jhs7931

I am new to this forum and considering trading in my canon EF-S 18-135mm for the canon EF 24-105 L lens.
Currently have the T6s body, but may be open to full frame down the road.
I like the 135 mm lens for video, it is light and versatile, but seek to upgrade to the better glass of the L lens to cover a similar range.
I am an amateur shooting landscape, wildlife, family, and occasionally a school concert.
I would appreciate any thoughts or suggestions on whether this "upgrade " is viewed as actually a pretty good one, or maybe not.
Thanks

EdU239 Loc: The Northeast

FWIW, on the T6S you might find that 24 mm FoV is limiting for indoor shots and possibly landscapes. I think you might want to pair the 24-105L with the EF-S 10-22 to keep the wide angle that you get with the 18-135. I have seen some arguments about using EF lenses on APS-C cameras and I imagine someone here will mention that.

RichardSM Loc: Back in Texas

I own one and I love it, its my walk around lens I say go for either ver1 or the newer one.

jhs7931

Thank you for the suggestions. I do own the EF-S 10-18 for the wide angles. I have been bitten by the "L" bug ever since I purchased the "Magic Drainpipe".

Gifted One Loc: S. E. Idaho

I have both of the 18=135 and the 24-105 L. I have both crop and FF bodies. I have an EFs 10-22 UWA and my preference for a mi-range zoom is the 15-85 EFs. Nothing wrong with EF glass or the mentioned L I just like a lower range of zoom. The 15-85 is very very sharp.

J. R.

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

A few argue against EF lens on APS-C bodies, I don't agree, except when they mention size and weight, but I put up with that. I have a 6D and 7DII, all of my lens are FF lenses (including the 24-105L). I did buy a Tamron 10-24 for APS-C with my 7DII body because the dealer gave me a discount and Tamron gave me a rebate. I loaned it to my daughter for an Anime/Cosplay event and she fell in love with it. Since she threw a fit over me buying her an 80D or T6s to replace her T2i I gave her the lens when she graduated from UCLA in Sep.

Some FF lens actually work better on APS-C because the APS-C only sees the center of the image a lens with a sharp center but soft corners/edges suddenly loses those soft areas.

SharpShooter Loc: NorCal

jhs, welcome to the Hog?
Canon develops lens ranges as per how research shows lenses are commonly used, and I assure you one of the criteria they use has nothing to do with what kinds of bugs bite you!! LoL
There a some that brag that the best walk-around is the 70-200. Obviously it seems to work for them.
As Gifted mentions, the 15-85 is Canons direct answer to a crop camera as the 24-105 is for a full frame.
When I first started with Digi, I caved in under poor advice and purchased the 24-105, but quickly found the 24mm end was just not wide enough and then had to buy the, fortunately for me just released, 15-85 to fit that need. My 24-104 went into the closet not to emerge untill I went FF two years later.
Yes you have the 10-18 but that leaves you a 6mm hole and I think it will force you to change lenses often and having to carry two lenses while you could have carried only one.
Either keep what you have or deal with the lens changes.
BTW, please excuse my ignorance, but what the heck is the, "magic drainpipe"?? I know there was an old black lens referred to as the "drainpipe" but don't remember it was magic, and don't even remember who made it!
Again, welcome to the Hog and good luck with your lens decisions.
SS

Gifted One Loc: S. E. Idaho

Sharp look magic drainpipe up it is a Black L 80-200 2.8 non override focus. I am not a Ken Rockwell disciple but he has some strong info.

"This lens, along with the EF 20-35mm f/2.8 L, EF 300mm f/2.8 L and EF 50mm f/1.0 L, was the lens that won the pro market for Canon. Canon skipped no expense with the design of this 80-200/2.8 L; Canon was betting its future on the EOS system, and this was the most important lens in that system to the pros Canon was trying to convert." K. R.

I know someone that has the 20-35 and have been trying to procure it. It is near mint condition and sharp as a tack. One of those glasses that I want just cause.

