L lens will always be mechanically tough and well-sealed against water and dust. An L lens might be very heavy and expensive. Note that there are some non-L prime (fixed focal length or non-zoom) lenses, such as the 50/1.4, that offer extremely high optical quality. The non-L Canon zoom lenses are optimized for light weight and low cost and won't be especially high in optical quality.