Customer Reviews

Canon EF 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5 II USM Standard Zoom Lens for Canon SLR Cameras

5 star:		(57)
4 star:		(23)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

THE BOTTOM LINE:
I needed to replace the lens on my Canon Rebel XT D-SLR. The EF-S on first glance seemed like the perfect replacement since Canon produced the EF-S series specifically for the compressed sensor D-SLR line. After weighing the pros and cons of the two, I chose this EF lens largely on the basis of price. It was the right choice, and I haven't found any loss of features or quality.

Multiplying the range by 1.6 for a 35mm equivalence (if you have a Rebel XT, 20D or 30D), this model is really just a slightly wide angle to stronger telephoto zoom. (about 45mm-170mm if it was a 35mm film camera) If this range suits you, then this lens is an excellent value over a EF-S wide-angle/telephoto zoom. You'll keep all of the features, save money and have a faster lens.

The EF series meshes well with the current line of Canon digital SLRs. In addition, unlike the EF-S series, they are compatible with all of the Canon EOS products including higher-end cameras like the Mark II.

SPECIFIC OBSERVATIONS FROM WEEKS OF USE:
My first concern before purchasing this lens was the MINIMUM FOCUS DISTANCE of 0.5 meters, or approximately 18 inches. I do a lot of macro work transferring images into digital, so I was a tad worried. However, after getting the lens and zooming in, I realized that the focusing distance wasn't really an issue after all. In most cases, I could manage to stand six or so inches further away and still get a highly magnified shot. So that you can see that the macro function works well, I've uploaded an image of a small hamster photographed at 102mm.

My second concern was lens QUALITY AND SHARPNESS, particularly in the wide-angle setting near the edges of the photo. This lens exceeded my expectations. So that you can see the quality of this lens, I've uploaded an uncropped picture of the SF Bay Bridge taken at the 28mm wide-angle setting. You'll see that the photo is sharp all the way through the edges of the frame. (it is a web-sized jpeg, so you should take that into consideration and use it mainly to see the sharpness of the photo, particularly near the outside edges)

I did get an unexpected bonus with this lens. The MANUAL FOCUS ring is in the front. I love it. Disabling the auto-focus is a snap, and the position and feel of the manual focus is perfect for sports or social activities where the subject is often not the closest object. The ring itself is ridged and made of rubber, making handling a breeze.

While I hadn't expected to replace my stock lens so soon, I think it ended up for the best. This lens is actually superior to the one that came with the XT. I lost some wide-angle function but gained much more telephoto. The price is excellent and the quality of the lens is high.

For the times when I want to travel light and only take one lens, I usually throw this lens on. Through its entire focal range, it does a great job. Its performance is exceptional considering it's not an "L" grade lens.

The lens is constructed well and has a nice feel. I have an Elan 7e body and this lens complements it very nicely. The Ultrasonic motor is definitely a nice touch. You can't even hear the lens focusing it's so quiet, not to mention fast. I find that 28-105mm is a great range for everyday shooting, and if you're into taking closeups, it has a fairly good macro mode (although I wish it could be a little better...Nikon's equivalent lens has a macro reproduction ratio of about 2.7:1, which this lens doesn't come close to...but it's a Nikon...bleh).

I would advise anyone buying this lens to also purchase the accessory hood that's available for it.

I am very satisfied with the overall performance of 28-105 mm. It focuses instantly and silently. USM is definitely an advantage and that was one of the reasons why I preferred Canon over other brands. The high pitched sound associated with focusing becomes quite irritating even at occasions when you do not need a silent operation. With a USM lens you do not hear anything and this is really fascinating. This lens produces very clear photos and is definitely better than the Canon EF 28-90 lens which is usually sold with the body for three reasons: 1. The grip feels much better. 2. The lens provides a larger aperture at longer focal lenghts. 3. Basically it has a focal length of 28-105 mm (vs 28-90). Even if there is a significant price difference I would suggest the 28-105 mm. You will NOT regret it.

