While photo enthusiasts suffer in the throes of GAS (gear acquisition syndrome)-endlessly buying hot new cameras and lenses, reselling them, and buying the next cool thing-professional photographers stick with what works.

Sharp, fast, compact, and durable—this lens is a pro's best friend.

Decided to buy canon 24-70 ii after reading lot of good reviews and I am satisfied so far. It would be great to have image stabilization, but I am ok even without that considering weight and price premium.

Image quality; build; 2.8 max aperture; AF speed

Expensive ; no stabilization; hood design

I had the same lens from a competitor off brand and had such inconsistent results, I decided to go all in on this lens. So happy I did. Worth all the money. I shoot a lot of low light, action events and have been totally happy with it.

Consistent Output; Fast / accurate auto-focus; Nice Bokeh; Strong Construction

Tough To Attach

If you can only have one lens this is the one. I keep it on my camera as primary. The best investment ever made.

I am a wedding photographer, so I need a really good lens for my photography. If you buy this you won't be disappointed! I can now shoot at higher iso levels without too much sharpness being lost and the image being too noisy. Colours are much better too now!

accurate focusing; sharp; good colours

none

I suppose the IS is not needed in a wider lens due to the focal length, but I can see it being useful at 70mm.

Typical canon sharpness build quality and reliability; I have all canon glass and this purchase recently is one of the few lenses I didnt have to bridge the gap between the ultra wide and the super long stuff

No IS

I can't say enough good things about this lens. We own two for wedding photography and they replaced a 24L, 35L and 50L after a critical 2.8 shoot-out reveal this zoom was a better performer wide open then the primes were stopped down.

Great image quality, wide open, at every focal length; Fast & accurate focus in challenging conditions

Lens hood breaks after modest professional use; I miss the 'perfect' lens hood design of its predecessor

The Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM ($2,299) is the workhorse lens for many a Canon shooter. With a constant f/2.8 aperture throughout its zoom range, very good optical performance, and a fairly compact design, the lens pairs well with full-frame Canon cameras .

Sharp throughout zoom range; Constant f/2.8 aperture; Fairly compact

Pricey; Not stabilized; Some distortion; Telescoping design

The Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM ($2,299) is the workhorse lens for many a Canon shooter. With a constant f/2.8 aperture throughout its zoom range, very good optical performance, and a fairly compact design, the lens pairs well with full-frame Canon cameras. Its wide angle to short telephoto zoom range also makes it a good choice for serious hobbyists in search of a walkaround lens. It's on the pricey side, and if you can live with an f/4 lens you might be better served by the less expensive Canon EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM($1,099.00 at Amazon). The lens($1,899.00 at Amazon) measures 4.4 by 3.5 inches (HD), has a large front element that requires 82mm filters, and weighs in at a hefty 1.8 pounds. It's fairly squat when set to 24mm, but it does telescope when zoomed. There's a switch to lock it into the 24mm position for storage, as well as a switch to change between manual and autofocus operation. The zoom ring is at the base of the lens and is covered with ridged rubber; it's comf...

The Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM lens is the company's top-end standard zoom; it's pricey, but a solid performer.

Sharp throughout zoom range; Constant f/2.8 aperture; Fairly compact

Pricey; Not stabilized; Some distortion; Telescoping design