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Marcus Rinaldi
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Registered: Aug 17, 2007
Location: United States
Posts: 0
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Review Date: Feb 7, 2009
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $295.00
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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IS, relatively light weight, decent IQ, inexpensive, quiet AF with full time MF, hood included.
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Cons:
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Zoom creep, dust behind front element after a very short while, barrel wobbles.
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I bought this lens about two years ago to accompany the flimsy feeling EF-S 18-55 mm kit lens that came with my Rebel XTi. After spending nearly a month in Italy and taking over 4,000 photos with it, this turned out to be a good investment. Most of my photos turned out to be fairly sharp. It uses an EW-78BII petal-type hood, and you can get away with using a polarizer on it and be able to nudge it around with your fingertip without having to pull the hood off. There's also enough room to take the lens cap off without getting your fingers stuck.
I found it to be perfect for someone who's just getting into DSLR photography and isn't prepared to sink thousands of dollars into high-end glass that they may never use again.
I rarely use mine anymore, it's been replaced by a 24-105L zoom that came with my 5D.
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 Feb 7, 2009
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Hitendra
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Registered: Feb 16, 2007
Location: India
Posts: 0
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Jan 26, 2009
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OdysseyF22
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Registered: Oct 28, 2005
Location: United States
Posts: 0
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Review Date: Jan 7, 2009
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $290.00
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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Very sharp, useful range, IS, great value
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Cons:
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f/5.6 when zoomed, zoom creep
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I bought a used copy to replace my Tamron 28-75mm, which I found myself increasingly unhappy with. The Canon 28-135mm offers extra reach on the zoom end, which I use a lot. It was my first IS lens and has converted me; IS is a huge help, especially when shooting in low light, which I do a lot. The range of useful shutter speeds is extended by quite a bit.
My copy suffers from zoom creep, which is annoying but doesn't really impact performance. It is very sharp and required no micro-focus adjustment at all on my 50D.
My only real complaint is the variable f-stops across the zoom range; if it were a constant f/4, it would be a perfect lens. However, f/5.6 at the long end is sometimes just too much, even with the IS.
For anyone who wants a dependable walk-around lens with good range, this is the one to buy. While I'll someday upgrade to the Canon 24-105 IS, I doubt I'll sell this lens, but will use it exclusively on my second body.
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Jan 7, 2009
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hokiejimbo
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Registered: Aug 24, 2008
Location: United States
Posts: 0
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Review Date: Dec 24, 2008
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $250.00
| Rating: 10
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This was the first lens I bought for my Rebel XT/350d, after the 50/1.8. I've been very happy with the sharpness of all images, and the surprisingly good contrast and bokeh on macro images. The main concern I had was with the lack of wide angle. However, the image quality at 28mm is phenomenal, and I find that it's wide enough for most uses. I'm using this mostly outdoors or in well-lit areas, as the IS is really not sufficient for low-light situations. I do get acceptable images at about 1/40 at the long end of the zoom, which is really all I ask for. Low-light is better served by the 50/1.4 which compliments this lens very well. It seems a little silly to say that a $300 lens is poor because it's not as good as a $1000 lens... it's the best walk-around lens I've found for its price range, both IQ and usability.
Issues: It definitely has lens-creep, which makes its build quality seem worse than it would otherwise. This doesn't really bother me much, as I'm just used to the idea that the lens will work itself out to full zoom after a short walk.
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Dec 24, 2008
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danjreed
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Registered: Dec 23, 2008
Location: United States
Posts: 0
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Review Date: Dec 23, 2008
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $300.00
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Cost, Size, Function, IQ
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Cons:
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Weight takes some getting used to - when based against my kit lens. IS is noisy at times. No hood. Barrel Shake/Zoom Creep.
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I was looking for a lens to upgrade from the kit lens (15-55mm) for my Rebel Xt/350D. It was a tossup between this lens, and the EF-S 17-80. I had struggled with the idea that the 28-135 would be cropped so much on my camera, that I'd have a hard time dealing with the lack of the "wide" that I had gotten used to with the 15-55. (On a crop body, the 28-135mm = 45-216mm).
