Customer Reviews

Canon EF 28-80mm f/3.5-5.6 II Standard Zoom Lens for Canon SLR Cameras

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I received this lens as part of a kit when I bought an EOS Elan II, and I quickly realized that I needed to upgrade. The optics are mediocre at best, making it nearly impossible to get ultra-sharp pictures. The price is cheap, and so is the lens; the overall workmanship and quality is low. If you are a beginner just getting into SLR photography, you will be much better served by getting a couple of prime lenses (I recommend 50mm and 80mm) of higher quality. If you absolutely must have a single zoom lens to cover a range of focal lengths, spend $100 more to get the better lens. It will make a HUGE difference in the quality of your pictures.

I haved owned the Canon EF 28-80mm f/3.5-5.6 V USM Standard Zoom Lens for Canon SLR Cameras for nearly one year. I purchased this lens used for a very small amount of cash. After learning what this lens does best ... I have been generally pleased with the exposures that I have made with it. Sometimes the exposures with it really pop and that has kept me from selling it. This is so even after I have purchased "better lenses." I did take some test shots to post. See the bougainvilla, cat, and "Wild Thing" test images above. Before uploading they looked a lot better. It is unfortunate that Amazon is unable to display good images.

It has been my lot (my budget) to own a few of what the world has labeled "bad lenses." In general, I have not found the lens to be "bad" but instead to be a "good lens when used appropriately." It does have its problems and it is not an L series quality lens. But, I try to subscribe to the old quote that goes something like this:"It is a poor workman that blames his tools."

I am going to share excerpts from a posting that I read that has kept me from selling this lens. I read this "johnhopkins" posting about this lens on the "fredmiranda-com photo site." Johnhopkins from the United Kingdom posted it Sep 20, 2005 according to "fredmiranda-com." The poster "johnhopkins" stated that he had tested this lens against a Canon 24-70L. He found that:"The 28-80 could not match the Canon 24-70L in colour and contrast, but at f/11 there was no difference in resolution anywhere in the zoom range. At 28mm the 28-80 performed pretty respectably (though not as well) relative to the L zoom. Resolution at f/11 was identical to the L and only a little worse at f/5.6-f/8.

Performance drops off further in the zoom range. At 50mm the 28-80 performed as well as the 24-70L at f/8-11 but resolution tailed off at f/5.6 and especially at f/4.5. The corners especially were poor.

At 70mm the 28-80 only really performed well at f/11. Resolution was still OKish at f/8 but tailed off badly at f/5.6."

My recent tests of the lens and my use of the lens for the most part confirms the (fredmiranda-com,johnhopkins) conclusion that:"If used at f/11 anywhere in its zoom range or at f5.6-f/11 at 28mm then this lens can produce very decent results. Set the camera to Aperture Priority f/11 and leave it there if possible." I to have also found that my copy has decent performance at 28mm.

I think that this lens is a good value for just a little cash.

I, like most people, got this lens when buying a kit. Unlike one review, I found this lens to have excellent optics. While not quite like a Nikon lens, the quality of pictures the lens produces is more than enough for most users. For the past 4 years, I have thouroughly enjoyed using it. Unfortunately, something is not ligning up on the connections between the lens and the camera body and the camera is unable to read/set the aperture on the lens, therebye making it impossible to take pictures. I have used other lenses on the body, and they work fine, so I'm assuming it is a problem with the lens. Consider paying a little more when buying a lens... in the long run, it might save you money.

Very poor quality lens. Came with a Rebel kit. Inoperable after a year of ownership. $120 repair estimate -- more than the new cost. I recommend you avoid this lens.

I have a 20x30 poster of some cliffs in Ireland hanging in my living room because the picture quality was too great to not enlarge! This lens gives you great versitility and the quality is great for the average person.

Some people badmouth this lens while others swear by it. I am somewhere in the middle. I have several Canon EOS Single Lens Reflex cameras ranging from their first entry into the field, a D30, to a 50D. I got one of these lenses as part of a film camera kit. While the lens was designed for film cameras it works acceptably on digital cameras as well. I find that on the D30, which has a 3.3 MP sensor the lens is perfectly adequate. There are complaints about vignetting of focus near the edges but because the sensor in the D30 is not a full size 35MM element this is not a problem. Testing this lens against a standard resolution chart shows that you must have a camera with at least an 8 megapixel sensor before the shortcomings of these optics begin to become detectable. I don't see this as a problem because if you are using a camera that costs $1000 or more you are not likely to put a $40 lens on it. I use my D30 as a backup camera and the 28-80MM lens works great in that application.

Well. We all know Canon products are made of the finest minerals... Causing them to be, oh, so, delicate. I bought this lens to replace the one I originally got with my camera. Just another weapon in my light writing arsenal.

Very Likely Your First Lens Will Be This One...They Are Incorperated Into Most Of The Canon Kits Available Today, And Why Not?...It Features The Most Popular Focal Lenghts...From Wide Angle To Telephoto, This Zoom Lens Gives You The Best Of Both Worlds...The Apature Is Kind Of Limited, But For A Starter Lens, This Is Great...

This entry level canon lens is an optical marvel that will enable anyone to shoot professional-quality photographs. The 28-80 mm zoom range is among the most useful for everything from vast landscapes at 28 mm to intimate portraits at 80 mm. The aperture of the lens allows hand-held shooting in most situations. The quality of the lens is remarkable for the price. Every EOS user should have this lens in his/her bag!