Canon's new EF24-70/4L IS USM

[bmpress]

Bob, this new lens has me baffled. Since Canon has offered the 17-55 f2.8 IS USM for APC cameras, why in the world did they not offer this new equivalent lens in f2.8 aperture? Is it possible that they have not sold enough for APC cameras? Am I missing something here? Wouldn't it be natural for someone upgrading to full frame who owns the 17-55 f2.8 IS USM to want a similar capability?

[Bob Atkins]

Probably because they recently introduced the EF24-70/2.8L II USM at a price of  $2299 and maybe they didn't think the market could stand a higher price for an IS version.

Why the EF-70/2.8L II wasn't IS in the first place and why it costs so much for a non-IS version, I have no idea. Seems to me to be mistake, but they presumably know their market (though I'll admit that I'm starting to doubt that....).

The 24-70/4L IS USM falls in nicely with the 70-200/4L IS USM as a smaller and light set of lenses for full frame, with high image quality and stabilization. There's also the 17-40/L USM so there's clearly a product line that's f4 for size and affordability.

Of course if you want an image stabilized 24-70/2.8 lens there's the Tamron SP 24-70mm Di VC USD, which is not only f2.8 but is also cheaper than the Canon 24-70/4L IS USM will be.

This is just another hard to understand move by Canon, along with why the 400/5.6L still doesn't have IS and why their initial move into the mirrorless camera market is so underwhelming. The EOS-M is a nice, simple, entry level camera, but feature for feature really can't compete with offerings from Olympus and Sony, especially for the more advanced photographer.