I was able to try out the EF-S 17-80 at a store. I found the distortion at 17-30 to be very bad. The 80mm zoom was not much better then the 55mm I already have. This coupled with the f4/5.6 was a deal breaker for me. - not to mention, this lens typically cost more then the more common 28-135mm EF lens.
I was able to try (and then later buy!) the EF 28-135mm at the same time. The 28 "wide" on the XT, is fine, frankly, its much like shooting with a prime 50 (except for the obvious f/stop difference). No big deal, added bonus, the 28-135 is a f/3.5 - 5.6 lens. So shooting in low light is ok. The IS helps a lot if the subject is standing still. The USM is fast, and crisp. I love the back ring focus!
I wish this lens came with a hood. It would be 100% ideal for me, but e-bay sourced out a cheap one just fine.
There is some "shake" at the end of the barrel, and there *is* zoom creep. But, for the price I paid, and the fact that the lens takes nice crisp photos, I can live with it. The 15-55 lens is so small, I can toss it in a day bag, and keep it on hand if needed. Its the ideal upgrade lens, for the XT, and frankly is more useful then the EF-s 55-250 lens that is often sold as a "tele" lens for the XT.
At this point the lens spends most of its time on the camera body, and not in the bag!
All and all, a great upgrade that shows how nice of a camera the XT is (was!), and for me the prefect lens to upgrade to!
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Dec 23, 2008
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pifatore
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Registered: Jul 14, 2008
Location: N/A
Posts: 0
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Review Date: Dec 6, 2008
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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af accuracy, fast, near silent, not the best IS, but better than nothing.
good sharpness and colors, good range if you already have a wide-angle.
And, of course, good price.
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Cons:
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some A.Cīs visible at the long end. (But easy to correct in ps)
noisy IS
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Had the opportunity to test some lenses I was interested in, and boy, what a surprise! I tested a 50 mm f/1.4 and a 28 mm f/1.8. These were the last copies in the store, so I assume that maybe they were not excellent copies at all. I took my 40d and made my tests, then pixel-peeped the results on the lab top and...
amazingly, this lens outperformed the other two in terms of sharpness and af accuracy (ŋ?ŋ?ŋ). I took more than 40 or 50 pics with different f/ numbers, and boy I can swear I couldnīt believe it, after all the reviews I had read. I own other lenses: 17-40L, 18-55 IS, sigma 10-20, canon ef 35 mm f2 and have tested others like famous tamron 17-50, canon ef 70-300 IS and so on...and can say I recommend this lens as far as the focal range is useful to you. In terms of build quality, of course itīs not an L, but itīs far better than the 18-55 IS and even the 70-300. Zoom ring is not bad (creep?- are you running all the time?) nor mf ring. Af accuracy is good, USM near silent. IS is a little noisy. Sahrpness is very good all over the range except at the long end (135), where you can find a lateral CAīs.
If you can live without the build quality of an L, donīt look farther. This is a good lens.
Last advice: for this and all the lenses you are interested in, try to test it in the store, donīt buy blindly.
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Dec 6, 2008
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canon_treasure
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Registered: Oct 20, 2008
Location: United States
Posts: 0
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Review Date: Oct 20, 2008
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $329.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Light weight, clean, quick, quiet focus, compact, perfect walk around range. Excellent color and image sharpness.
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Cons:
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We're stuck with f/5.6 at 135MM
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Surprising image performance, both color and sharpness. Used primarily on an XTi and 30D for Fall foliage, hand held, pictures taken 1 hour before sunset. It compared equally in image sharpness and color with the 24-105L, which has been my primary walk around. I shot with both lenses at the same targets to get a fair comparison. The results were nearly identical. I had ignored this lens until recently and I am sorry that I hadn't worked with it sooner. The additional reach and amazingly clear images, hand held, at near dusk warrant this lens to be taken more seriously. Don't let the lens snobs dissuade you from trying this lens and it absolutely holds its own with the 24-105 L. It is annoying to have the f/5.6 engaged at full zoom when shooting near dusk even with IS. If you are without tripod and you're extended to 135mm, take 4 or 5 extra shots to assure at least one or two clean hits when the shutter speed approaches 1/30. It's a great lens for the money. Some complaints are unwarranted ie, not weatherproof, filters are expensive, zoom creep, vignetting. What good is having a weather proof lens if your camera body isn't weatherproof? Not all L's are weather proof and certainly very few bodies. No zoom creep unless you are running up and down steps or "wearing it" while jack hammering. A decent UV can be had for under $20.00. There is no more perceptible vignetting with this lens than the 24-105 L. Enjoy this lens!
