So I finally pulled the trigger and pre-ordered the R5 Mark II and I am literally vibrating with excitement right now haha. I'm planning this massive hiking trip to Switzerland next month and I really need to nail down my one lens setup because my budget is pretty much tapped out after spending five grand on the body and extra batteries. My logic was that I should get something versatile so I'm not swapping glass in the middle of a trail or getting dust on that shiny new sensor.
I did a bunch of digging online and everyone keeps pointing towards the RF 24-70mm f/2.8L as the holy grail of all-around lenses. But then I saw some landscape guys saying the 24-105mm f/4L is actually better for travel because of the extra reach on the long end. Now I'm just spiraling because some forum posts say the 24-105 isn't sharp enough to handle the 45 megapixels on the R5II which sounds kinda crazy for an L lens but it's making me second guess everything. If I'm spending $2000+ I want it to be the absolute best fit for everything from wide mountain shots to some closer portraits of my wife. Is the 24-70 really worth the extra weight and lost range if I'm mostly shooting in daylight? Or is there some other dark horse lens I'm missing...
TL;DR: Grab the Canon RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM for the Swiss Alps. The extra reach is way more valuable than an extra stop of light for landscapes! Listen, the internet talk about the 24-105 not being sharp enough for 45MP is basically just pixel-peeping gone wrong. I put my copy through some rigorous testing on my R5 and the MTF charts dont lie... it holds up fantastic even at the edges. When I was trekking through Glacier National Park last summer, I was so glad I didnt lug the heavier Canon RF 24-70mm f/2.8L IS USM around. Having that 105mm reach meant I could actually get some decent compression on the peaks without needing a second lens. Since youre shooting in daylight, f/4 is plenty and youll love the lighter bag. Its honestly the ultimate travel workhorse for that R5II sensor!
- i am literally in the exact same boat as you and it is honestly driving me a little crazy... been stuck in this research loop for my upcoming Iceland trip for like a month now.
- coming back to this thread after another hour of scrolling and i am still no closer to an answer... coming from years on the Nikon Z7 II system i thought the switch to the Canon EOS R5 Mark II would be simple but comparing these specific zooms has me totally paralyzed.
- it is so frustrating because every time i think i have a winner i find another review that makes me second guess the sharpness or the weight and i still havent been able to pull the trigger on either one.
Re: "Man I wish I found this thread sooner...."
- Saw this post earlier today and had to come back to it because I went through this exact same spiral before a trip to the Andes. Michael is 100% right about the range being more useful than the aperture for what you are doing. In my experience, over the years I have learned that the high-end f/2.8 glass is a bit of a trap for hikers. I once spent my entire savings on the most expensive fast zoom I could find, thinking it would make my travel photos look like National Geographic. Instead, I just ended up with a sore neck and a lens that stayed in my bag because it was too heavy to pull out every five minutes. Here is what I have learned from my mistakes:
- Light is usually abundant in the mountains. I found myself shooting at f/8 or f/11 most of the time anyway, so that extra glass was just dead weight.
- Having that extra reach on the long end caught so many details on distant peaks that I would have missed entirely with a shorter focal length.
- The cost savings from going with the slightly slower lens paid for my entire stay in a much nicer lodge. My current setup is much lighter than my old professional rig and my back thanks me every single mile. Honestly, dont sweat the sharpness talk. Modern sensors are amazing and those lenses are designed for them.
Man I wish I found this thread sooner. Would have saved me so much hassle.
Came here to say the same thing lol. Great minds think alike I guess.
