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Canon 28-105mm f3.5-4.5 USM review  Hot PDF Print E-mail
Lenses Canon EF / EF-S
User rating
4.4
out of 5
Editor's rating
1.0
out of 5
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Reviewed by:
Editor
Wednesday, 19 December 2007
Average user rating: 4.4 
85 User reviews
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Lens Summary

Overview

This lightweight, compact standard zoom lens is practically identical to the EF28-105mm f/3.5-4.5 USM optically and mechanically, but it has a leather toned exterior finish for a higher quality look. It focuses to 0.5m throughout the zoom range using Inner focusing. Inner focusing and the Ring USM focusing motor provide silent, high-speed focusing. It has full time manual focus, which allows manual focusing without leaving the AF mode. The non-rotating front ring, which fascinates use of accessories, and other advanced specifications are carried over from the original EF28-105mm f/3.5-4.5 USM.

Lens Specifications

Generic Lens Specifications
Lens Type: Zoom
IS / VR / OS: None
Min Focal length (mm): 28
Max Focal Length (mm): 105
Number of Elements: 15
Element Groups: 12
Max Aperture: 3.5
Minimum Aperture: 27
Closest Focus Distance (m): 0.5
Maximum Magnification: 0.19
Filter Type: Screw In
Filter Diameter (mm): 58
Diameter at widest (mm): 72
Lens Length (mm): 75
Weight (g): 375
Release Date: September 2000

Details




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Editor review : Canon 28-105mm f3.5-4.5 Mk II USM
Overall rating (weighted)
1.0
Sharpness
1.0
Build Quality
1.0
AF Speed
1.0
Value for Money
1.0
Editor lens review will be updated shortly.
Why should you care what I think?
My relationship with this item: Editor review
Conclusions at a glance
Would you recommend this Item: Undecided

User Lens Reviews

Average user rating from: 85 user(s)

Overall rating (weighted)
4.4
Sharpness
4.3
Build Quality
4.5
AF Speed
4.3
Value for Money
4.5
 

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0 of 0 people found the following review helpful

Very good all-around lens, Average Image Quality, Thursday, 29 July 2010


Overall rating (weighted)
3.8
Sharpness
5.0
Build Quality
3.0
AF Speed
4.0
Value for Money
3.0
This is a very good all-around lens. When you consider price, image quality, and its range of uses via the zoom range available, it's hard to beat.

The image quality is hit or miss. Mostly, it's just average or slightly above average. Again, though, I recommend this lens mainly because it's flexible in its zoom range, not terribly expensive, has USM focusing, and takes respectable though not superb pictures. That's a pretty good package of offerings if you want one lens to do a lot of different things within an attractive zoom range of 28-105.

Of course, if you have an APS size sensor, as opposed to a full-size sensor, those zoom ranges are effectively 44 - 168mm. So, be aware that your "wide" end of 28 is not so wide.
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0 of 0 people found the following review helpful

awesome lens, Thursday, 24 June 2010


Overall rating (weighted)
4.8
Sharpness
5.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
4.0
Value for Money
5.0
I bought the lens one month ago from amazon. i already shoot hundreds of pics. Very good optic quality. No complain. Good job, Canon.
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0 of 0 people found the following review helpful

Good general purpose lens for the price, Wednesday, 05 May 2010


Overall rating (weighted)
4.5
Sharpness
5.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
3.0
Value for Money
5.0
Canon EF 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5 II USM Standard Zoom Lens for Canon SLR Cameras
This is a good budget lens with decent picture quality. Big step up from the kit lens. Using this lens for about 2 years now and I am pretty happy with the purchase. Lens is reasonably fast. Minor issue is that when shooting at something looking down it zooms out on its own occassionally.
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0 of 0 people found the following review helpful

Outstanding value for the price!, Sunday, 21 March 2010


Overall rating (weighted)
4.0
Sharpness
4.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
4.0
Value for Money
3.0
I just wish it was a Bit faster, but for this price, I can't complain too much. For general photography, this is my go-to lens.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

EF 28-105 Great all around lens, Wednesday, 17 February 2010


Overall rating (weighted)
3.8
Sharpness
4.0
Build Quality
4.0
AF Speed
3.0
Value for Money
4.0
I was looking for an inexpensive everyday "walkaround" lens for my new Canon Rebel T1i. I have a Disney vacation planned for the spring and wanted something that I can leave on the camera all the time so I'm not searching my camera bag for lenses. I was really ready to buy either the Tamron 18-270 or the sigma 18-250, but after seeing their price tags, I opted to do a bit more research since they both go for over $500; closer to $600 for the Tamron. That's a bit more than I wanted to spend. After all, with that much cash we can actually "do" more Disney instead of just look back at it in pictures.
After doing a bit of research for a cheaper alternative, I stumbled across this at my local camera shop. The one I bought was used, but was cosmetically perfect with little to no dust inside. Picked it up for $200 plus a hood. Construction feels really solid

So here's the performance run down:
This is definitely an outdoor lens for how I like to shoot. Without image stabilization, you'll want to avoid shutter speeds under 1/60 hand held (1/160 and over is ideal). I've been working on my steady hands and have been able to get a decent picture hand held, braced against something at 1/20, but that's a rare occasion. Use flash indoors or increase ISO or both. I'm a fan of natural lighting so I try not to use flash. For indoors I usually switch to my 50mm f1.8 prime if I can (if I have room to move about).

