Canon 24-105 f4 on Eos rp

Fun fact old lenses are actually still pretty good. I am a prime lens shooter, I most use my Tamron 35mm1.8 and Tamron 85mm 1.8. These lenses are great for my portrait work but I have found that for events and location photography its a bit cumbersome to switch lenses and /or carrying multiple camera bodies. Recently I purchased a canon 24-105mm f4 to see if it could eliminate some of the hassle of an other wise simple shoo day. I didn’t really take f4 lens seriously but upon second thought I realized that some of the publicized shortcomings of a smaller aperture lens aren’t really relevant in many situations.

The first issue that most people present with f4’s is the lack of shallow depth of field. But considering that i was mostly planning to use this lens for events, I was able to dismiss this concern do to the high volume of group shots that would require me to stop down to f2.8 or f4.0 away. Shooting at 1.8 in these situations generally either cost me time arranging my subject on the focus plain or result in only the targeted subject be in tack sharp focus.

The next issue that I reconciled was that lack of light gathering in indoors situations. This aslo is a non issue in event settings due to my avid use if on camera flash. In every situation where I’m shooting a gig indoors I use bounce flash to get great exposure and subject separation in my images. This is also helpful when your dealing with harsh window light and even works well in aperture priority modes and ettl, you just need to adjust your exposure and flash exposure compensation.

These two concepts alone where actually enough for me to make the purchase. However i was surprised with the usability of the 24-105mm shooting outdoor portraits. The compression and bokeh that you get at 105mm is actually just enough to provide a smooth pleasant look when you get stuck shooting with busy backgrounds. Studio work proved promising as well seeing as how f8 is my sweet spot when shooting portraits.

All in all this lens is no brainer for most people in most situations and has quickly become one of my most used lenses. I may soon spring for a 24-70mm 2.8 for a little more mid range bokeh and for the added simplicity of not need to change lens but for now I’m happy with my 24-105. Check out these images.