EF 28-135 f/3.5-5.6 IS USM

[ehaque]

So, I want to get this lens for street shooting. IS and ring USM

should help with quick reflex shots and it has a photodo.com rating or

3.5 which should be good enough for street work, right?

 

If anyone used this lens, I would like to know how is the sharpness

compared to EF 50mm 1.8 lens. This article by Bob Atkins

http://bobatkins.photo.net/photography/reviews/28zooms.html convinces

me it should be sharp enough for street type work. Is it?

 

I can't afford L lenses, pity.

 

(Actually I would like to get a similar priced 28-200 or something

with similar quality. But this one seems to be only choice.)

[phyrpowr]

I have the 28-135 IS and the 50mm 1.8, and when I print out my shots at comparable f/stops, I'm just not seeing much of a difference. Could be me, could be I got "the good one", but I don't feel I'm losing anything with the zoom

 

Forget the photodo ratings (yeah, heresy, I know), those aren't based on results, and are starting to get pretty dated

 

For all round street photography, you'll end up loving that IS, and the zoom range will comver just about 95% of any shots you want.

 

The 28-200s have gotten better, Tamron especially gets good reviews, but the IS is the clincher

[keith_van_hulle1]

Hey management, looks like the search engine is broke considering the sh*tload of posts covering this lens over the last few years that exist in the db.

[melissa_eiselein]

I love the 28-135 IS. For the price, I don't think you can beat the 28-135 IS. Sure, you can get the older 28-105, but the added 20mm range and IS makes the 28-135 a better choice if you can swing the extra money.

 

I prefer using the 28-135 over the 28-70L if I don't need the faster aperture value. It's a little lighter and the distance range is much better. Canon makes a 28-300 zoom, but the quality is only so-so, so I'd avoid that one unless you're just taking snapshots.

 

If you need a faster lens, consider buying a prime in your most used focal range to supplement the zoom. The 50 f/1.8 is a bargain, but you might prefer the wider 24 f/2.8 or longer 85 f/1.8 lenses.

[ehaque]

Thanks all. The search is really broken, Only useful thing I found was the Bob Atkins review.

 

I don't want a prime as my main street work really, specially where people and fleeting moments are concerned at least.

 

I was first looking at EF 135mm 2.8 soft focus lens, which would be useful in almost all type of work, even macro, using extensions. But recent experience shooting at a street festival with my 50mm 1.8 prooved the need for a zoom as you can not move about quickly enough in a crowd.

[Greg M]

There are enough people shooting the lens and obtaining professional results to say the lens design is very capable, but, like many mass produced lenses you can get good ones and bad ones. Buy one, shoot it at every focal length and F-stop you'd use and evaluate the images produced. If you don't like it or you think it's inferior, return it for a new one and try again.

 

I can tell you it's no light weight. It may not be an "L" lens, but it has "L" heft.

[steve_dunn2]

<p>I have the 28-135 and the 50/1.4 (rather than the 1.8 you mention - but most people say the 50/1.8 is only slightly behind the 50/1.4). The 28-135 is probably the best zoom in Canon's lineup that doesn't have a coloured ring around the end. I previously had the 28-105/3.5-4.5, and <a href="http://www.stevedunn.ca/photos/writings/eflenses.html" target="_blank">the 28-135 is better optically</a> - and, of course, it adds 30mm on the long end and IS. For some thoughts on why I bought the 50 when I already had 50 covered, see <a href="http://www.stevedunn.ca/photos/writings/zoomvsprime.html" target="_blank">http://www.stevedunn.ca/photos/writings/zoomvsprime.html</a> (sorry, there are no test photos there).</p>

 

<p>Ring USM will help with quick shots; this lens focuses pretty quickly. IS will help some of the time, but keep in mind that this is Canon's first-generation IS. It lacks mode 2, which is for panning. The IS in this lens wants you to try to hold it still - if you're panning (or making any other motion), IS will try to correct for it, and since IS can only correct relatively small motions, you'll end up with the IS system bouncing off the stop at the end of its range. It doesn't seem to do any damage (at least, not in small amounts) but it doesn't sound great and the view through the viewfinder shakes when this happens.</p>

 

<p>The 28-135 has some downsides - it's more expensive than many 24/28-105/120/135 lenses (but you're probably getting better optics, and no other EF-mount lens in its range offers an IS-equivalent technology), is bigger and heavier than many comparable zooms, and it has serious distortion at the ends of its range, particularly the wide end (but you can expect plenty of distortion in comparable-range lenses). No lens is perfect, and zooms and consumer-priced lenses have to make compromises. But this is a pretty darn good consumer-priced lens, with a useful range, good optics, a really good AF motor, and IS. It's my most-used lens, and even if I had an unlimited budget for lenses, I'd still have this lens, and it would still get used even though I'd also have the 24-70/2.8L and 70-200 IS lenses.</p>

[poul]

i have both 28..135 and 50/1.8 and use them 90% of the time. 50mm is much, much sharper. but 28..135, af f8, is sharp enough for most stuff i shoot. for street shooting i actually prefer 50 mm - there is often no time to zoom and compose and focus, 50mm is small and stealth, and you can crop later.

[yakim_peled1]

Also consider the Tamron 28-75/2.8. No USM, no IS, no 75-135 range but constant and fast aperture and excellent optical quality.

 

Happy shooting ,

Yakim.