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Canon EF 28-135MM IS lens


andreas_holmstr_m

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Andreas, sounds like you're just about to buy one. I've owned this lens in the past and often wish I still had it for casual shots and walk around stuff. Good lens overall, not "L" quality of course, but a very good consumer zoom IMHO. First generation IS, it's not a fast lens and it's not a constant aperture, but, it's light and is a useful focal length. Takes good pictures. I'd recommend it for a rebel or a 20/30D. Good luck.
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<P><I>"guick anwers please!"</I><?P>

 

<P>For the bread, it's good. Longer thoughts here:</P>

 

<P><A HREF=http://emedia.leeward.hawaii.edu/frary/toolbox2.htm#28-135Anchor"

TARGET="_blank">My Review of the EF 28-135 IS USM</A></P>

Sometimes the light’s all shining on me. Other times I can barely see.

- Robert Hunter

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Are you going to use it on FF or 1.6-factor? If the latter, you may find that a range from marginally wide of standard to fairly long is not ideal, whereas on FF the range covers that of the 'classic' primes. IQ is reasonable, although if you pixel-peep on 1.6-factor you will encounter some limitations. AF speed is OK. General build quality is not very robust - the double-extension arrangement can become very wobbly as the components wear. If it's in your price range, give serious consideration to the 24~105, which is a real star.
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I've used this lens for a few years with a DRebel XT, and generally like it. It would be nice if it went a bit wider. Colors can be a bit funky, but nothing that you can't correct later. If you can stop it down to f/8 or so, you can get some very nice, relatively sharp shots. The IS helps a lot.

 

If I were looking for a lens with a similar range today, I'd probably give the 24-70 or 24-105 serious consideration. Yes, they're more money, but you only pay once.

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Hi,

 

I'm a fan of the 28-135 I.S. when it's used on the 1.6X DSLR Canon bodies, if that's what you have. I've taken many shots I'm proud of with it. It's a very good "normal to 200mm" in this case. The cropping by 10D/20D/30D/Rebel uses the central "sweet spot" of the lens, which is quite good (any softness/distorion in this lens tends to be at the corners and edges when on full frame cameras, but it's pretty well-corrected for an I.S. lens in it's price range). It worked well in conjunction with my 70-200/2.8 I.S. for rapid shooting situations.

 

I never had any complaints about AF speed or image quality with the lens.

 

My only gripes about the 28-135 are build quality (plasticky and little or no dust sealing) and it should have a zoom lock or more dampening (i.e. tends to extend itself when carried mounted on a camera and nose down). An upgrade to newer I.S. would be nice, but the older type works pretty well. I'd prefer a faster & fixed aperture lens, but that would also mean more expensive, bigger and heavier.

 

The large lens hood (important for best image quality) will partially block a built-in flash. That wasn't a problem for me since I always use shoe mounted or off-camera flashes.

 

Recently I ended up getting a 24-70/2.8L to use in place of the 28-135, simply because I use lenses hard under difficult conditions and needed the better build quality and sealing. I was very tempted by the 24-105 I.S., but was reluctant to go to an f4 lens in this focal length and felt the the extra stop of speed would help offset the lack of I.S. (plus got a good deal on the 24-70 and knew it to be a very highly regarded lens).

 

It would help to know how you want to use the lens and what camera you are mounting it on.

 

Alan

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IMHO its one of the best consumer lenses canon made, had it since it was introduced rarely lets down AF is reasonable, lil soft wide open long & short end. my wife took 2 lenses to this fast sport today, 24 70 f2.8 & 28 135is, chose for the extra length. 100iso at f8 was reasonable, pic vir as taken with no sharpening mainly resized.112mm on a 20d. Good genral walkabout.

 

have fun

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<p>Quick answer? Possibly Canon's best non-L zoom, certainly among the best non-L zooms. Quite right that it's not as good as the 70-200/2.8L IS USM, but what do you expect given the price?</p>

 

<p>It has quick AF, good image quality, and the magic of IS. Its zoom range is very useful for me on a full-frame body, but it doesn't go wide enough on a cropped-sensor body. I had to add the 17-40/4L USM when I went digital, and the 17-40 is clearly the better lens - but again, you'd expect that from an L lens with a bigger price tag.</p>

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  • 1 year later...

While it is a great lens it does collect dust. I am just about to send mine back under warranty as there are a few dust specs under the main lens which means it isn't a sealed unit. This is really poor considering its only 2 months old but I shall endeavour to take more care of it in future.

 

It has a really annoying habit of the lens unrolling to its full zoom if the camera is pointing down.

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  • 1 year later...

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