This lens is truly a 'must have' if you don't have lots of cash to spend. Simply put, it is an excellent performer for the money. I recently got this lens for my Rebel XT, and noticed a HUGE improvement over the 18-55mm kit lens. Sharpness has improved considerably. The 18-55mm has some SERIOUS issues in that area. First of all, sharpness was REALLY bad at large apertures. But smaller apertures were not really much better. The 28-105mm still is not the best performer at large apertures. But it is MUCH better than the 18-55mm. However, at around f8 or higher, the 28-105mm is tack sharp. In addition, this lens does not suffer from the problem of having a clear foreground and soft background that my 18-55mm suffers from.

Color accuracy has also GREATLY improved with the 28-105mm. Colors look MUCH more natural with this lens than with the 18-55mm lens. This is particularly true of lighter colors, especially when you go to increase saturation with Photoshop (or other software). Increasing saturation to improve the appearance of dark colors on a picture taken with the 18-55mm would typically make lighter colored objects look VERY unnatural. This sort of problem is MUCH reduced with the 28-105mm. I should also say that this lens appears to overexpose somewhat compared with the 18-55mm. This is more good than bad, however, as it has the effect of making the lens faster.

Of course, this lens is not without its drawbacks. I mentioned the slight softness at large apertures, for instance. Also, it is not the fastest lens out there. But then again, what do you expect for the price? And finally, 28mm is not exactly wide angle on a cropped sensor digital SLR like the Rebels or the 20D. But despite these drawbacks, this lens really performs like a champ. And when used in its element (ie higher f-numbers), it works quite well. Also, since it is not an EF-S lens, it will not become a paperweight should you decide to upgrade to a 5D.

This is a great lens. I bought the digital rebel kit recently and soon 'outgrew' the efs 18-55 kit lens. It is particularly soft at large apertures and makes it totally unsuitable for indoor handheld photography. I decided to go for 35 mm lenses rather than 'digital' format lenses as an upgrade to the kit lens. They are lower in price (relatively) and you also only see the center of the lens where the picture quality is the best. The Quantaray 28-200 (this is actualy a tamron) was the first lens I considered. i returned it after just 2 photos. it was much worse than the kit lens. Then I did extensive research and finally decided on the 28-105 canon. This equates to 45-160 which is good walking around range. Also fro outdoor wide angle landscapes, the kit lens good enough stopped down. I got the lens today from adorama and the indoor test photos are GREAT and show fine detail. The shallow DOF in macro mode is also nice. The kit lens is no comparison to this lens. I would highly recommend this to new enthusiast dslr (like Drebel)users on a tight budget but also crave for more from their digital rebel. All in all a wonderful lens. And did I say the build quality is great too not to mention the ghostly silent lightening fast focussing?

I searched and researched the lens to purchase with my Canon Rebel XTI for weeks because I knew that I did not want the kit lens. I also did not have the money to spend on a 5, 6, or $700 dollar lens. In the end after reading countless reviews, ones implementing professional techniques and ones using just opinion, this lens looked to be the best value. For the money I really don't think that you can beat this lens. It focuses quickly, it is really quiet while doing it, and it is sharp enough for the money. Plus it has full time manual focus, which is a really big plus for a lens in this price range. The only problem is it is a little on the narrow side with the 1.6 crop factor on the Rebel XTI, but I would much rather have to deal with that than a sub-par image. In summary I would recommend this lens in place of the kit lens to anyone who doesn't have the money to buy an "L" series lens. It is really a great value.

Otherwise this lens is merely good. I've had this lens for a little over a year and have taken numerous rolls on it in all kinds of settings and conditions. It does what it promises to, which is to provide a nice wide-to-medium telephoto focal range (suitable for 99% of casual photography) with the fast ring type Ultra Sonic Motor autofocus. It also lets you focus manually even if the switch is on AF, which is really slick. If it weren't for these features I might not have given it a 4 because the optics are just not that good. It's not very sharp at any focal length, and it produces duller colors than the other 2 lenses I have.

