Reviews for Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM Standard Zoom Lens

Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM Standard Zoom Lens

Strengths: Perfect zoom range for everyday general purpose use Image Stabilized for extra telephoto sharpness

Weakness: Only one I can think of is the 3.5 F-stop but has not prevented me from shooting in most low light conditions

I love this lens! It produces sharp images. I have two shots taken with this lens in Maine that I printed 13"x19" on my Epson 2200 printer that everyone raves about at the office. Incredible sharpness! Looks like the photo was taken with an "L" Series Lens.
You won't be sorry buying this lens.
Newbie, Advanced Amateur, or fledgling PRO, this lens will be a workhorse for you!

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perfect walk-around lens

Strengths: IS, useful focal range, quick USM focus, full time manual focus

Weakness: seems heavy at first, somewhat pricey

bought this for use on my digital Rebel XT. At first I was a little bothered by the weight and questioned whether the IS was worth the extra $$. Now that I've had some time to use it, it's become the lens most often on the camera. The focal range covers most of my walk around shooting, and images look sharp. I got some great surfing photos from the pier (the surfers were already fairly close, obviously) recently. Also got some nice close shots of bumblebees on flowers in the yard (with a little cropping to enhance the subject). Great general use lens!


My only drawback has been that it's longer than the kit lens & sometimes I missed having a wider angle. Solved that by picking up a EF-S 10-22, but that's another review.... :)

Can hardly express the improvment over the kit lens, there's really no comparison. If you only have the funds for one lens right now, this is a good one to pick up!

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Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM Standard Zoom Lens

Strengths: Image stabilizer is a big plus. The Make of the lens, USM, Image Stablization makes it an Excellent all around Lens ..

Weakness: A Bit Pricey .. But for IS and Image Quality the price is ok

This is a great lens. I have it most of the time on my Lens whether i shoot potraits or nature this is a perfect lens .. recommended.

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Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM Standard Zoom Lens

Strengths: The Image Stabilization makes this a wonderful lens.

Weakness: Slightly heavy.

This is a great lens. It's a wonderful lens for taking portrait shots, and also it's a great all round lens. This is my favorite lens that I own.
With other lenses, taking nighttime pictures can be difficult, but with the Image Stabilization, this lens makes that a little easier.
I can't say enough good things about this lens. Definitely worth the money.

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Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM Standard Zoom Lens

Strengths: This is a good "walk-around" lens. IS system, sharp, full time manual focus, USM lens motor with a decent price

Weakness: IS drain battery, the maximum aperture only 3.5

This lens is the one I use most often due to its great performance and convenience of use. I use it for general wide-angle shots, usually at 28-50mm, and portrait photography which usually at 85-135mm. But reminder, with Canon 1.6 crop factor bodies, the field of view changes to 45-216, which to me becomes not wide enough. I can not complain this to the lens it self, right? May be one day I will change to 1X system, then get ride of this problem. Actually, to me, this lens is very versatile and easy to use. There are two switches to change. One is the manual/auto focus switch, the other is the image stabilization switch, which "I" means on and "O" means off. The built quality is nice. It has a ring type USM (ultra sonic motor) inside for quick and quiet auto focus. The feel of the zoom and manual focus rings is sufficiently smooth. Image quality is excellent. Many expert reviews seem to slam this lens as being soft. But as an amateur photographer of me who shoots only for enjoyment, it is good enough, at least for now. I have never tested images by shooting a chart, neither did I compare the central and edge image blur difference. For edge-to-edge sharpness I will stop the aperture down to f8 or less. And with image stabilization I can shoot with a slow shutter speed of 1/15 fully zoomed to 135mm and get a printable image. This is the one if I can take only one lens to go out and shoot real pictures.
Even though I agree with this is a good "walk-around", I still have two things to complain about it, first is the IS drain battery. Normally I can easily shoot 300 shots on a fully charged BP511 battery, but I will only got less than half of that before the camera was indicating the battery was getting low. And the most important, how I wish Canon made the maximum aperture bigger, may be 2.8 or even 1.4? Cause I found the IS can only help be used on non-moving objects, the big aperture will be far more important for both sport and portrait photographs.

