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Capeachy
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Registered: Aug 18, 2009
Location: Canada
Posts: 0
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Review Date: Aug 18, 2009
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $470.00
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Fast AF, lightweight, normal lens on crop body, good build, depth of field index
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Cons:
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A little pricey
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I'm using this as a normal lens on my XTi for all kinds of pictures: From landscapes to people to whatever I see.
The first thing I want to say is wow, this lens is perfect for use as a normal on crop bodies! Composition is a no brainer, what you see with your eyes normally, then put your camera up to your eye and just take the picture. The lens is light and compact, AF is fast and very accurate and the pictures come out sharp. (Disclaimer: I don't pixel peep and I don't shoot wide open in the bright sunlight.)
If you use the lens to take close up objects like 1-3m away, you'll need to keep in mind that the DoF is pretty shallow. Try an online DoF calculator and you'll know what I mean or use the DoF meter on the lens. I shot f/8 and expected more to be in focus but I was surprised how shallow it can be depending on subject distance. Don't mistake a seemingly non-sharp lens for user error!
The other reason I got this lens is so I can do low light and it doesn't disappoint. AF is still quick and smooth but watch that DoF and AF point!
I use this in concert with my 50 f/1.8 as a substitute for not buying a 24-70 f/2.8 and having to deal with the added weight. Just walk forward and backwards to get the extra angles  The extra stop of light is also much more useful for movement in low light. With a bit of practice, you can switch lenses quite fast. (Hint: don't bother with the front caps, that's what your UV filter is for. A little dust on there won't even register.) I also carry a Tokina 11-16 f/2.8 with me and all 3 lenses combined is the same weight and roughly the same price as the 24-70 f/2.8 and I get more low light performance and wider range of angles. Well worth it in my opinion.
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 Aug 18, 2009
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AbramG
Online
Buy and Sell: On
Registered: Jan 30, 2006
Location: United States
Posts: 1205
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Review Date: Aug 17, 2009
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $350.00
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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I like that it is quick to focus, sharp, light weight, and compact.
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Cons:
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The colors don't necessarily JUMP out at you, but it's not a big deal, easy to fix with PP.
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I was actually surprised (based on what I've read) to find such a gem of a lens! It's very usable wide-open and great from f/2 onwards. I've been using it mostly on my 5DmkII, but it's also very usable on a 1.6x body (I've tried with my 40D). I will quite often take just this lens and the 5D w/o a grip out shooting and I'm always happy with the results.
Don't be afraid to try one out!
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Aug 17, 2009
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ckc11
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Registered: Jan 29, 2009
Location: United States
Posts: 0
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Review Date: Apr 8, 2009
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $350.00
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Lightweight, fast silent USM, great FF walkaround lens esp for low light indoor. Good bokeh.
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Cons:
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none
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Looking for a lightweight lens for everyday use, look no further. Paired with a FF 5dmk2 this has been on my camera exclusively for the past month. The brick (24-70L) is now gathering dust. It's perfect for indoor situations when lighting can get pretty dark. 28mm is great for tight quarters and it focuses very close at 25cm. No problems focusing, it's fast and silent. Bokeh is really pleasant too.
I was debating between this and the 50mm 1.4, and I'm really glad I went with the 28mm. 50mm is a little too long for indoor candids. With the 28mm you can always move closer whereas with the 50mm you can't always move back.
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Apr 8, 2009
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roo72
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Registered: Dec 9, 2008
Location: Australia
Posts: 0
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Review Date: Dec 9, 2008
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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Price, build, image quality
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Cons:
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No lens hood - come on Canon!
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My second "real" lens (not counting two crappy kit ones) and I just love it.
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Dec 9, 2008
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klinker
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Registered: May 14, 2008
Location: Germany
Posts: 0
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Review Date: Nov 14, 2008
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Nice compact build, fast AF
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Cons:
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price
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Nov 14, 2008
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Jo Dilbeck
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Registered: Dec 20, 2007
Location: United States
Posts: 855
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Review Date: Sep 19, 2008
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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Fast focus, low cost alternative to 24 F1.4L
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Cons:
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None really
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I've had this lens for about a year now. About 3 months ago, I sent it to Canon for calibration because it just seemed softer than it should be based on the reviews I've seen. Canon got it right on the first try, this lens now rivals the 24 F1.4 I was considering replacing it with! I did head to head test chart pictures with both lenses and all stops between 1.4 and 4.0 and while the 24 F1.4 was a WEE bit sharper from 2.0 up, it was not enough for me to justify the additional expense. At F1.8, I found both the 28 and the 24 to be almost identical, or at least so much so that I can't tell the difference.
If I were a pro, and relied on the lens for my livelihood, I would probably choose the 24 F1.4. Since I'm just a serious hobbyist, and use this lens only for it's F1.8-2.8 values (I use the 24-105 F4 for F4 and above), this little gem is more than good enough for me. It focuses quickly, quietly and accurately. If you get a new one, and it's just not quite what you expected, send it to Canon (Irvine) and let them give it a "tune-up". You might be glad you did!
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Sep 19, 2008
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AurelSK
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Registered: Aug 18, 2008
Location: Slovakia
Posts: 2
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Review Date: Aug 25, 2008
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $425.00
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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Compact size, USM - fast very silent focus, Canon
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Cons:
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my is tad soft on f8 - f11
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I have replaced my loved EF35/2 with this lens as upgrade. Of course, EF35/2 was old design with noisy and slow AF. This 28/1.8 USM focusing is superior, a different world compared to 35/2, but...
