I'm curious to read about those "little gems"... the lenses that don't get a lot of praise, but can produce when needed. Be it prime or zoom, doesn't matter. Maybe it's a lens that's not in your profile, but you like it anyways.
Mine happens to be the 28-105mm I like the size/weight and reach of it.
I do read every post on favorite walk-around lens, fashionable lens, favorite prime, zoom, but never seem to run across a favorite "underdog lens", which I refer to as a little gem.
Mine is the 50mm f/1.4 it is the best all around lens (to me) small, fast, & not "L" priced. The 28-105 is a great lens for the cost but its just not sharp or fast enough (for me).
Ditto. And add the 135 Soft Focus. I've only seen samples, but is seems very sharp and colorful and fast (f/2.8) and, at <$300, a fraction of the 135/2's price. The SF features are icing on the cake.
Spydweb, I missed that little gem of a macro so much I bought another one! It's not in my profile yet as it's in transit.
Thanks contributors for your input, love reading this stuff
I used a 28-105/3.5-4.5 lens for years, and frequently sung its praises. It's definitely underappreciated around these parts. Alas, as I started getting into primes, I sold it. Maybe I should have kept it.
My current non-L "gem" is the 85/1.8, though I wouldn't say it's underappreciated around here. Lots of people love it.
I think by far the least-appreciated but best value/performance in the entire Canon lineup is the 20-35/3.5-4.5 USM zoom. With all the arguments about which is sharper -- one L zoom vs. another L zoom, this lens gets forgotten. It's smaller and lighter than both the 17-40 and 16-35 L lenses, so it's easier to handle. It has ring USM with FTM focusing. If you can live with the 20mm on the short end (equivalent to 32mm on the 1.6x crop factor bodies), it will deliver sharp, contrasty images. Plus, the one area where it falls a bit short -- sharpness in the corners of the full frame -- is non-existent on the 1.6x crop bodies, as the sensor only sees the center portion of the image circle.
I have a couple of them. Of course, I will not part with the underappreciated 28-105 f/3.5-4.5. And the 50/1.4 is a sweetheart. Ditto for the 85/1.8. In fact, of the 3, the 85 would probably be my most used gem.
Let's see - I have a couple - both the 50mm F/1.4 and the 50mm macro I've found
to be excellent - the macro is sharper, but the 1.4 is great for chasing pinballs,er, uh, kids around with...)
haha, my only choice available is the 50mm 1.8 mk1. i have used it a lot lately and it has been a real life saver. then again, i don't know if it fits your criteria since it does tend to get a lot of praise.
-erik
Edited by flatdraft on Jan 16, 2005 at 01:46 PM GMT
and they both cost less than 10% of my 'L' Lenses 