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Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM Standard Zoom Lens

Strengths: Nice blend of zoom to wide angle. Not too big, not too heavy. Great autofocus.

Weakness: Bit pricey, but it's high-quality all the way.

This lens does a great job of letting set up your shot, especially portraits. This is like 2 lenses in one - a zoom and a wide angle all-in-one and it easily fits into a camera bag. The ultrasonic motor helps to make the perfect shot.

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Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM Standard Zoom Lens

Strengths: great walkaround lens, image stablization, nice zoom range

Weakness: pictures a little soft

I bought this lens at the same time as by DRebel. I've take a few thousand pictures with this lens and it is a great every day lens. The image stabilization works great, just remember to turn it off if you are going to do any panning with the lens.

I found the pictures to be a little on the soft side, especially with the lens wide open. Also the 1.6 factor on the DRebel makes the wide side of this lens effective a 45mm lens, so I really did miss the wide angle aspect, of course this is not the fault of the lens.

This is a great replacement for the kit lens and if one was on a budget and could only afford one lens, then this is a great option.

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Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM Standard Zoom Lens

Strengths: good range, image stablization works great.

Weakness: somewhat costly - but so far worth the price...

Beautiful pictures can be taken with camera in hand even in questionable lighting. Right out of the box this lens has become an essential piece of my photography equipment. Canon does it again with an amazing photography tool.

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Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM Standard Zoom Lens

Strengths: range of the lens along with the IS

Weakness: none

I have had this lens for about a month and a half and it has probably been used more than all of my other lens i own combined. It has a great range which means fewer times for me to switch lenses. I think that this lens is worth getting for the range you get for the price.

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Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM Standard Zoom Lens

Strengths: Good range of focal lengths especially for 10D and 300D; Sharp; Fast and smooth focus

Weakness: bit on the heavy side; lens droop on some examples (lens zoom can creep down when carrying pointed down)

A great carry around lens - good range of focal length. Image stabilization works very well adding up to 2 stops. Very good build and fast auto focus. Good sharpness, particuarly f/5.6 and up and throughout the full zoom range. I had two copies - 1st one had a speck in the interior lens elements and had the droopong lens zoom; 2nd one was tighter and did not droop.

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Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM Standard Zoom Lens

Strengths: great focal length range / fast focusing / good shape / image stabilizing

Weakness: softness

This Lens focuses reasonably fast and has a great focal length range. And also it has good sharpness when stopped down to f/8. Of course, when wide open, this lens has some softness. However, Color is good and background blur quality also is reasonable. If you have to buy just one lens, you can't find better than this one.

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Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM Standard Zoom Lens

Strengths: Image stabilizer is very useful in this zoom range, USM provides fast focus, nice zoom range to use as main walk lens.

Weakness: 28mm is not wide enough for DSLR with 1.6x crop factor

- Perfect lens for the price.
- Would be nicer if it can go wider, 18mm would be nice on DSLR with 1.6x crop.
- If you already have kits lens (18-55mm) and don't mind to swap lens to get wide angle, this lens is the perfect one to add in your lens collection.
- Great price (especially after rebate with digital rebel)

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Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM Standard Zoom Lens

Strengths: Great construction, IS is amazing, FTM, Great focal range, relatively small/light

Weakness: Kinda expensive.

For use with my Digital Rebel. IS is a godsend, lets you take pictures with speeds 2 or 3 stops lower when its on. Got consistently sharp images at both extremes of its focal range. Its more expensive than the EF 28-105, but its well worth the extra money for the IS and the extra range.

67% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?

Great every day lens

Strengths: Image Stabilizer - very much worth the difference in price. Fast focus speed. Great every day lens

Weakness: Don't have any yet.

This is my first Cannon purchase for my new 20D. I purchased 70-200 IS for action photography (too big for everyday use) and also was looking for every day lens. I had to put a stop somewhere on the price, as there are so many products on the market. However, if price was no issue, I would have purchased Canon Zoom Super Wide Angle EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM and have it as every day lens. I had an advantage - I had never own any SLR cameras/lenses, so I am really starting from 'scratch'. If you are first time buyer, this is a great purchase.

