24-85/3.5-4.5 USM

It was a tough decision between the trusty old 28-105 USM and this lens when it came time to trash my 28-80 kit lens. The 28-105 was cheaper, had a standard 58mm filter size, was readily available on the used market, and was widely regarded as "the" zoom lens to have, assuming one wasn't a professional. The 24-85 was more expensive, had a weird 67mm filter size that matched nothing in the Canon line except the 70-200/4L, and was virtually impossible to find (when I was looking anyway). So of course, I chose the 24-85. The deciding factor was focal length; the extra 4mm on the wide end was a lot more dramatic than the extra 20 on the long end. Besides, I figured, I can always crop for a tighter perspective, but I can't make pictures magically wider.

This is the lens I use for probably 90% of my shooting. It's sharp enough for my purposes, fast enough for most situations, and light enough to carry around all day. It's also versatile enough to be my only lens if I want to travel light. Barrel distortion is minimal--practically unnoticeable most of the time. The lens does suffer from some pretty significant vignetting at maximum apertures, but I don't know if that's because of my UV filter or what (since I tend to only see it at 24mm). Plus, the vignetting is only noticeable under certain conditions (like at dusk); normal daytime shots are just fine. As for flare, it's comparable to any complex zoom, and it's easily controllable with the lens hood (which pretty much never leaves the front of my lens).

After writing this, I've realized that this review sucks, because I'm really much better at writing bad reviews than good ones and this lens is pretty damn good. I also got into some technical photo-bullshit that I don't usually discuss because I don't think fiddly crap like (minor) barrel distortion or vignetting really affect my photography. Anyway, this lens rocks and I use it all the time. Okay?