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I can see Canon realeasing one of these, but both?? With a difference of only 4mm between the two they seem like almost the same lens - it seems kind of foolish to me.

I'm sure some people will say something along the lines of, "that 4mm can make all the difference in certain circumstances". While that may be true - spare me that argument. I want to know what Canon was thinking by releasing such similar lenses at the same time.

They should have at least made one STM and kept the other USM, if you ask me!

If you're going to start it, expect replies!

Saying "just 4mm" isn't the whole picture. 296 to 300mm would be insignificant. 4mm to 8mm is another world. Of course we're nowhere near those extremes. 24 to 28mm is some 17% difference. I'd argue it is not insignificant, but it isn't necessarily significant either.

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Canon DSLRs: 7D, 5D2, 1D, 600D, 450D full spectrum, 300D IR mod
Lenses: EF 35/2, 50/1.8, 85/1.8, 135/2+SF, 28-80 V, 70-300L, 100-400L, TS-E 24/3.5L, MP-E 65, EF-S 15-85 IS
3rd party: Zeiss 2/50 makro, Samyang 8mm fisheye, Sigma 150 macro, 120-300 f/2.8 OS, Celestron 1325/13
Tinies: Sony HX9V.

Ya, that's the response I wasn't looking for. By that logic, Canon should release many a prime lens in 4mm increments. I was expecting it though, and Popo, you didn't disappoint.

Besides that "world of difference", can anybody think of any other reasons, besides the fact that it's another product to push. I just think it's a strange move business-wise.

I think you missed my point. I'm not saying they should make 4mm increments in focal lengths. I'm saying the gap between these is ~17%. No, it's not huge, but not insignificant either. That's the same as, for example, the difference between 85mm and 100mm which they also offer.

24mm and 28mm are long standing "classic" focal lengths in themselves and there are other existing lenses at both focal lengths. In this case, I assume they did both since the lenses are so similar they can share a lot of design features. Why make one lens when you can do both for little extra effort? The point remains, while similar they are not the same. Both have a function, even if you don't need both.

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Canon DSLRs: 7D, 5D2, 1D, 600D, 450D full spectrum, 300D IR mod
Lenses: EF 35/2, 50/1.8, 85/1.8, 135/2+SF, 28-80 V, 70-300L, 100-400L, TS-E 24/3.5L, MP-E 65, EF-S 15-85 IS
3rd party: Zeiss 2/50 makro, Samyang 8mm fisheye, Sigma 150 macro, 120-300 f/2.8 OS, Celestron 1325/13
Tinies: Sony HX9V.

I doubt most people would pick up both of these lenses.
Some people prefer a 24mm focal length, while others would prefer a 28mm focal length.
While I do not believe Canon would expect most people to pick up both, though they would not object to it.

Recall that Canon has had older versions of these lenses at the same focal length for decades, so there is a solid business decision to have them otherwise they would have been phased out years ago.

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Canon 5DIII, Rebel XTi/400D
Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II, 24-105mm f/4L, 50mm f/1.4, 70-300mm f/4-5.6 DO, 85mm f/1.8
Sigma 150mm F2.8 EX Macro
Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX, Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 II
Canon 430EX II
Opteka 13mm, 21mm, and 31mm extension tubes
Vivitar 50mm f/1.8 for OM System

I think that hit the nail on the head - I come from Film, and I shot with and Olympus OM1 and then later a Pentax with an LCD screen and a fancy shmancy automatic rewinder. And on both I had a 28mm prime.

I dont like 24 only because I was trained or used to the 28mm focal length. Personally I can tell the difference, because in reality, something that is 10 meters away at 28mm would be 15 merters away at 24mm.... This to me, as a feild photographer, and a street photographer, the distnace is huge, especially when Im manually focusing.

I know a lot of Canon Film shooters who shoot with a 24mm prime on thier film cameras and NEVER change them because they are trained in that focal length. People shouldnt forget real life applications of focal length, such as focusing distance, framing distance and sometimes, distortion.

In the end, its perfference.

Leo

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1) Olympus OM1 [Zuiko Auto-S 50mm f/1.8]
2) Pentax MZ-60 [Sigma 28-90 & 100-300]
3) Canon 7D [EF-S 15-85 & 70-200mm f/4 IS]

Leo's Flickr Page

In short: Canon wouldn't keep them both in stores if they weren't both selling. Apparently they are, then who can blame them for doing so? I agree with Popo too: 17% is not a really small margin, even though it isn't a huge difference either.

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Cameras: Canon EOS 7D, Canon EOS 40D
Lenses: Canon EF 17-40/4 L USM, Canon EF-S 60/2.8 Macro USM, Canon EF 70-200/2.8 L USM, Canon EF 100-400/4.5-5.6 L IS USM
Want list: Canon EF 24-105/4 L IS USM, Canon EF 100/2.8 Macro L IS USM

They were just released this month, at the same time. How they are selling , or not selling, is anyone's guess.

It's funny, but with such similarity between the two, I find myself put off from buying either.

just buy the Sigma 30 1.4 and be done with it.

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Canon Powershot S95, Canon 6D,7D, 24-70 2.8 Tamron VC, Canon 15-85, Canon 85 1.8, Sigma 30 1.4, 50mm 1.8, Canon 100 2.8L Macro, Canon 70-300L +Kenko 1.4 Pro 300DGX, Canon 430EX II and RS 4 Classic

Well no. You don't think Canon would do market research to base a decision like this on? Of course the forecast they have is no guarantee, but if these would have been bad for either one of these new lenses then they wouldn't have made them.

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Cameras: Canon EOS 7D, Canon EOS 40D
Lenses: Canon EF 17-40/4 L USM, Canon EF-S 60/2.8 Macro USM, Canon EF 70-200/2.8 L USM, Canon EF 100-400/4.5-5.6 L IS USM
Want list: Canon EF 24-105/4 L IS USM, Canon EF 100/2.8 Macro L IS USM

True - this is called take up interest. You will find that online marketing is cheap and very easy to guage buyers. Not always accurate but if a company gets enough interest, they tend to release a product.

besides, on the day of release, the 24 and the 28 already had a few pre-orders anyway, and it doesnt look like its going to slow down. Its interesting to see how products like these sell.

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1) Olympus OM1 [Zuiko Auto-S 50mm f/1.8]
2) Pentax MZ-60 [Sigma 28-90 & 100-300]
3) Canon 7D [EF-S 15-85 & 70-200mm f/4 IS]

Leo's Flickr Page