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Oct 20, 2008
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chinmaya
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Registered: Mar 11, 2008
Location: United States
Posts: 0
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Review Date: Oct 11, 2008
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Focal length. Image stabilization. Light weight. Good walk around lens.
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Cons:
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Sometimes Zoom-creep. Build can be better.
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Excellent focal length range, if you don't minde 28mm on crop body. Very good clarity/IQ, I have printed 16x20mm, extremely happy the result. Sometimes Zoom-creepy. Best walk around lens. If you don't know what f-stop is best you could get soft images. Build could have been better.
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Oct 11, 2008
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zakb7
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Registered: Apr 25, 2005
Location: United States
Posts: 0
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Review Date: Oct 6, 2008
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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IS, 135mm at the long end, fast & silent USM focusing, manual focus override
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Cons:
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IS doesn't work on a tripod or while panning
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Like a lot of people, I came to know this lens because it was included as part of a kit. It was my first lens with USM...and I'll never go back.
Focus is instantaneous. The IS really does work for photographing fairly still subjects. And I love the ring USM for being able to focus manually without fumbling for the AF/MF switch.
This is an old lens, so it's not really wide at all on an APS-C camera. It puzzles me that it's included with kits for the 40D, actually, because the "wide" end looks like 45mm on that camera. But this lens really shines at 28mm, even if the field of view is decidedly "normal."
Build quality is pretty solid, certainly a jump up from the non-USM zooms. There's a little play in the barrel when the lens is racked all the way out, but not unexpectedly so. And despite its dust-pump design, my sensor is clean - after more than 5,000 exposures with this lens.
I have no idea why some folks claim this lens is soft - it's not. Wide open it's softer than stopped down, like every other lens ever made. But soft? No way. Optically, I find this lens to be a winner.
A great walk-around lens, and one that I'll keep in my arsenal when I step up to a full-frame camera body.
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Oct 6, 2008
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Todd Cphen
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Registered: Oct 13, 2007
Location: United States
Posts: 0
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Review Date: Sep 28, 2008
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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Easy to use and moderatly fast lens.
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Cons:
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AF periodically is not very accurate. Build quality is so-so. There is a lot of play in the inner ring.
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Nice walking around lens. Build quality could be better for the money. Easy to use and IS is helpful.
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Sep 28, 2008
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photog4fun
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Registered: May 13, 2005
Location: United States
Posts: 52
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Review Date: Aug 29, 2008
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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Fairly sharp photo's, light
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Cons:
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expensive filters for this size, not wide enough on a 1.6 camera
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Aug 29, 2008
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vishnu.gv
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Registered: Aug 5, 2008
Location: United States
Posts: 9
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Review Date: Aug 10, 2008
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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Light weight, zoom range, IS, good IQ and price.
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Cons:
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lack of weather proof sealing, lens rattle ..
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I got my 28-135mm as a kit lens with my 40D... l recently replaced this for a 24-105mm L F/4..
The 28-135mm was a good lens .. i used it extensively while i had it and it was on my camera 90% of the time.. the reason I replaced it was because i wanted better IQ and constant F stop.. what you pay is what you get, for what the 28-135mm costs it is a very good lens.. reasonably good IQ, good IS, and an almost perfect zoom range for a 'walk around lens'..
The one complaint i had was the weather proof sealing (or the lack of it) .. not sure if this is the issue with all 28-135s but the lens i had was a dust magnet.. after every trip i would have to swab my sensor to remove visible dust even though i did not change lenses..
that apart, if you are on a budget this is the perfect 'walk around lens' ... it wouldn't be fair to compare this to the L series since you pay 2.5 to 3 time more for a comparable L lens..
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Aug 10, 2008
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