Conclusion

The Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS II USM is an excellent standard zoom lens that, as you'd perhaps expect, is much better than the 10-year-old Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM that it replaces, which incidentally is one of Canon's most popular lenses.

It offers a very versatile focal range whilst being tack-sharp from 24mm to 50mm, both in the centre and at the edges of the frame. Sharpness at 70-105mm isn't quite as good when shooting wide-open at f/4, but overall the Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS II USM delivers excellent sharpness across the frame. Vignetting at wide-open apertures and some barrel distortion at 24mm are the only other real optical issues of note.

Build quality is excellent, certainly up to the usual L-lens standard, and Canon also provide a very good lens hood and padded case. Focusing was very quick and quiet on the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV that we tested the lens with, and manual focus over-ride at any time is a great feature, as is the effective built-in optical image stabilisation system, now worth up to 4 stops rather than the 2.5 stops that the previous model offered.

The price of the Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS II USM isn't so attractive, though, with the similarly specified Sigma 24-105mm F4 DG OS HSM costing quite a lot less, although it costs significantly less than the faster but shorter Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM. Despite the price-tag, we can still strongly recommend the new Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS II USM as a very well-built standard zoom lens that delivers superb results with the minimum of fuss.

Ratings (out of 5)
Design	4.5
Features	4.5
Ease-of-use	4.5
Image quality	4.5
Value for money	4