After week or two using this lovely lens I got similar feeling as someone before me written here - that this lens is strange - sometimes it would give me excellent sharp images and other times very soft. I had this feeling from some portrait pictures I have made at f9 1/200s with softbox. I have expected razor sharp output, but it was not. It was rather soft. At f9!
I have used then also plastic EF50/1.8 II and surprisingly output of EF50 seemed to me to be sharper.
Next day I have made a comparison of this EF28/1.8 with EF50/1.8 without using any artificial lighting at same condition/camera setting. What I have found out was surprise to me. I think that this 28/1.8 is much better in sharpness than 50/1.8II, except f8-f14 range. Look at results of my home-made comparison:
http://www.foxy.sk/canon/ef28_ef50.htm
It seems to me that EF28/1.8 has much more consistent sharpness over the aperture range than EF50/1.8II, but I see some problem with its sharpness at f8-f11 range.
Beside this, I like this lens just as I loved my EF35/2. It is apparently wider and seems to be good alternative for an expensive wide-zoom-L-lenses picture quality wise. I am not sure if picture quality of EF28/1.8 is better than EF35/2 I have used previous three years, more likely it is not, but USM focusing is apparent advantage of this lens over the EF35/2.
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Aug 25, 2008
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speedtrials
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Registered: Aug 23, 2005
Location: Canada
Posts: 217
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Review Date: Aug 12, 2008
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Recommend? no |
Price paid: $325.00
| Rating: 4
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Pros:
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build quality is not bad
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Cons:
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-poor performance from f1.8 until at least f2.8 (lots of CA, softness)
-very bad AF in medium and low light....only decent in bright light situations
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I bought this lens to use as a "normal" lens on a crop sensor body. The autofocus performance in medium and low light was so bad that it was unusable. Also there was so much CA and softness from f/1.8 to f/2.8 that it was really unusable in that range. Don't waste your money on this one....instead get the f/2.8 version which is smaller, lighter, cheaper, focuses better and is better at f/2.8 wide open than this lens is stopped down to f/2.8. What a disappointing lens!
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Aug 12, 2008
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slobomitic
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Registered: Sep 19, 2005
Location: United States
Posts: 11
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Review Date: Jun 21, 2008
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $400.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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fast, lightweight, sharp
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Cons:
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none
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Excellent lens, very sharp wide open, great colors. Highly recommended.
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Jun 21, 2008
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montymoe
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Registered: Jul 8, 2006
Location: Canada
Posts: 0
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Review Date: Jun 18, 2008
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $399.88
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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lightweight, fast and quiet. Nice blur and sharp enough stopped down. A nice 50mm equivalent for a crop sensor.
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Cons:
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Not as sharp as I expected from a prime. Pretty soft wide open but for the price you won't find anything better.
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I bought this lens to be a low/available light indoor shooter. First tried it out at my kid's birthday party and the pictures were beautiful. Sharp, good contrast and great colour. I love the creamy backgrounds at wide appertures too. Prints from this lens look great up to 5x7. I haven't tested it at sized greater than that but from what I've ready I probably don't want to. Really though, would I tell the difference when using my inkjet? Who knows. While I've been tempted to drop the coin on a zoom in this range nothing appears to rate much better (except the 24mm 1.4) and nearly all of them are much more expensive, bigger and heavier. If you're on a budget and/or already carrying 80lbs worth of crap you'll appreciate this lens.
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Jun 18, 2008
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matthewm
Offline
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Registered: Mar 6, 2008
Location: United States
Posts: 661
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Review Date: Mar 7, 2008
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Great build quality, Super fast USM, Fast 1.8 Aperture, Great Price
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Cons:
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None as of yet
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I just received this lens today from KEH.
This lens is absolutely fantastic for the price. Even brand new I think it's easily worth the price. My only complaint for other buyers is that it doesn't include the much needed lens hood (Surprise, surprise). Mine came with it from KEH and I think you can get your hands on a decent 3rd party hood for under $20 so it isn't a total bummer. Oh, and while we're on the subject of the hood, it's a little awkward. I like to store my hoods backwards on the lens and this hood completely covers the lens. So that's not really an option while using the lens. Other than that, it's great.
The optics on this lens are as good as I've seen from Canon. I currently own this lens and the 50mm f/1.4 and honestly I think this lens is built better than the 50. It compliments it nicely though and seems to be sharper than my 17-40 f/4 L at the 28mm mark. (Zooms are never as sharp as primes, but still...)
I'm shooting on a 5D and this lens doesn't show the extreme CA or vignetting that I've been reading about. It's a tad soft at the corners but the center is tack sharp especially at about 2.4 and above. At 1.8 it's still acceptable and with the 5D's resolution and sharpening abilities in Photoshop I think this can be easily corrected.
If you're looking for a good wide-angle prime, this is the lens for you. I'm completely satisfied. I'll update if anything else comes up.
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Mar 7, 2008
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Dave Jr
Offline
Buy and Sell: On
Registered: Nov 9, 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 2322
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Review Date: Jan 12, 2008
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $310.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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f/1.8, USM, compact, cheap, sharp.
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Cons:
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Some CA at 1.8
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Like others, I was hesitant to try this lens due to some poor previous reviews, but maybe the more recent production runs have improved things. I have the 35 f/2.0 as well and this lens is sharper wide open than the 35 at f/2, and I was honestly surprised at how good the wide open contrast is. The biggest drawback with the 35/2.0 is the buzzy AF, loud enough to actually be a distraction at weddings. The USM on this lens is quick, silent and accurate. I will likely now sell the 35. I cannot find anything wrong with this lens.
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Jan 12, 2008
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