Now for where it shines: Since I'll be outside most of the time at Disney, low lighting and indoors did not concern me too much. I really wanted something with decent reach and 105mm is pretty good. Not really telephoto, but I can always crop if I need to. Most of the time I'll be shooting pictures of my daughter so I better not be too far away!
For a crop sensor camera (all rebels, 50D, etc) 28mm isn't that wide, but seems to be just wide enough for me. I'm thinking of the occasions that I'll need to put my 18-55mm IS back on, maybe where we are cramped?
I am a fan of fast focus. My daughter is 4 years old and does not slow down. What good is a shot if it's out of focus? The USM on this lens is lightning fast! From close range to infinity is well under a second and with full time manual focus, you can quickly override it. It can search a bit in low lighting, but as I said, I use this mainly outdoors in lots of light. Oh, and it's very, very quiet.

As far as image quality, set it to f8 and it's sharp as a tack, especially in the center. At f4.5 at 105m the edges do get soft, but with a pretty nice bokeh. At 105, I'd even stop down to f11 and it's really sharp (just check out picks of my cat maggie and a bluejay spotted in the back yard added to the gallery of this lens - both at 105mm, f4.5 and f8 respectively).

Overall, I really like this lens. It's relatively small compared to superzooms like Canon's 18-200, Tamron's 18-270 and Sigma's 18-250. I may try to get one of them used in a year or two, but this lens is a really good bang for the buck. Good image quality, fast zoom, fairly light... This lens is a keeper.
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0 of 0 people found the following review helpful

Love, Saturday, 13 February 2010


Overall rating (weighted)
3.8
Sharpness
4.0
Build Quality
4.0
AF Speed
3.0
Value for Money
4.0
if u get the chance skip getting the stock lens n get this one...not a zoom lens but it gets the job done..very good everyday use lens
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

An excellent sleeper lense!, Monday, 23 November 2009


Overall rating (weighted)
4.8
Sharpness
5.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
5.0
Value for Money
4.0
As a model photographer who often does outdoor photoshoots at Joshua Tree, I needed an excellent compact zoom lense which would give me more reach than what I already had, Tamron 28-75 f2.8, because I often found myself too far away on one boulder while the model was on another. Well, the Canon 28-105 f3.5-4.5 lense fulfills this purpose. Even though it's slower, I still get good DOF (Depth of field) and the speed hasn't been a problem; of course, that would not be the case if one was using this lense in low light situations. Not only that, but I've noticed that it, on the average, gives sharper pictures than my Tamron lense. The lense is very compact, having the size and weight of my Canon 85 f1.8 lense which is another plus allowing me to have the lense on the camera in my backpack without taking up much space. It's actually more compact than the Tamron and I'm able to use the same size B+W filters as my Canon 85mm f1.8 and 50mm f1.4 lenses, which saved me money. So I heartily recommend this lense for anyone who needs a good quality moderate length zoom lens and can't afford to pay $800+, I paid $250 for it. This lense won't disappoint.
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0 of 0 people found the following review helpful

Inconsistant results with 2004 Rebel, Friday, 21 August 2009


Overall rating (weighted)
2.3
Sharpness
3.0
Build Quality
2.0
AF Speed
2.0
Value for Money
2.0
I have found the image results from this lens in combination with my 2004 Canon Rebel to be incredibly inconsistent. It can not take the same picture twice in a row. Color values, saturation, and particularly focus vary widely with each shot, even in multi-shot mode.

This lack of predictability makes capturing images a crap-shoot at best. More than a few times I have been disappointed with the results. I would not recommend this lens, particulary for older Digital Rebels.
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0 of 0 people found the following review helpful

Fantastic Lens, Tuesday, 14 July 2009


Overall rating (weighted)
4.8
Sharpness
5.0
Build Quality
4.0
AF Speed
5.0
Value for Money
5.0
The Canon EF 28-105mm lens was a great purchase. I could bring it anywhere for those every day shots and still zoom in or out as much as I needed! My portraits and scenery shots turned out great. The quality of the lens is very durable and I have loved the crispness of my pictures using this lens. A great buy if you only have enough money to purchase one lens for your SLR.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

Great value lens with good quality, Monday, 08 June 2009


Overall rating (weighted)
3.8
Sharpness
3.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
3.0
Value for Money
4.0
After purchasing my first dslr (Canon Rebel XSI) I quickly discovered that the kit 18-55 just didn't have the range I needed. I somehow landed a job doing freelance work for the local newspaper the same day I got my camera, so I needed something that would give me more versatility on a very limited budget. After reading the reviews I ended up with this, and I've been pleased.

