Great all-purpose lens, very sharp, compact.

none

This is easily my most often used lens. It's great for people photography as you can easily zoom from wide angle for group or environmental portraits to short/medium telephoto for 3/4 length or head shots. Its compact size and light weight make it a great walk-around lens for travel purposes as well. It's not as fast as the pro zooms, but it's a lot less expensive. Stopped down to f5.6-8, it's almost as sharp as the 28-70/2.8. This lens is a great value and a great starter lens for anyone shooting EOS.

Similar Products Used:

Canon 28-70/2.8
Canon 28-80/3.5-5.6

The big range from 28-105mm. It's sharp for a non-pro zoom.

The corners goes dark at full apperatur, espesialy at 28mm.

A good lens, but the dark corners are anoying.

Customer Service

Very good

Similar Products Used:

Sigma 24-70, Nikon 35-70

Just about perfect for 90% of shots, good range, very light.

sharpness at larger apertures

This is the perfect lens to keep on the Elan or A2 for candids. It doesn't scare people off. Great l lens for travel. Not a disaster if you lose it.

Please CANON--I want this in a 2.8 L lens!

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none

Zoom Range, Build, Full-Time Manual Focusing, Little Flare w/o Hood, 58mm Filter Thread

Softest at F3.5

I picked up this lens in place of the 28-80 because I needed improvement on sharpness. The 28-105 is much sharper than the 28-80 at all apertures. The 28-80 at F8 is like the 28-105 at F5.6. The range is very handy enabling wide landscapes to close portraits and some macro. At the price it can't be beat. Ideal for amateur-intermediate. The 28-70L is for the pros.

Customer Service

Not yet

Similar Products Used:

Canon EF 28-80 IV USM (junk)

Relatively fast consumer
zoom. 58mm filter.

Solid plastic, got some kind of metal feel...

Not well sealed, dust gets in fairly easily.
I find the focus ring on the thin side and the turning is not very smooth (maybe isolated case).
Tends to hunt under low light.

Superb traveller lens. Until Canon can come up with a 28-300 equivalent, this is the only snapshot lens to get.

This is the only lens I carry with my IX for snapshots. Small and rugged. If getting 2nd hand make sure it's the one with 7 aperture blades (look for macro instead of the flower icon)

Customer Service

unhelpful

Similar Products Used:

28-80 III. 28-80 IV. 35-105. Tam 28-200 Super.

Light weight,
Solid construction,
Metal mount,
Fast focus.

Not good for low light phtography (night, indoor),
Plastic cosmetic feeling,
Visible distortion at 28-35 position.

This is a good lens for general photography, at varieties occations. Due to its compact size and light weight, it is also a good one to use in travel. I try it with Ektachrom 100 and Kodak Gold 100 and results are well accpeted. Obvious distortion appears at 28-35mm focal range would be a serious down point to this lens.

Customer Service

Very Good.

Similar Products Used:

Canon EF28-80/4-5.6,
SIGMA 28-70/2.8 EX
SIGMA 28-200/3.5-5.6

Fairly solid construction, useful zoom range, price. Wide apeture for class. Good sharpness

Distortion at 28mm, sharpness barely acceptable.

Represents good value for money with solid, if unenchanting, optical performance. If I travel with only one lens this is the one, although once I get my 24mm prime I suspect that will take its place.

Customer Service

Nil needed

Similar Products Used:

None

* Good focal range.
* Fast, quiet AF with full time manual override.
* Smooth zoom.
* Though I am a beginner, to me the optical quality seems very good. I've gotten some stunning photos up to 8x10 on Kodak Royal Gold.

* Not useful in low light situations unless you're using ISO 800 or 1000 film, a tripod, or a flash.
* A little distortion at 28mm (to me it's only apparent in some shots).
* A little soft wide open.
* Occasional minor flare.
* Too easy for dust to enter.

This is an excellent starter lens. I've been very happy with the optical quality up to 8x10 and through the entire focal range.

It's a little soft when wide open. Be especially careful with macro shots at 105mm, stop down a bit to make sure the subject is sharp. Flare seems well controlled compared to cheaper 28-80 zooms. And although there's some distortion at 28mm, it's hard to notice (to me any way). My best shots have been at 28mm and 35mm.

This lens, along with a Rebel 2000 and Royal Gold film, have really gotten me hooked on photography. This is a great way to start. For the price you can't go wrong.

One lens you should look at though, if you don't mind the price, is the 28-135 IS USM. The IS would be very useful in low light. I've gotten away with night shots of the Vegas strip using this lens with Royal Gold 1000, but obviously one would prefer to use slower film and have more latitude to stop down.

I plan to add primes to my collection soon, but I've been very happy with this first zoom and will no doubt hold onto it.

Customer Service

Not needed.

Similar Products Used:

A 28mm prime and a 28-80mm zoom on a borrowed Canon AE-1. (Forget brands; 3rd party.)

-Cheap. You can't get a better lens at this price with such a range.
-Has a quality feel (or as much as you could expect) but isn't so d*** heavy
-It's a wonderful compliment to the Elan IIe and a good buddy with the 100-300 USM (what I'm familiar with)
-Fast USM
-Good overall range and versatility
-Nice, crisp photos
-Front ring does not rotate (for filters)

-Not a pro lens, but not pro lens price either
-Darker corners on some shots (although it has beeen rare occasion with me)
-Doesn't focus as close as it could

Okay, so it's not a gift from God, but a gift from Canon proves to be good enough. Canon makes this lens better than any others that I have tried or seen. At this price, you can't ask for anything better, and for the same price most brands will give you less. It is a great glass for beginners to intermediates who aren't looking for an $1000 lens and who don't mind sacrificing a tiny bit for the price. IF you plan to make your lenses your primary investment, and want them to last you for years and years and years and want them to take you through thick and thin, rain and shine - look elsewhere. I'm sure it will last you, but as you grow as a photographer you may resent those few picture with darker corners that you get, although it will last you for a while.

Since I take in B&W mostly, it doens't matter as much as if the colors on the corners were muddier. And, like all other equipment, you will get used to how it works and how it doesn't and compensate for it. So you can crop, or just use more intermediate focal lengths (maybe 30 instead of 28, and 100 instead of 105) to get rid of those corners.

It's not a big deal though. Get it with the EW-63 II lens hood, which is designed specifically for this lens. 5 for value, 3 and 3/4 for overall.

Good pictures!

Customer Service

Never had to use it

Similar Products Used:

Sigma 28-105, Tamron

(They don't compare)

was looking to find a nice small short lens for shooting indoor sports without the heavy cost. light feel, able to get close and shoot.good for the average sport shooter.

little round on the edges at 28 and 35. not as sharp ans I would like at 105 either, but then again for the price who cares.

buy it you cant go wrong.

Customer Service

no problems to report

Similar Products Used:

35-350 canon L usm
70-300 image stabalizer lens which is remarkable!