Canon EF 35-350mm f/3.5-5.6L USM

Best uber zoom in the land (prior to the release of the 28-300L IS replacement)
Shoot a landscape and zoom out to nail a BIF w/o changing lenses. Great for
soccer/baseball. Good long lens technique will yield sharp images wide open
throughout it's 10x range. Ultimate travel lens, stash a fast lil prime for low light
and you're all set. Gorgeous IQ

Obviously the range. Great color/contrast/sharp wide open. AF fairly brisk 30/40D
and very quick on a 1Series.

heavy for a walkaround, not weathersealed

80-200 f2.8L, all (4)70-200L versions, 100-400L IS

I (like most others) purchased this to limit my lens changing and still have a high quality image. For me the zoom range is normal to telephoto as I use a 40d (1.6 crop) so I pair it up with a 17-50mm to handle most my focal lengths. A good sign that I am happy with it is that it is usually on the camera unless I have something specific to shoot that one of my other lenses is better suited. Now lens changing is almost a thing of the past. I will give the rating in a 1-10 (10 being the best) in each section with an explanation if needed.

Build quality- 10 it doesn't get any better but comes at a price in weight. This lens is heavy. In fact I own 6 "L" series lenses and this is the heaviest.

Focus speed-9 It is extremely fast focusing in daylight but at 350mm and 5.6 lower light conditions can take their toll.

Color and Contrast-10 Typical Canon L color and contrast. It doesn't get any better.

Sharpness-9 While still excellent There is a price to be paid for that extreme zoom range and here it is. Don't get me wrong. It knocks the socks off of most consumer lenses but it isn't like the rest of my "L" lenses.

CAs-8 Chromatic Aberration is significant at the wide settings. Not horrible but its there. Shoot raw in high contrast scenes and remove it in PS (very easy to do).

Ergonomics-8 Its smooth and you can lock the zoom down at any length but you got to get used to the push pull zoom.

In short it does what I wanted from it. As a option with airlines limiting baggage and weight this solves the problem of carrying too much along. It

Zoom Range 10X is great
Image quality is excellent

Weight- this thing is heavy but worth carrying.
CAs (purple fringe)- With high contrast images and on the wide end.... noticeable

Other Canon L lenses include
28-80 2.8-4 L
80-200 2.8 L
300mm 4.0 L
I also use a 17-50mm 2.8 Tamron SP that I am very happy with.

Though discontinued Canon service is excellent.

I bought this lens recently to compliment my 70-200 2.8L. It replaces a Canon 28-200 and Tamron 28-300 (I was unhappy with the image quality of both). I was a little worried - having read some reviews - that this lens wouldn't be up to what I expect from 'L' glass. Well, I can't see that much difference between the pictures from this lens and my other 'L' lenses. Yes , the others lenses are a bit sharper but it is very marginal. It is streets ahead of the standard canon zooms for sharpness and overall image quality! The build is excellent and I don't mind the push pull zoom. The lens is very heavy but most 'L' glass is. Although a slightly smaller lens than the 70-200 the weight is carried nearer the camera body and this seems to give it a heavier feel. It is an expensive lens which is not as fast as some and doesn't have IS but given it covers such a wide range I can put up with that. I wanted to have the choice of going out with only one lens and thats what I now have. I can see this staying on the camera more than it really should!

Build Image quality Zoom range Speed and ease of focus

Weight No 'IS' Speed of lens Cost

Canon 70-200 2.8L IS, 75-300 IS, 28-200, Tamron 28-200 and 28-300 (new 'small' ones)

Not used

I bought this lens because I was tired of always changing lenses in outdoor situations. It has proven to be the on of the best investments I have made in photography. A pleasure to use--rock solid and stable. Give it enough light and you can easily produce stunning hand held shots!

Focal range! Superb optics and fast focusing.

At 6 pounds, it isn't light, but think of all those other lenses you aren't lugging around.

Nothing even comes close!

Just great!! This lens is the one for going "light" meaning with only one lens. Especially nice on vacation. I use it generally for landscapes and am extremely happy with the results. The handling in connection with an EOS3+booster is perfect for me. It's very well balanced and can even be used without a tripod with good results. It's THE travel lens for me.

Handling Versatility Close-Up capabilities Built (it's a tank!) Reliability

Ok, it's heavy--but I like it.

Tamron 28-200 Canon 75-300 IS Canon 100-400 IS

Great (Canon Germany)