Small, handles flair well

soft edges, outclassed by ef 28-105mm and ef 22-55mm

I bought this lens assuming it would be an upgrade from my EF28-105 and 28-200mm tamron xr.
I was wrong, both the ef28-105mm and the 28-200 are sharper at 28mm even when stopped down.
Pass on this prime, 5 element construction is not enough, even my cheapo 22-55mm usm is sharper.

Similar Products Used:

ef 28-105mm, ef 22-55mm

Sharpness
weight
size
value

Hunts a bit in AF
A bit noisy
plastic and obviously feels less substantial than a heavier metal lens. Decide for yourself what significance these characteristics mean to you.

I purchased a MK I version of this lens, have not seen the MK II but apparently it does not have the metal mount that this one does.

I like the wide angle, which on a crop sensor like my Canon XTi effectively makes it a 45mm. It's great for portraits, for outdoor shots and even for some impromptu macro work. Almost as fun as the 50 1.8 for the money and playing with low apertures and skinny depth of field.

My copy is tack sharp, but hunts a bit during focus and isn't the quietest lens I have. It's all plastic except the mount, but seems solid enough and the optics are very good. In addition, to me what makes it worth the purchase are it's small size and light weight. It's not bad for a walkaround as long as you don't need a wide view.

Customer Service

NA

Similar Products Used:

canon 50mm f1.8

Light and extremely portable. It's not an attention seeker.

Focus ring.

I have a few lenses but i use this one allot for portraits and for the price it's amazing. http://www.contactphotographer.co.uk

Similar Products Used:

50mm f1.8

On my 400d this is like walking around with a 45mm lens on a 35, The noise does
not bother me at all and the results have been better than I hoped for.
It's light ,unobtrusive and I have not used my zoom much since I got the 28.
I'm happy with the whole deal.

Similar Products Used:

17-85 canon usm is

Decently fast at 2.8
Sharp
Nice wide angle on 35mm, Nice close to normal prime on a 1.6 crop body.
Built well

Noisy AF
Poor quality lens hood.

Prior to purchasing this lens I was using the Canon 20mm 2.8 USM and was generally unpleased with the resulys. The lens was very soft wide open and I felt I should have gotten more out of a lens of that price. I wanted to free up some cash to purchase some other equipment so I sold the 20mm and bought the 28mm 2.8 instead. Aside from not being as wide, I think the performance of this lens is just as good, if not better than the 20mm. It can be a little soft wife open, but not too bad. Very sharp when stopped down. The AF is quite noisy, but about the same as a Nikon 50mm 1.8d I use to have. all in all I'm pleased with this lens and It exceeds any zoom of an equivilent price or more. The lens hood is a piece of crap, but serves its purpose. I would definitley reccommend this lens to anyone on a budget. If you're on a budget it would go along nicely with the 50mm 1.8.

Customer Service

N/A

Similar Products Used:

Nikon 50mm 1.8D
Canon 20mm 2.8 USM

Excellent image
Use it wide open and still get a decent shot (unlike most 'super' zooms)
Light
Compact
Cheap!

Not USM
Manual focus ring too small ( common problem on older EF lenses)

I am a great fan of (expensive) PRIME lenses having owned and used them often during the 1980’s when I was mad keen, so in a way this is my first experience of a ‘cheapie’ EF lens.

I began collecting Canon FD and now EF EOS just a few months ago and have recently purchased a lovely (MINT) example of Canon’s old 28 F2.8 lens via E Bay for not much cash. This lens comes from the age when lens design wasn’t too concerned that any new lens had to cover 24 to 300 with 1:1 close up etc etc!

In other words it’s old but solid being designed to do ONE job really well rather than a jack of all trades and master of none.

It’s noisy, but not as bad as most Nikon auto focus lenses, it has no real manual focus ring but does have a DoF scale. It’s light and fairly fast at F2.8 and here’s the good news you can USE it wide open and still gain a decent shot – unlike most zooms which are far too soft. No problems with flare – have the matching Canon hood (which feels far too loose when in place) and the image sharpness and colours and contrast are spot on. Not an L lens but at only 10% of the cost it’s well worth trying……

Don’t be put off because it cheap as chips – get a good one and this cute little lens is a cracker!

Customer Service

Great buy from E Bay - excellent seller, cheap price..

Similar Products Used:

Nikon 28 f2.8 Nikkor Ai-s
Nikon 24 f2.8 Nikor Ai-s
Nikon 28 - 200 AF
Nikon 35 f2 Nikkor Ai-s
Canon 28 - 200 (AVOID)
Canon 28 F3.5 ( lovely) FD
Canon 35 f2.8 FD
Tokina 28 - 20 F2.8 ATX Pro
Simga 28 - 135
Etc
Etc

compact and sharp with no distortion

focus ring is small and not very smooth

Well made lens that is very sharp at all apertures. Focus ring is abit small and not too smooth .but hey you get more than you pay for: sharp and no distortion....much bether than most zooms.

Very sharp lens! The center is always sharp and edges very good f/5.6 and up. No visible distortion. Build quality is good -- at least for the price. Metal lens mount. Light weight and balances nice. AF is quick -- although, not USM. But at this focal length, USM is not necessary (save the money). Excellent Price/Performance ratio!

Nothing that I can think of.

This lens is very sharp at center at all aperatures. The corners are good at f/2-4 and become very good at f/5.6-f/16. Distortion is very well controlled. I frequently have straight edges at the corners of the frame and see no distrotion at all. This lens is best used at f/8 as observed from my slide tests. This lens is an excellent buy!

Customer Service

None.

Similar Products Used:

Canon EF 20mm, 24-TS, 35mm f/2, 50mm f/2.5 Macro, 70-200 f/4 L, 300mm f/4 L

sharpness size common filters shared hood with 35mm VALUE!

old fashioned AF- not bad, just a bit louder would be nice w/ FTM, but at least the focus ring disingages w/ AF

I purchased this lens at a great price as a barely used item. I was seeking to gain some added sharpness at the wide end compared to my 28-105. After looking over some shots I took recently on Fuji Reala 100, I think this lens is definatly a step up from the zoom. Since it is a prime lens you would expect increased sharpness, but I also found the color rendition to be improved as well. It performed so well that I sold off my 28-105, which I thought was a pretty good lens. It also is very compact and light, and makes packing it along very easy. I have no problem with the build of this lens, it is much better than the 50mm 1.8II- not quite up to the 24mm 2.8 though. It also shares the same filters as my above mentioned 50 as well as my 35mm lens (and hood w/ 35). Overall I am very satisfied with this lens, especially considering the small amount of money spent. Along with the 50 1.8 this lens is almost a must have for landscapers.

Customer Service

not needed

Similar Products Used:

28-105 3.5-4.5 24mm 2.8 35mm 2.0 50mm 1.8II 70- 200 4L

- Sharp - No flare even without the hood - Contrast - Color rendition - Weight

- Lack USM and FTM (but it's an old lens from 80's!) - Plastic feeling - No hood included

A very good piece of equipment at a low price. A must have in every bag imho especially if you find it used. No flare also without hood and contrast and sharpness are wonderful.