J. R.

speters Loc: Grangeville/Idaho

You might have to offer some cash to go with the 18-135, if you want to find somebody willing to trade his 24-105, but I guess even then it would be very unlikely!

sb Loc: Florida's East Coast

I have the EF 24-105L, and it is a fantastic lens. I use it on my 70D as well as my 6D (full frame). You often do not have to pay full price for the 24-105 lens. It comes as a "kit" lens with some of Canon's higher-end bodies and is often broken off and sold separately as a "white-box" lens. This is not the same as a "gray market" lens (imported from overseas and therefore without a Canon USA Warrantee). I bought one for about $600 and easily registered it with Canon.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Welcome to our forum!

rburnsrlt

I've had most the Canon L glass over the years but have tried the Sigma Art series for the last couple of purchases. I do have the 24-105 II L that came with the 5DmkIV but a lot of reviews put the Sigma Art lens at least as good. I just ordered the Sigma 85mm f/1.4 Art as opposed to the more expensive Canon 85mm 1.2 L, it's $700 less and that allows for another lens. If you are thinking about going to a full frame camera start using the full frame lens set now, lot of good deals on 5DMkII's and III's and they will get cheaper as more people switch to the MKIV. An often overlooked reason to go full frame is the same lens will be faster, the FOV isn't the only thing you have to adjust for, the f/stops are adjusted by the same crop factor.
I find the reviews on dpreview.com pretty objective as they seem to be Canon shooters, they have the 50mm Sigma art lens as the sharpest they've ever tested. The best thing about someone competing with Canon's L glass is it's bound to make the prices better.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

Delete... duplicated for some reason!

stevebein

I am changing to the mirrorless Sony system for everything except action, birding and very long lens useage. I am selling my 16-35 f4, 24-104 F4 and 70-300 L lens. I originally took them for evaluation to a local camera store and they rated all my equipment as 9.5 to 9. Essentially,pristine and they only gave 10 to equipment still in unopened boxes. So prime condition lenses, and in outstanding condition are available. I will be selling the rest of my Canon stuff except for the long lens for bird photos. Anyone interested, please send me a PM.These are outstanding lenses and at 77, I am less inclined to carry the heavier equipment.
Steve

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

Don't do it.

The 24-105L just isn't all that much better lens optically and you'll just be giving up both wider and longer focal lengths. Basically you will be spending a lot more to get less. The only significant improvement would be a one stop larger f4 aperture the telephoto end, for low light and/or slightly more background blur. You can get better than that for less money. Unless you get the 24-105L "II", you also will find that the USM, while faster for action shooting, just isn't as good for video. Your STM lens is better for video than the original 24-105L. The II has a new "Nano USM" drive that's supposed to be better for video, as well as faster than STM. But the "II" is an $1100 lens and, being brand new, a bit hard to find.

You didn't mention which EF-S 18-135mm you have... there are several. I assume it's the STM, since that's what's usually offered with the T6s. There's also a new "Nano USM" version of it, which would be an upgrade from your lens primarily in terms of focus speed.

The 24-105mm is a decent lens and a good general purpose, "walk around" lens... for someone shooting with full frame cameras that are limited to using full frame lenses. But frankly, the far less expensive EF 28-135mm IS USM can match the original 24-105L in most respects. (However the 28-135mm also would rob you of some wider focal lengths.)

I would instead recommend that you keep your EF-S 18-135mm and complement it with an even wider lens (for landscapes) and one or more faster prime lenses (for concerts and indoor shots of the family, portraiture).

For under $300, the EF-S 10-18mm STM IS is an exceptionally good deal for an ultrawide lens. It would be great for landscape, among other things.

EF 24/2.8, 28/1.8, 35/2, 50/1.4, 50/1.8, 85/1.8 and 100/2 are all larger aperture primes that are reasonable cost and one to three stops faster than your zoom... and faster than the 24-105mm. They will be able to strongly blur backgrounds for portraits or let you keep shooting in lower light. Take your pick... any one or two or three of them can nicely complement your slower zoom.

If you feel you must replace your zoom with a zoom, there are a couple good options. The EF-S 15-85mm IS USM would be a better "upgrade" for a T6s, but for it's f3.5-5.6 aperture is no better than your 18-135's.

A faster zoom upgrade would be the EF-S 17-55/2.8 IS USM. However, note the relatively narrow range of focal lengths. So you would probably need to complement it with a fast telezoom such as an EF 70-200/2.8 IS USM II (on sale for $1950 right now). The new EF 70-300mm IS USM "II" is another option with "Nano USM", a lot smaller, lighter and considerably less expensive ($550), but it's an f4-5.6 lens.

For the $1100 price of the 24-105L II or the $1000 that the original version is currently selling for, you could save money getting either the 15-85mm or 17-55mm... or could buy two or more of the prime lenses.

However, again note that except for the new 70-300mm, those are all USM lenses so will be less than ideal for video work. Especially if recording sound, you'd probably want to switch off most USM autofocus and focus manually... STM and the new "Nano USM" are especially designed for video work.