But like I said, the lens performs as it's meant to - as a better than entry level consumer grade lens. The USM is so fast that it justifies the lens's optical shortcomings. Your subject simply *pops* into focus instantaneously when you start to depress the shutter. I'm about to move on to a sharper and more "contrasty" lens, but it'll be heavier, bigger and won't focus as fast. The time that I did spend with this lens produced some very nice results and it served its purpose quite well as a solid stepping stone in my continuing education as a photographer.

One thing I've learned from the reviews here is that it would be easier to weight comments if you knew more about the reviewer. I am still a relative newbie, and have progressed from an old Pentax film SLR, through the basic point and shoot digitals, to a more advanced point and shoot, and about 18 months ago I bought a used Rebel XT from a friend. I thought the kit lens was a huge step up from the p-s cameras, and was amazed by the image quality of this lens. Most of my comparisons are to the Canon 28-135mm f3.5-5.6 IS USM lens, which was the other lens I was considering when I made this purchase. I have had the chance to use both, and am still happy with the choice I made.

The lens makes beautiful photos throughout its zoom range, although it likes natural light better than artificial. It is the best first upgrade I can imagine for anyone who isn't a professional, but then... you aren't really considering this lens if you are. If you do more of your shooting indoors, consider spending the extra $$ for the 28-135 IS USM, which handles low light better. Outdoors I find that this lens works better than the 28-135, producing sharper images especially when you are able to shoot at f7.1 or higher. Images are sharp, colors are true and beautiful, and this lens is capable of some stunning bokeh effects if you take the time to experiment with it. I am able to get sharp images all the way to f4.5 at 105mm, unlike some of the other reviewers here... maybe differences in copies of the lens? I'm not sure why, it just works.

Having said all that, lately I have had the opportunity to spend time shooting with different lenses, borrowing from a friend who is something of a semi-pro, and I am starting to see the weaknesses of this lens. As I mentioned before, it tends to focus slowly in low light situations, and images tend to be underexposed in tungsten light. It can be compensated for once you know about it, but the 28-135 IS is easier to use indoors. If you don't mind using flash it's no big deal, but it's worth mentioning. It's also a little short for my liking lately. I'm finding I prefer to sit outside the action where my presence won't influence the shot, and 105mm is sometimes a little short for that. That's more an issue of suitability rather than a weakness in this lens though.

In summary, this is the lens to get for the first upgrade from the kit lens. It works great as an every day lens, giving up only a little at the wide end compared to the kit lens, but capable of far sharper, brighter images everywhere. For the money you can't beat it. Would I replace it if lost or broken? You bet.

This is the least expensive of four Canon lenses I own. It however is the best "walk around" lens you can imagine. Its picture quality rivals that of my "L" series lens (within reason) and its compact size makes it all the better. I recently took this lens and my 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 "IS" lens to a theme park. I walked around with them all day, and by days end this was clearly the winner as far as my neck and body were concerned. The "IS" model closest in range to this weighs about 3 times as much and is over twice the size. Now with that said, be aware this is a non "IS" lens which requires adaquate light to get good results. It can not compare to a f/2.8 "IS" lens which excels in indoor conditions with no flash, but im sure anyone with any photographic experience is aware of the same.
This lens has become my only lens when comfort is a factor which needs to be taken into account. Its the "work horse" of my lens arsenal at a price you simply can not beat.

This is a great all-purpose lens for Canon cameras. It covers the vast majority of situations that a typical photographer will run across and it works admirably across all of the major functions that one needs: autofocus is quick and accurate; zoom functions easily; lens quality is good; weight is reasonable; et cetera. There is nothing to dislike and the price is very reasonable too. One additional note: with the new 10D which I use this with, the digital magnification factor translates this to roughly a 45-160mm lens.