The $799 cost is not competitive. See Amazon for the identical lens and much better deal.
The Canon online store has the refurb 24-105mm L lens for $639 through 11:59 pm ET Sunday. While supplies last, of course!
The lens in the refurb in the canon store is not USM. The lens on woot is far superior.
They are both USM. Most, if not all Canon L lenses are USM.
This is a pretty good price for a new lens from Canon, assuming these are in retail packaging and come with the full warranty.
The Canon site deal is a refurb and most of the cheaper “new” lenses on Amazon are white-box, meaning it came as a kit lens and was separated to be sold off separately. White box lenses don’t really have a Canon warranty.
There’s only one Canon 24-105. It’s this same L lens, and is definitely USM.
In case anyone has refurb-phobia: I’ve bought several refurb lenses from the Canon store and they’re the type of refurbs that seem just as good as, if not better*, than new.
http://shop.usa.canon.com/shop/en/catalog/ef-24-105mm-f-4l-is-usm-refurbished
*-For example, centering and thorough cleaning of elements, etc. I’ve often heard that camera service standards are more stringent than the manufacturing standards of new product coming off the assembly line. It’s just anecdotal, but my experience supports this.
Do you have a link to that lens? The only one I found was STM.
There’s also the 24-105 STM (not L), but that lens looks very different.
Well, I’ll be! Yup, you’re right. Looks like that came out some months ago. I totally missed it.
In any case, STM > USB (quieter, better for video). However, that new lens is not an “L” lens, which typically have far better build quality and optics, but you’d have to do the research to see if the latter is true in this case. From the one review I looked at online (kenrockwell), it seems the new lens improves on distortion at the wide end, weighs 5 ounces less, and has a 7-rounded-blade diaphragm vs. 8-blades of the L. The L is said to have slightly better build quality and then there’s the constant aperture vs. the 5.6 at the long end.
I hate to object, but… In general, USM is better for photo shooting, STM is better for video. I have both. STM isn’t silent, but it’s really quiet. It’s not as quick to focus as USM, but a benefit of that is that when it focuses it generally does it in one attempt. USM can occasionally “hunt” for focus because it’s so fast that it overshoots. This effect is somewhat disturbing if shooting video, so STM will generally be better for video. STM also uses slightly more battery that USM.
USM is what Canon uses in it’s higher end stuff. You generally pay for it, but it’s wicked fast and allows instant and constant manual override without disengaging anything.
Also, things to be aware of when buying canon lenses… STM/USM refers to mechanics, not the optical lenses. You can get a good USM with lousy optics and vice versa.
Here’s the basic breakdown of how Canon lenses are categorized.
Consumer - No special markings or rings, white rings, or gold rings on the lens. This doesn’t mean it’s junk, but it’s not going to be anything special. STM’s usually live in this space, although there are a fair amount of USMs as well. The 55-250 here is a consumer lens.
Red Ring L-series - “Prosumer” - Better optics than the regular consumer lenses, usually fewer elements to reduce flare patterns and improve clarity. Almost all are USM drive. The 24-105 here is a Red Ring.
White L-series - High end stuff, can cost way more than the camera itself depending on what it is. Usually (but not always) a white body with red or black rings. Almost all are USM drive. Neither lens here is in this category. If you ever find one of these at a good price, there’s probably something wrong with it. :S
Higher end is not always “better”… the higher quality stuff means mistakes and oversights are more obvious. For anything other than shooting high-speed action (like car racing), I usually go with Red Rings if I have one available in the right length and aperture. Also, size can be an issue. Most white Ls are too big to carry around casually.
this is a terrible price…go to canonpricewatch.com, and you can get it for $619 if you go to their street prices section
[MOD NOTE: Link or it didn’t happen]
I found it two places… I was actually just researching this to purchase a replacement “default” lens:
• Used, Lens Authority, $620 (Kit: Lens, cap, hood, lens pouch): https://www.lensauthority.com/products/canon-24-105mm-f-slash-4l-is
• New, Abe’s of Maine, $529 (White Box: lens and cap only): Welcome to Abe's of Maine - Cameras and Electronics since 1979*
I personally can’t remember the last time I bought a brand new piece of camera equipment other than flash memory or film.