Review 3 of 28
Price Paid:
$40.00
from eBay Summary: I got this lens for an EOS film body just over a year ago. A month later I gave the camera to somebody else and got a digital body instead, with only this lens at first. I was very, very happy with the results I got from it, I have taken some beautiful sharp portraits and flower pictures with a very nice and "soft" bokeh with this "el-cheapo" lens (the bokeh was sure not something I'd expect, but it sure is there - subject sharp and nicely separated from a beautiful blurry background!). The only thing I missed, was a wide angle, using it on a 1.6X crop body, so I decided to also pick up an EF-S 18-55mm since I couldn't afford an extreme wide angle at that time. Since then I have also got some other lenses, amongst them the EF 50mm f1.8 and the EF 70-200mm f4L, but I have not for a minute considered dropping this one. It still sits in my bag for when I want a bit more focal length than the digital rebel kit lens gives combined with having zoom, and I also feel that it gives very pleasent colors and skin tones, so it is a clear winner for people photography in good lighting when I don't need the real long focal lengths. This lens is of course not of an "L-quality" build, but in my honest opinion it is more than well enough built for most of us. Most of us do treat our equipment carefully. I do think that it's build quality seems quite a bit better than the EF-S 18-55mm. For those who need something cheap to get them started, and they don't need wide angle too often, this is a real good choice, I think. If you plan on getting a real wide angle (as the EF-S 10-22, the Sigma 10-20 or something like that), this could be the perfect companion for that, IMO. And, it is really cheap, especially you can do a real bargain on these on eBay now (even cheaper than last year). You can e.g. pick up this used, a new Sigma 10-20 and a used EF 50/1.8 - as a quite reasonable alternative to one 2.8 wide-normal zoom. Then you should have a lot of photo opportunities covered (if you don't mind changing lenses that is). Not a bad option at all, if you ask me! Strengths: Really cheap, sharp, nice bokeh (!). A lot of lens for your money! Weaknesses: Really none given the price, optical quality etc. If I have to say something, it would have to be that it could have been faster (but then it wouldn't have had this price). Similar Products Used: EF-S 18-55, EF 50/1.8, EF 70-200/4L, Sigma 70-300 Customer Service: Haven't had any need for customer service for any of my lenses (but I also bought all of them but one slightly used).
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