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Phase One introduces 3.5/45 mm Tilt / Shift lens
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Tamron announces new Di lenses for Canon and Nikon
Tamron today have announced two new Di lenses designed for exclusive use on Canon and Nikon (with Built-in AF Motor) small sensor DSLR cameras The SP AF10-24mm Di II, the first-ever ultra wide-angle lens for digital SLRs, features a focal length range with the 16mm ultra wide-angle to 37mm…
Canon announces EF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS lens
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length of 29-320mm, the lens offers 11x zoom range. It also features a
16 element, 12 group construction including UD and aspherical lens
elements and a 4-stop optical Image Stabilizer. This lens has answered…
Nikon Wins European Professional Lens with 2 lenses
Both the Nikon AF-S Nikkor 14-24mm and Nikon AF-S 24-70mm f/2.8 G ED lenses have won the EISA Professional lens for 2008-2009.
Description
This
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Nikon release the AF-S DX 18-105mm F/3.5-5.6G ED VR
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This is a high-magnification standard zoom lens with 5X zoom ratio, ranging from wide-angle of 28mm to medium-telephoto of 135mm. This lens features a built-in compact Image Stabilizer(IS) unit, which is newly developed for this lens. This new compact IS unit and a compact optical system with multi-lens-group zoom design achieves compact and lightweight design of high-magnification zoom lens. The IS system is the same as other IS lenses. The image stabilizing effect is equivalent to about two steps of shutter speed. The optical system uses a molded glass (GMo) Aspherical lens element(14th) to provide sharp definition throughout the entire zoom range. A ring USM (Ultrasonic Motor) and Inner focusing system assures silent and high-speed AF and Full-time manual focusing.
Editor review : Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM
Overall rating (weighted)
1.0
Sharpness
1.0
Build Quality
1.0
AF Speed
1.0
Value for Money
1.0
We have not yet reviewed this lens, a full review to follow 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 Pros: N/A Cons: N/A
User Lens Reviews
Average user rating from: 164 user(s)
Overall rating (weighted)
4.4
Sharpness
4.4
Build Quality
4.4
AF Speed
4.4
Value for Money
4.4
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0 of 0 people found the following review helpful
Must have lens, Monday, 25 August 2008
Overall rating (weighted)
4.8
Sharpness
5.0
Build Quality
4.0
AF Speed
5.0
Value for Money
5.0
This is a great lens. A little heavy for all-day carry around but the functionality and great pics make it worth it.
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0 of 0 people found the following review helpful
Bad Lens, Monday, 25 August 2008
Overall rating (weighted)
2.3
Sharpness
3.0
Build Quality
2.0
AF Speed
2.0
Value for Money
2.0
Shame on Canon. I got this lens as part of a package when I bought a Canon 40D camera. I thought it would be great with IS and all, but I was sadly mistaken. The images are soft and the IS doesn't really help much. Fortunately I still had a Sigma 17-70mm lens that I got for my Canon 350D and I use this lens most of the time because I get the IQ that I am used to getting and the Canon 28-135mm lens is just a great disappointment. I wish I had spent the extra $200 on an alternate lens. I hope someone will want to buy this Canon lens from me. It's the only Canon lens I own and I am sorely disappointed with it. It is in a box collecting dust!
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0 of 0 people found the following review helpful
Good photos, but very loose zoom, Thursday, 07 August 2008
Overall rating (weighted)
3.3
Sharpness
3.0
Build Quality
3.0
AF Speed
3.0
Value for Money
4.0
I got this lens as part of the kit for my EOS 40D. It takes pretty good photos, and has a great range. I had it on the camera on a nature shoot while it was attached to my tripod and whenever I carried the tripod around with the camera attached, the zoom rolled all the way out. Seems very loose to me, so I emailed Canon about it and they said that was normal, but if there was NO resistance to send it back to them. It's not that bad yet, hopefully it won't get any worse. After some experience, I probably should have just got the body only for the 40D and got the Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS SLR Lens for a walk around lens. Probably would have been cheaper too.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
A good zoom lens for available-light photography, Thursday, 31 July 2008
Overall rating (weighted)
5.0
Sharpness
5.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
5.0
Value for Money
5.0
I have owned this lens for nearly a year now and am becoming increasingly fond of it. I own several other lenses, but this is the one I now leave mounted on my Rebel XT almost all the time. My love affair with this lens was not immediate, however. At first I was somewhat disappointed with the image stabilization, but after working with it a Bit I realized that it was my mode of operation that was at fault. The stabilization doesn't kick in until you partly depress the shutter button (as you do to auto focus) and it takes a couple of beats before it gets up to speed. Also, the lens has to be relatively still (or tracking smoothly) in order for the stabilization to work properly. Initially, I was simply hurrying too much -- raising the camera and clicking off a shot. Now I have learned to work with the lens by slowing down and anticipating the shot, and the results are much better. I recently had the challenge of taking pictures of a performance from the back of a darkened auditorium. I cranked up the ISO to 1600 and carefully squeezed off my shots. Despite the very low lighting, I got some really great shots even with the lens run out to the full zoom! I think the thing I appreciate most about this lens is that the stabilization gives me just that much more stability to take photos with available light in difficult situations. Of course, there is a limit to what the stabilization can do -- you still have to practice a steady hand and it can't compensate for motion of the subject -- so every shot doesn't come out perfect. But the stabilization feature does greatly improve the odds of getting the shot you are trying for when you can't or don't want to use flash. At this point, my only "negatives" about the lens are that it is fairly heavy for lugging around and I wish I had a little more wide angle capability (the 60% crop factor of my XT makes it effectively a 47-225mm lens). On the vanity side, it's an impressive looking piece of hardware (especially if you fit it with the Canon hood) and the heft of the lens balances well in the hand. All things considered, I'm very satisfied with this purchase.
