Andy G.
I read the technical reviews and knew what to expect in terms of sharpness and features. Ill just report on three things that were slightly different than I expected. 1. The lock button only locks the zoom in the retracted position. It does not lock the zoom in any arbitrary position. One of my biggest frustrations with version I of the 24-105mm, besides the lens hood, was that the zoom would creep when pointing down at a subject. Canon tightened my old lens up for me, but it still wasnt quite as tight as Id like. I was hoping for a feature like the zoom lock on the Canon 100-400mm f/4-5.6, but with a switch instead of a ring. On the plus side, the zoom on version II is nice and stiff, yet still easy to rotate, so hopefully it wont creep with use. It feels nice - firm and smooth. 2. While I know the lens is slightly heavier, it sure doesnt feel like it. Feels similar to the old model. 3. Nice surprise: The lens hood. The lens hood on version I of the 24-105mm was a mess to attach and remove, like several of Canons other older lenses. The new lens hood glides on effortlessly and snaps cleanly into place. It is a huge improvement. There is a little button on the hood you press to release the lens hood for unscrewing, similar to the lens hood on the 100-400mm f/4-5.6 II. The new lens hood has a cheaper interior - its a matte finish plastic instead of the darker light-absorbing felt of the version I lens hood. The darker felt on version I not only had better light absorption, but also attracted dust which was actually a good feature - it kept dust off the lens. I slightly prefer the old inner lens hood treatment, but Ill bet in practice nobody will be able to tell the difference between the two. Other comments: Ive played with the image stabilization, and it seems steadier than the old model.