I have this lens, sold all other lenses in 28-70mm range. After a or two days of usage this lens doesn't not seem heavy, big but instead it grows in you to become get used to become comfortable. It's very sharp and extremely professional lens.
I bought this lens after your review. I have the traditional primes but don’t always have two bodies for events. I keep the 28-70 on my R5 almost exclusively and Carry my 135 f2. Seems like the perfect complimentary focal and the look of both are unique enough to stand out. Thanks.
Thanks again, Pye, for reminding us that we can shoot from different heights (angles) to add interest to the images. I love watching all of Adorama's instructional videos but yours are the only ones that really emphasize the 'shooting low' (or high) as a technique beyond just adjusting the camera settings. Kudos!
I love this lens too, I don’t personally mind the weight or size but the price was certainly a big gamble! A gamble that’s absolutely paid off as it’s probably now my favourite lens too. I never enjoyed using a 24-70mm f/2.8 much, it’s a tool but doesn’t have the excitement or artistic look and feel of using a prime lens. I always felt like I was compromising using it and would rather carry a bag of primes. This lens is completely different, f2 and the look it has to the images is incredible, it genuinely is prime like. It definitely is a one lens solution to a lot of situations whilst still being able to achieve 95% of the look of shooting L primes wide open, it’s well worth the (considerable) investment!
When the time comes for me to step up to the Canon mirrorless system, this will be the only lens that I’ll buy! I’ll use the adapter for the rest of the glass I already have!
I'm a wedding and editorial shooter for Biz Journals and this lens is used around 90% of what I shoot. I used to do the prime lens shuffle, 24, 35, 50 and 85. All of that glass is gone, one lens removed four. Laugh about the size and price but add all those numbers up on the primes and trust me you're carrying less and getting a lot more shots way faster. I used to do the S&M leather hipster dual strap camera setup for weddings and those days are a thing of the past. Not saying this is better than whatever you're comfortable shooting, I'm just saying my life is far less complicated and I absolutely love the setup and quality of this beautiful lens.
Your comment is exactly what I wanted to hear. Im want to use just one camera too. I want to focus more of creativity, lighting and expression rather than juggling lenses.
Sigma DC Art 18-35mm f1.8 I use it for everything, real estate, portrait, videos. It pretty much lives on the camera and a nifty fifty in my pocket and I'm ready to go! love these behind the scenes type videos you do, and how you talk about the thoughts and reasons during the process.
Ever since I first saw you use this lens a couple years ago I've been hungry for it.. At the time I didn't have an RF body.. But it looked like such a dope lens.. Now that I have an R5.. that lens is in my crosshairs. I currently use my 24-70mm 2.8 most.. So technically it's my favorite because it's a jack of many trades.. Though I do find myself wishing for another stop of light at times.. or would sometimes think that a prime would be more fitting
Yup - I’ve been hooked on the 28-70 too for more than a year and has converted me from being a prime lens snob. For everything except extreme low light or ultra-high resolution output requirements, this lens stays on my camera.
I love my RF 28-70 f2.0L.. It was amazing on the R and now on my R5, I don't see a need for primes 😅. The only other lens that competes for attention is the RF 70-200 f2.8L lens. I dont mind the size or weight, its just too good!!
I still use the Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 I bought back in 2004 with my first Canon 20D body. It is ideal for photojournalism and people photos allowing wide establishing shots, medium ‘actor in environment’ crops and close-ups of action and faces to be taken with one lens. Because it is shooting distance not focal length which affects near-far perspective and how big noses look in relation to ears the 24-70mm or 28-70mm offers the ability to shoot full-length to head&shoulder in camera crops from the same spot which will produce the same facial perspective in all of them. For this a 24-105mm would be even better allowing tighter “headshot” crops in camera from the most flattering range of distance for portraits which is 8-12 feet for most faces. But that said, the arm-length “selfies” with phones, GoPros and cameras are so common now the baseline for what is considered “normal” facial perspective nowadays in portraiture 😂
I love this lens too, albeit it was seemingly obscenely huge when I first opened the box. It is fat and stubby! Once you get used the size/weight, it renders beautiful shots and I almost feel guilty saying that my 50 1.2 and 80 1.2 (RF versions) are being neglected!
Just got mine a few days ago. With my R5 definitely my sharpest lens and my first RF lens investment. Heavy, true but very happy with my first results.
Tried this lens when it came out about two years ago. It is just too heavy and big for travel and street photography.. Not cheap too. Maybe its good for you if you are just doing model/wedding photography.
It's not a portrait lens. At 70mm it's ok for three quarter shots. For head and shoulders portraits 100mm is the most flattering. At 28mm the distortion to the human form is insane. And this halfwit is using for portraits. Bwaaahahaha.
Thanks for another great video Pye. I love the changing of angles and distances for different effects. A request I have for a future video is to take some of the concepts and translate them to a larger sized model. Your models are stunning but not every client is that size.