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Awesome!, Friday, 11 July 2008
Overall rating (weighted)
4.8
Sharpness
4.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
5.0
Value for Money
5.0
Great lens - does everything that's advertised. I'm a beginner and am just learning to get my camera off auto, but this lens has taken some great pics so far :) It's much heavier than the kit lens and a ton heavier than my 50mm, but it does have a good zoom. It focuses quickly too.
Best walk around for the price!, Sunday, 06 July 2008
Overall rating (weighted)
5.0
Sharpness
5.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
5.0
Value for Money
5.0
I was hoping to find a 28-200 like Nikon has, but once I received this lens, I knew I didn't need any more zoom than 28-135. Great everyday lens, perfect for taking one lens on vacation. if there is a down side, it would be that the lens a little heavy. GREAT LENS for the price period!
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0 of 0 people found the following review helpful
Nice Walk Around Lens, Friday, 27 June 2008
Overall rating (weighted)
4.3
Sharpness
5.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
3.0
Value for Money
4.0
This lens stays on my camera most of this time, that is how well I like it. In most cases it covers the focal lengths that I need at the time. I really like the image stabilization that is built into this lens. This lens auto focuses faster than most of the other lenses that I have.
I would have given it five stars except I think that it would have been a better walk around lens if it went town to 17 or 18mm instead of 28mm. But all and all, I am very satisfied with this lens in the way that it preforms and for the price that I paid for it.
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1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Wow, what a difference, Tuesday, 24 June 2008
Overall rating (weighted)
4.8
Sharpness
4.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
5.0
Value for Money
5.0
Being new to the digital camera experience I had much too learn. I purchased my Canon EOS XT with the standard kit lens. I also had other lenses from my Canon 35mm. What I didnt know was how important shutter speed and ISO settings were. I was able to go online and learn how to take pictures all over again. For those of you just starting out on digital let me hopefully make it easier for you. First, get this lens! No matter what you read if you are like me, you purchased this camera because you want more control in certain situations that a point and shoot digital just wont do. Now that you have this lens it's really simple. In brite light situations use a ISO setting of around 200 and a shutter speed of 1/60 or better. When in low light situations use I higher ISO like 800 and use a faster shutter speed. If you dont have an external flash...get one. This will make your life easier. This lens does make life so much simpler. I have gone from being extremely frustrated with blurred and out of focus pictures, to clear and viberante pictures and totally satisfied. But please note...using the ISO settings and shutter speeds help the lens in every situation. Not adjusting these settings could lead to unclear pictures.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Excellent lens for Price, Saturday, 14 June 2008
Overall rating (weighted)
4.5
Sharpness
4.0
Build Quality
4.0
AF Speed
5.0
Value for Money
5.0
I have owned this lens twice, along with a # of L lenses.
The 28-135mm has the following strengths: - works on crop + full frame - Is sharp and produces good color - Has a decent IS (though not the latest) - Is light, relatively speaking - Has a good focal range - Has USM and a bit of macro as well - Good price (I got mine used for around $300
It has the following negatives: - It is a slow lens - Although the lens produces good bokeh, the aperture options do not allow much bokeh to be seen, except at 135mm taking pictures at close range (produces a nice OOF background)
Considering the above positives and negatives, I have to say this is a beautiful beautiful lens. Images are great, especially on my 5D, and even on the 30D I had before.