Granted, this is not an "L" lens, but at this price I wouldn't expect that. Also, if you have shaky hands or take a lot of photos in low light this may not be the right lens for you. It might be worth looking into the 55-250 IS. In decent light this lens takes beautiful photos, and I've had many successful results with it. It is great outdoors (I recommend purchasing a lens hood).

I recently purchased my first "L" lens--the 17-40mm, and while it's a great lens, the 28-105 still lives on my camera for its versatility. And even though I'm now in the market for something with IS, faster, and with more range, I think I'll still be hanging on to this one for awhile. If I wasn't serious about photography as a career and used this as just a hobby lens I would be thrilled. If you want something affordable with decent quality, I highly recommend this.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

Another great lens by Canon, Thursday, 28 May 2009


Overall rating (weighted)
4.8
Sharpness
5.0
Build Quality
4.0
AF Speed
5.0
Value for Money
5.0
This is another great, standard zoom lens by Canon. To save money, I have tried lenses from different manufacturers. Eventually, however, I end up coming back to Canon. Why? 1. Build quality: Canon lenses, even the "cheapie" ones, are well-built. I don't "baby" my camera equipment, my canon lenses seem to last a lot longer than off-brand lenses. The 28-105mm telephoto lens is rugged and well-built; I expect it will last a long time. 2. Optical quality. Here again, Canon lenses outperform all other similarly priced lenses. Canon glass gives me better quality photos than other comparably priced glass. The images that I have obtained using the 28-105mm lens are sharp and well-defined. 3. The Canon autofocus system in the 28-105mm lens is fast and quiet. I have used this lens to track moving action and invariably it can bring images to focus quickly and VERY quietly. The quiet part is important to me because I photograph animals in natural settings and there is nothing more distracting that the loud "whirring" of a cheap AF lens disturbing your subject. I recommend this lens to anyone looking for a standard telephoto lens with quick, quiet AF, great build quality, sharp optics and a price that won't put a major dent on your wallet. My only complain is that Canon should include the lens hood as part of the standard package - a lens case would also be nice to have.
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0 of 0 people found the following review helpful

Great for everyday! , Wednesday, 28 January 2009


Overall rating (weighted)
4.8
Sharpness
5.0
Build Quality
4.0
AF Speed
5.0
Value for Money
5.0
I have this lens on my camera most often. I have kids and the zoom is great for taking pictures of them when they are running around.

I was surprised the first time i went to use this lens, its very quiet.

This lens has a little weight to it and doesnt feel cheap at all.

I recommend this lens to friends. Its fairly inexpensive and is of good quality. And it takes some great pictures.
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0 of 0 people found the following review helpful

Nice all-around zoom lens, Saturday, 03 January 2009


Overall rating (weighted)
4.8
Sharpness
5.0
Build Quality
4.0
AF Speed
5.0
Value for Money
5.0
I bought this lens as a step-up from the kit lens on my Canon Rebel XTI. I needed the extra distance it offers. It works great for my purposes and the price is definitely right. The USM motor is a great feature. The AF is pretty good and it's not too bulky. There is no IS, but that has not been a problem for me.

I've used this lens for close-up shots, outdoor photography, and aquarium photography. It works pretty well in low-light situations (such as in an aquarium) and has produced some excellent shots.

This is an excellent all-around zoom lens and is a great upgrade to the kit lens that comes with the Canon XTI. Recommended!
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0 of 0 people found the following review helpful

Amazing addition for the price, Sunday, 21 December 2008


Overall rating (weighted)
4.5
Sharpness
4.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
4.0
Value for Money
5.0
While this is obviously not an L lens, it still has great quality for the price. The auto-focus is second to none in most situations and the pictures are very crisp. It is extremely well constructed, and if your on a budget like me, is the best lens to upgrade from the basic 18-55mm lens. The ability to Manually focus while still on Auto-focus is great for those shots you can't get it to perfectly pick up on. All in all a great Canon product. For the money its definitely 5 stars, but in the grand scheme of things a 4 is more appropriate.
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0 of 0 people found the following review helpful

It's just amazing!, Wednesday, 03 December 2008


Overall rating (weighted)
5.0
Sharpness
5.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
5.0
Value for Money
5.0
I got my first slr camera recently and I ordered this lens beforehand. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT!
For a standard zoom lens the focus on it is great. And I am so happy I searched for a great lens like this.!!

I recommend this for everyone!
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