Every time I see a review of this lens, I want it. I love zoom lenses, but want the prime look. I don’t mind the huge size as most zooms are larger anyways. Even 1.8 primes are pretty large. So, yes, a step closer to bankruptcy, but with a smile on my face.
great video Pye, and ty fr coming up with such great content 😊🙏... could you do a detailed video on how to shoot pics during bright day light (noon) ... once again ty 🙏
Love the lens, would dog the photographer a little tho LOL. The biggest reason she is wearing glasses is the side light reflecting from the ground with the green tint , so the glasses will keep odd shadow lighting off her face from an upward angling side light. He is also maintaining a darker a more symmetrically lit background with the trees and houses vs the full sunlight to the left, which is why he has her turned shooting that direction and not straight on toward the natural bounce. The technique is good over all since he used the glasses, but he isnt' telling you the secret to the shot. This would have been a fail on the face without the glasses, turned at this directly, and a fail on the background if he turned her into the soft bounce light from the right. The pillar shot is spot on, I do do the same thing all the time. Again the secret is ambient light in a direction.... creates a good soft light and not hard shadows. Down side... you often have to have them looking towards the light in all the shots.
I rented it, for a week. Went to a wedding and did some portraits & a little street photography! It’s an amazingly fast and sharp lense. Was very big and heavy, too heavy on my R5. The price is also very heavy😂😂, but if you look at the price of a prime 35mm & 50mm at f/2, it’s actually a steal.
Pye, I'd love to see you pit the 3 RF 85mm lenses against one another. It's so hard to figure out if the extra cost is worth the 1.2. Or maybe even do a third party lens or two in there. Thanks!
The Rf 85 f1.2 is considered one of the best lenses ever made so there you have it. But optical wise there still is one that slightly tops it: the DS version of this lens ;)
Love your work been watching you for years... So just bought R5 and have the money to purchase one lens. RF24-70 or RF 28-70. I shoot 95% weddings or Senior pictures. I can't afford both so one and done. What is your thought or which way would you go ?
I use that combo i HATE the flip out screen it needs a tilt, I just never move the screen I cant stand the flip. The way it locks on the eye every time helps make up for it
Do you turn on the Lens aberration correction ? And if so, do you recommend the Digital Lens Optimizer to be ON - Standard? I have the R5 and R6 and use the 28-70mm… I shoot Destinations Weddings at the beach so I have to be extremely fast and sometimes I notice that the lens struggles with the focus when I zoom in or zoom out. I have read and seen many reviews but none mention this option (Digital Lens Optimizer). TÍA
The bokeh transition, besides all the good sharpness, does not look like that of a f/1.2 prime. At least there is one advantage left of prime lenses. They are more than a stop brighter.
We are high volume wedding photographers..I do love this lens, but my left arm is so sore from twisting the barrel of this beast lens. I am in pain right now..The size and the resistance of this lens are almost too much..
I love that lens. But I'd really love a 24-105 F2. One lens that would do it all. 70mm is just not quite enough. And Canon knows it. That's why they don't want a Amazing 24-105mm. LOL And your model is drop dead gorgeous. I'd pop a lil flash on her. Most now use photoshop to do it. I don't want to lose anything by using photoshop. Anything you do in Photoshop diminishes the shot with some noise. And why is it that we get our models at a 11 in looks while the photographer goes out in flip flops, dad shorts, and a T shirt? LOL I do it too but I'm trying to stop that and look A game while shooting myself.
Hey, I’m here a couple years into the future from when you posted, to let you know that they made a 24-104 f/2.8, a first. It is large and heavy. A 24-105 f/2 sounds like a pipe dream because even if they could technologically manage it, who’s to say they’ll recuperate their cost selling a presumably behemoth design.
I have bought it right before the pandemic for 2550$ with warranty. The shop have had 5 pcs and was very glad just get rid of them because no one was buying them for a long time. Now I see this lens is continuously backordered and cost 3500$ on ebay.
No doubt the imsge qualitý is superb but for sheer practical use it is not one to carry around. Definitely not for the travel or street photographer. You would stand out like a sore thumb. In the end, you may not get the shot as you will be noticed. Thus, for a lot of travel and street photography, I still prefer a Micro4/3 camera. However, this lens would be great for a wedding photographer on outdoor location where changing lenses may not be convenient.
Easiest thing would be to change the direction of your model's face or move your camera angle until you don't see the reflection. Because removing it in post processing is a painful job.
Many portrait photographers are saying this is the best zoom lens you can get but unless you're making a living out of it, I seriously can't justify spending about 2.5x MORE than the "Tamron 24-70mm F2.8" i've bought for my R6 at only 1500$CAD while just the RF 24-70 was already TWICE the amount for being no more than 10% better, now going another big notch above that just for 1 more stop... This is exaggerated for the difference imo, plus the extra weight handicap.
I hate to be 'that guy' but the shots taken here highlight why i prefer film photography. The white skies and blown out backgrounds just ruin every shot for me. The sky is supposed to be blue.
I love to have one, but too many drawbacks... first too expensive, I don't make a living in photography any more ,its heavy, I can use my primes, I still use my ef lens with converter snf the work great ! i put so much money into cameras and lens over the years and now these lens are pretty much low value, so cameras and lens are not a good investment like they use to be !!! Its all about taking you money and putting into their pockets !!! its a racket anymore...I have a couple of rf lens but I will not buy anymore, too high a rip off !!!
A 24-70 f1.8 doesn’t exist? There’s only 24-70 f2.8 and then there is canons unique 28-70 f2. Which sound like only a small difference, but it’s actually very noticeable. This one has the image quality of a prime. Basically 3-4 primes that is.
Yes. It would. But nothing will better the primes. I do think people put to much weight on bokeh though. It was never a issue before. The F 1.0 actually stunk and nobody wanted it for anything other then saying they had a F 1.0. Shooting everyone was at F8 to F11.
