junglejim1949 Loc: Sacramento,CA

I have been trying to save for a Canon 70-200 f4 is, ii. I will be using it with my 80D. A friend of mine who is also an enthusiast suggest I purchase the Canon 24-70 is instead.
I have received such excellent feedback from all you hoggers, I thought I would throw this out to you for advice.
Thanks,
Jim

RichardTaylor Loc: Sydney, Australia

What other lenses do you own?
What do you want to use your new lens for?

junglejim1949 Loc: Sacramento,CA

I have the kit lens 18-135, 1.8 50mm. I like landscape, people, events.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

They're both excellent lenses, but have different focal lengths serving different purposes. What do you envision either lens doing for you and how could the purpose of the 70-200 be better served with a 24-70?

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

For people & events, what is your working distance? That would be the driver for a choice between the two lenses, are you "in" the event where 24-70 is the correct focal length, or shooting from the audience / sidelines where 70-200 is the better choice. Are you in a mixture of light including indoors where f/2.8 is the minimum requirement? If the light is low and a flash isn't an option, should you be looking at an even faster prime such as Canon's IS-enabled primes like the primes at 24mm, 28mm, or 35mm?

Given the dollar amount involved and your flexibility on desired lens, you should consider renting a candidate lens for a weekend before making the purchase. You may discover your expectations are right-on or assumptions wildly incorrect. For example, have you used your 50 at these events already? Was it too long, too short, not flexible and not practical to zoom with your feet. That experience will help point toward the zoom range you need, if a zoom is the proper solution.

junglejim1949 Loc: Sacramento,CA

I would be shooting from sidelines. The focal length should be adequate. I think I have made up my mind but wanted feedback, as I appreciate advice and feedback from the forum.

rmorrison1116 Loc: Near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania

A 70-200 is a tele zoom and a 24-70 is not. If you are going to be using it mostly indoors then the 24-70 will give you better results. If you are looking for a little more reach than just 70mm, doing portraiture or anything you need to get fairly close to, the 24-70 is not a good choice.
My general purpose utility lens is the EF 28-300L. It gives me decent wide angle and has decent range, and a whole lot in between. It's the one lens I take when I can only bring one.
If money is an issue, the Tamron SP 70-200 is an excellent alternative to the Canon and costs a few hundred less.

khorinek

I have both of these lenses. They are excellent choices. The 24-70 f/4 L IS would be used for up close wider angle shots and the 70-200 f/4 or f/2.8 L IS would be used for subjects or objects further away. Both are excellent choices depending on what you are shooting.

billnourse Loc: Bloomfield, NM

I have both lenses, but in f2.8. I find the 70-200 to be too long for indoor sports like basketball if you are shooting under the basket. The 24-70 is just about right. The 70-200 I use for outdoor sports, and on a FF camera it is sometimes too short even when shooting from the sidelines and for wildlife it often comes up short.

I use the 24-70 and the 70-200 both when shooting portraits, depending on what look and DOF I am after.

These lenses are for different purposes and to choose one over the other depends entirely on the intended use. That being said, you already have the equivalent of 24-70 with the 18-135, you are just losing 1 f stop at the telephoto end. So the adding 70-200 will give you greater range overall.

Bill

junglejim1949 Loc: Sacramento,CA

Thanks Bill goid feedback!

georgeretired Loc: Manitoba Canada

I have both of these lens, and yes it depends what type of photography you are doing. Today you certainly can get the advantages of both lens in one. Check out the prices and don't be caught up in the make of lens as you may be paying "big dollars" to get the same results. I have a 10-22, 24-70, 70-200, 150-500 and a few prime lens as well. Enjoy your photography.

MountainDave

I also own both and use them on a 77D and 5D IV. I use both extensively but the 24-70 is my workhorse. Since you have a crop frame, I'd go for the 24-70. BTW, you can buy the 70-200 1st version used for 500-600 for excellent. You may be thinking the 70-200 matches up better with your 18-135 and that's true but once you begin using either of these lenses, you may find the 18-135 sits at home a lot. That's what happened to me. In any event, I would google pro reviews of both before plunking down the cash.

markngolf Loc: Bridgewater, NJ

Good advice, Bill!! I also own both f/2.8 Versions II of the lenses. I used to shoot a great deal of basketball & volleyball. The 70 - 200 is too long for under or behind the basket, so I used the 24 - 70. For longer shots I used the 70 - 200. They are fabulous lenses for indoor sports.
Good luck,
Mark

clickety

Do you want a ‘pipe wrench’ or a ‘pliers’???
It depends on what you’re going to do.

msbanks720 Loc: western washington

in addition to the insightful musings of fellow hoggers, I would also pose the question - what are you not getting from the 18-135? I have the 7d mII with the stm is version of that lens and for that range, it is one of the best lenses I have ever worked with. whatever choice you make will lead to focal length overlap and that seems goofy. from 70-135 you will have two lenses that do the same thing. and the f/4 on the 70-200 is not that much different from the f/4.5 to 5.6 you have to work with on the 18-135. they both have is so "human shake" is not an issue. having shot a lot of sports in my day, I don't know that hauling around an extra lens just for another 65mm of focal length is worth it. my choice, for what its worth (probably not much), was to go with a 200mm f/2.8L prime and a 2x converter and keep the 18-135 as my main guy. with a little practice, I have been able to switch lens/converter in only a few seconds and if you are shooting from the sidelines, you have no doubt become adept at anticipating the action and what focal length is needed a few minutes from now.
on the other hand, trading in/selling the 18-135 and the 50 and getting both the 24-70 and the 70-200 is an interesting change in strategy - just remember that the 24-70 on the 80D is really like a 38 - 112 field of view - if you go that route, I would suggest the 10-18 efs as a handy-keep it in your pocket-wide angle ace in the hole.
for what its worth, sigma is offering $300 off the 70-200 f/2.8 APO, a lens with some very good reviews, and that makes it about the same price as the canon f/4L.
in case you are wondering, i have the 7d mII with a 10-18 efs is 4.5-5.6, 18-135 is stm, 200 f/2.8L with the newest 2x converter and a 100mm f/2 for those killer shots of the beer man with amazing bokeh.