Recently, when I was asked to photograph a wedding, I instantly knew what would be my lens of choice: the Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L II USM. This is because of the very versatile focal length that allows me to photograph most of the scenarios that I would be shooting in a wedding apart from moving to a 70-200mm when I needed that extra bit of reach.Additionally, the fast f/2.8 aperture allows me to isolate subjects with a shallow depth of field, creating more aesthetic images as well as the formation of bokeh with small balls of light in the out of focus areas of the image. The bokeh that this lens achieves is much better than comparable lenses because of its rounded aperture blades.
When shooting the wedding I was using the 24-70mm on a Canon EOS 7D Mark II with an equivalent focal length of 38.4-112mm. I found that, especially for grouped shots with the whole gathering in a church, that at its widest point it was not enough so I found myself going to the Canon EF 16-35mm f/4.0L IS USM. With the crop factor at 1.6x it was an equivalent of 25.6mm, so on a full frame body you would find for most scenarios that it would not be necessary to change to a wider lens.
At the widest part of the lens there is very little distortion as well as being incredibly sharp throughout the zoom range. I was also able to see that the lens was not only sharp in the centre, but also towards the edges of the frame; this then gives the photographer more confidence that all the files are going to be usable, and with the stresses of shooting a wedding this is very reassuring.
The lack of image stabilisation with the lens is not a problem; this is because of the fast f/2.8 aperture that generally enables the photographer to be using a fast enough shutter speed so that there would be no motion blur. With the lens also letting in so much light, it allows you to use a lower ISO so that the sensor is less reactive to light thus enabling you to achieve better and cleaner images. Canon may have also decided against putting IS on this lens to try and keep its size and weight down to a minimum, because of portability being such an important aspect.
Even though using primes may be a preferable way of shooting, because of there being no moving internal elements that allow for even sharper images, they are not suitable for the fast moving pace of a wedding where if you are busy changing lenses, you could miss that unrepeatable important moment. This is why the practicality of a zoom is perfect and especially with the performance of the Canon 24-70mm.Overall I was very pleased with the capabilities of this lens and would love the opportunity to use it again.
If you’ve got any questions about the Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM lens, please put them in the comments section below.
If you want to learn more about the Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II lens, visit us in either our Burgess Hill or Central London stores, go online to www.parkcameras.com, or give our expert team a call on 01444 23 70 70.
Ben
Park Cameras
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