Canon EF 11-24mm f/4L USM review

The Canon EF 11-24mm f/4L USM is an ultra-wide DSLR zoom lens, but it's got some strong competition

Canon EF 11-24mm f/4L USM
(Image: © Canon)

Digital Camera World Verdict

For a rectilinear rather than fisheye lens, this full-frame compatible zoom takes viewing angles to the extreme. The price tag is similarly large but Canon’s EF 11-24mm is something of an engineering feat and has impeccable build quality, along with excellent all-round performance. At the end of the day though, the competing Sigma 12-24mm f/4L DG HSM almost matches the Canon for viewing width, delivers superb image quality and only costs about half as much to buy, making the Canon look relatively poor value.

Pros

  • +

    Mighty maximum viewing angle

  • +

    Excellent build quality

  • +

    Impressive image quality

Cons

  • -

    Expensive to buy

  • -

    No image stabilization

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    Color fringing and distortion

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The Canon EF 11-24mm f/4L USM launched as the world’s widest-angle rectilinear zoom lens, overtaking the Sigma 12-24mm f/4 DG HSM | A by a single millimeter in its shortest focal length. The 11mm focal length delivers a monstrous 126-degree viewing angle, measured on the horizontal of the image frame. It’s only marginally bigger and heavier than Sigma’s 12-24mm ‘Art’ lens, which almost matches the Canon with a maximum viewing angle of 122 degrees.

Specifications

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Matthew Richards

Matthew Richards is a photographer and journalist who has spent years using and reviewing all manner of photo gear. He is Digital Camera World's principal lens reviewer – and has tested more primes and zooms than most people have had hot dinners! 

His expertise with equipment doesn’t end there, though. He is also an encyclopedia  when it comes to all manner of cameras, camera holsters and bags, flashguns, tripods and heads, printers, papers and inks, and just about anything imaging-related. 

In an earlier life he was a broadcast engineer at the BBC, as well as a former editor of PC Guide.