Thanks!
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0 of 0 people found the following review helpful
Great Lens, Wednesday, 04 June 2008
Overall rating (weighted)
5.0
Sharpness
5.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
5.0
Value for Money
5.0
This is a great lens for all of your photo needs. I carry it every where. This lens stays on my camera 95% of the time.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Default go-to walkabout lens, Sunday, 01 June 2008
Overall rating (weighted)
4.8
Sharpness
5.0
Build Quality
4.0
AF Speed
5.0
Value for Money
5.0
This is my default walk-around lens on my 40D. The focal length range (28-135) spreads between "normal" (as your eye sees it, approximately) to a pretty decent mid-range telephoto (on a "cropped sensor" camera; on a 5D the range would be from mild wide-angle to low telephoto).
Downsides:
1. The IS is single-mode. There is no "panning" IS mode, which I often find useful on my 70-300. 2. The max aperture is "consumer-level", ranging from 3.5 at 28mm to 5.6 at 135. I often really feel it at the telephoto end, having to go to a higher ISO sensitivity just to get the shot. 3. IS may not be incredibly useful at the wide end. 4. Relatively heavy (although not compared to the L lens you would get to "fix" any of the other downsides here!)
Upsides:
1. Very sharp, crystal-clear pictures at every zoom, even fully "wide open" (at max aperture). 2. Smooth, fast, accurate focusing.
Overall, a solid, go-to lens. When going out on a hike, this is the one I'm most likely to grab from my lens bag (unless I'm wanting to go ultra-light with the 50mm 1.8). I generally don't use it for sports photography, as the tight end of the zoom just isn't tight enough (and I can get a wider aperture at 135 from my 70-300). Inside, it's a good lens for wider-than-50 (equivalent to 80mm on my sensor) shots, substituting IS stability for larger aperture. The downside as an indoor lens is that the IS only stabilizes my hand, not the subjects, and doesn't de-focus the background like a large-aperture lens can.
IS system works well. I find myself able to hand-hold shots quite often where without IS I would have ended up with nothing but blurs.
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0 of 0 people found the following review helpful
Great Starter Lens, Sunday, 01 June 2008
Overall rating (weighted)
5.0
Sharpness
5.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
5.0
Value for Money
5.0
I have been using this lens for around 3 months and I am very pleased with it. A lot of my friends told me to buy 3rd party lens with greater range (18-200) etc. but in the end I beleive I made the right choice. Image quality is great, but the best is the affordable Image Stabilisation function. I would recommend this lens for all the first upgraders from the kit lens
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0 of 0 people found the following review helpful
Excellent Lens for the money, Tuesday, 27 May 2008
Overall rating (weighted)
4.5
Sharpness
4.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
5.0
Value for Money
4.0
This is a great lens! I've been using it for the past year and have no complaints. For the money it delivers each and every time with great, clear and colorful images. Is it comparable to Canon's "L" series lenses? No, but you have to pay two to three times the price for one of those lenses. If you're budget is small and you're looking for a great lens to be your basic "all-purpose" or "walk-around" lens then this is the one. Check out my website [...] if you'd like to see more sample images from this lens. All of the pictures on the site are taken with this lens mounted on a Canon 40D. You can buy this lens today and have no regrets.
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1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Great Until..., Monday, 26 May 2008
Overall rating (weighted)
1.0
Sharpness
1.0
Build Quality
1.0
AF Speed
1.0
Value for Money
1.0
I got this lens as a birthday present for myself and was very happy with it for a couple of weeks. As others have written, the 28-135mm range makes this a great walk-around lens. About three weeks after I bought it the camera worked intermittently no matter what the mode (Auto or TV for example). Sometimes the camera would fire, sometimes it wouldn't. Sometimes I would get an "Err 01" message ("Communication between camera and lens is faulty. Clean the lens contacts"). Needless to say, it wasn't dirty contacts on my brand new lens or camera body. I put the kit lens back on and it worked perfectly. When I put the EF 28-135 lens back on, I noticed that even when the lens clicks into position I could still move the lens on the body a tiny bit. Sometimes I could rotate the lens enough to align the contacts and take a picture, sometimes not. Pretty disheartening...
I bought the lens on Amazon who used Adorama to sell it to me. Adorama's policy is no refunds or exchanges after 14 days. I tried calling them to see if they might cut me some slack and got a busy signal all morning. I gave up and called Canon. After a 6 minute wait they were pleasant and told me how to ship it for repair.
By the way, the service representative advised me NOT to ship it in the original box because I probably wouldn't get it back.
I'll post an update to this review when I get my lens back.
