Canon EF 28-135mm f3.5-5.6 IS USM review

I travel frequently, but do not have the space to carry a full camera bag. I travel to areas where anything of value in checked luggage will be stolen. So for a camera, I am limited to what will fit in my carry on bag. This means that I can take one lens with me. So the challenge is that with all the lens available, what do you take when you can only take one lens. For me, the Canon EF 28-135 is that one lens. It takes great shots, has image stabilization, and is relatively compact. I have used this lens all over the world, and have never been disappointed.

I moved up to the 7d from my original Digital Rebel with the Sigma lens. Heck of a jump by comparison and I think that there is value only achievable by comparing the two cameras and lenses. Not a weekend photog here but not a pro either. I shoot a lot of stop-action and full-motion animal pics, especially when we show our dogs at quite a few dog shows. The rapid response from the 7d and this lens is phenomenal by comparison. I made a good choice for sure.

Very good lens. I got this used and shipping was fast. This lens is sharp and you still can get shallow dof at f3.5. When I zoom in video mode though the aperture compensates and the overall exposure changes.

the IS is amazingly helpful. I took a handheld (leaning against wall, but still) exposure at 0.5" and it came out sharp! If you are looking for an inexpensive lens to bide your time before you can afford an L, then this is it. I picked mine up on eBay for $210, and so far the results have already gotten me an offer to do a wedding, not to mention numerous complements on my pictures. Highly recommended, but be aware that this is a slightly older lens, and isn't an L, but it works.

Overall: 73% (3.63 / 5) Don't compare this to an L lens, because its not. but it's price/picture quality are great and provided you dont mind dealing with a few small easily reconsiled issues with the build, this lens will quickly become your favorite and never leave your camera mount. Picture quality: 4 / 5 Images taken with this lens look fantastic. And that's all that really matters. The IS is fantastic and gains you a few stops. 3.5 is good for indoors (especially with IS) use a flash if zooming indoors. Ease of use: 3.5 / 5 I was tempted to give this a 3 star rating here, but this will depend on shooting style I believe. People handholding using primarily autofocus will find the variable aperture makes more work for them. this lense has a macro focus range as well! However, how hard is it to compensate for a variable aperture? Not very, especially at the price point of this lens. If you find yourself manual focusing you'll love the full time manual ring with auto focus over-ride. A nice feature (especially if your camera has live view) the AF is very speedy with a USM Motor. Focal range is very handy and great to work with. Even on a crop sensor (such as the rebel series) if works out to 44.8 - 216mm still a useful range. Build quality: 3 / 5 The main body is sturdy. switches feel durable. 2 major points of interest bring the score down. Lens creep and movement when the barrel is extended. It feels worse than it actually is, and provided you don't drop it all the time, it will last you years to come. To deal with lens creep. Extend the barrel before you start walking around (you'll need to zoom to frame your next shot anyway, so its really not a big deal) I really question canons engineering on this one. Rather than dealing with the lens creep by elimination, they seem to have designed the lens to hold itself when fully extended. (it doesn't creep when zoomed to 135). The result is a lens that when you examine it for the first time, feels like it wants to shoot either at 28 or at 135. If you buy this lens, it's going to feel like it was meant to skip 50mm all the way to 125mm. In practice however, It wasn't ever really a problem as when you're shooting, you have a hand on the barrel of the lens anyway. The barrel felt loose at first to my tastes, but in practice it felt great in my hands. Value for Cost : 4 / 5 This lens puts out fantastic images. At its price range, its undeniably among the best lenses on the market. I was disappointed canon won't include lens hoods without the L designation. Compared to canons competitors (tamron / sigma) their warrantee sucks, but the resale value it nice! I picked mine up for 299.99 refurbished (new is 375.00 as of this review) For 3 reasons. 1. Cost 2. Its tested before I get it, so I know it works. 3. I get a better warrantee with a refurbished item!