Canon - EF24mm F1.4L II USM Wide-Angle Lens for EOS DSLR Cameras - Black

This has tons of bokeh if you want it and with the mk IV auto focus sensitivity turned up it works wonderfully. Also, in a completely different application, it's amazing for model photography specifically full-body. Again, amazing bokeh and really clear images. Some distortion of you're close but that's to be expected with a 24mm.

I bought this lens second hand, 2 years old but in excellent condition. I found the focusing to work correctly the majority if the time. I mean majority of the time when you go in and pixel peep at 100%. Large aperture f1.4 lenses will not have 100% accuracy in real life shooting. Not sure if all reviewers take this into account but this is a technical challenge I have found with large aperture lenses, even my 85mm f1.8 which is one of the fastest and most reliable lenses I have used on full frame. Just needed to make this point clear. I find color rendition and contrast to be fantastic. Sharpness across the frame is so good that I do not need lens optimisation in post processing. This lens does not need it, when my 24-105mm f4L often does. Bokeh is also very nice, for a non-dedicated portrait lens. I think this lens is worth the money, despite the high price tag.

This lens has served me well in small spaces for 3/4 and full-body portraits. It has allowed also for effective use of shalllow depth of field as a compositional element. Whether with natural light or strobes, this lens has not presented any sort of limitation in terms of framing or of photographic composition generally. With wide-angle lenses, certain distortion is not unexpected--particularly at closer distances to one's subject--but it is also not an issue if, for example, one shoots RAW and makes appropriate corrections in post-processing. As shooting with this lens may not be necessarily a "point and shoot" undertaking, skill sets may have bearing on individual results. I find the 24mm f/1.4 II USM to be a tremendous lens, and I cannot imagine not having it in my kit.

I wasn't sure about purchasing this lens at first due to the steep price tag but am really glad now that I did. This lens can be described in one word, Quality. Exceptional quality throughout the optics, build, design and AF to be more specific. The color of this lens is the best I've seen in any lens. The contrast and clarity is super deep and nicely defined. The sharpness is very well kept fully open and, when stopped to 4, is perfect. The light fall-off is pretty hard fully open but obviously your camera/PS can correct that pretty well and mostly goes away when stopped down a decent amount. The distortion is very minimal and easily corrected also. The build quality I absolutely love, very solid metal body, weather sealing and just good all-round feel. I dropped it onto a very hard floor from about 2.5 feet and it still works fine (obviously an accident). I wish the lens hood was metal though, but what are you gonna do. If you want a lens in this length and are debating the price, just go for it, you'll be happy.

I purchased this lens for shooting small black box theatre productions without a flash, and these venues are typically not well lighted. This worked wonderfully with my Rebel. When I upgraded to a 5D and a 5D MkII I found this lens to be lacking. It still functions wonderfully, however the very pronounced distortion with the full frame boxes creates a poor fish-eye effect. Considering the investment required, it is an unforgivable drawback.