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28-135 IS Review

Strengths: image stabilization, fast focus, good zoom

Weakness: would rather have a wider angle and don't need as much zoom

OVerall a decent lens. Definately better than the standard lens, but not as good as the pro series. Nice general purpose lens, but a little heavier than I would like. I use it on my digital rebel-xt and it feels heavier than the camera itself.

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Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM Standard Zoom Lens

Strengths: I have shakey hands and this really helps me take good pictures. The transition from manual to auto is simple as is the usage of the lens.

Weakness: I wish the covers were a little quicker to add and remove, but can't think of a better design.

I purchased the EOS 20D lens set and since getting this lens have not when back to the one that came with the camera. I'm very pleased with the added functionality that this lens provides, although I found it necessary to add a UV filter to help protect my investment and enhance the shots. The pictures are professional quality and better than I would have believed that I could produce...

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Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM Standard Zoom Lens

Strengths: Price, Image Stabilizer, Good Picture Quality

Weakness: None.

This len covers the most common use of everyone. You don't have to carry many lens, plus you have the Image Stabilizer with it. The picture quality is great. People who using digital camera and prefer mid-end or long-end like me:) will enjoy it since they have 1.6x or 1.3 crop, so you new focal length will be 45-216 (with 1.6) or 37-176 with 1.3x

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Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM Standard Zoom Lens

Strengths: Afordable lense, practical zoom range, IS

Weakness: Not a close to the sharpness of L lens, not usable with digital SLR as wideangle at 28mm..

After using this lens for 2 months I'm pretty satisfied overall with this lens as general purpose zoom. However if you’re looking for sharpness or high quality of L lens, you better prepare to spend more money. 28 mm wide angle it’s not very useful because I’m using with Canon 10D and have to multiply by 1.6 giving me effective zoom range 44-216mm ok but effectively eliminate wideangle on the low end.

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Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM Standard Zoom Lens

Strengths: sharp, quick focus and good zoom range

Weakness: a bit heavy

The 28-135 IS is the nearly perfect carry around lens for the Canon Digital Rebel. With a focal length equivalent of 45 mm to 216 mm plus a good macro range, the lens is a great everyday companion. The IS functions flawlessly and the images are sharp.

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use with caution

Strengths: it has a decent zoom range, and not too slow

Weakness: focus accuracy at wide angle is just awful

I hate reviews like this...

"Strengths: Perfect zoom range for everyday general purpose use"...trust me, it's not,it's too long..." Weaknesses: Only one I can think of is the 3.5 F-stop but has not prevented me from shooting in most low light conditions" no, and it wouldn't, would it? You can always use a tripod..."Summary: I love this lens! It produces sharp images." sure, if you get lucky or you shoot telephoto during the day. And how many dull, out of focus shots did you get for those sharp images? "I have two shots taken with this lens in Maine that I printed 13"x19" on my Epson 2200 printer that everyone raves about at the office. Incredible sharpness! Looks like the photo was taken with an "L" Series Lens." AAAugh! at what fstop, ISO and focal length? The difference between L lenses and cheaper lenses can be minimized by picking the best combination for the cheaper lens. "You won't be sorry buying this lens." Yes, you will, or I would not be writing this review, like this..."Newbie, Advanced Amateur, or fledgling PRO, this lens will be a workhorse for you!" Er, no. Not even close. The lens just does not focus well at wide angle. I took about 500 shots with one in one day on a Rebel XTi and I got about half of them in decent focus. And I mean quite well-lit, sunny even shots, plenty of detail...it just botched them. Plus it suffers from a lot of internal reflection and it is just too long for me to shoot casually "walking around town". The zoom is nice, it seems to work "ok" between 70 and 135mm, and it isn't too slow. But I would not buy this lens, I would never rely on it, and I have the 17-55 IS at twice the price. So, ok, there are 3 things that really limit the XTi with *any* lens. One is the focus system of the XTi itself. The focus points are too widely-dispersed, they "get in the way" if there is anything in the foreground hanging over the scene...a lot of time i leave branches, walls etc in the foreground and I want to focus on the background. Or I shoot with a lot of depth of field so there is a long range between the foreground and the background and I want the whole shot in focus...so I'll use the center focus point and focus in the middle somewhere. This may not be enough focus points for the XTi to get a good sharp focus. And you can tell, really, the shot will be hazy, at least, and none of the fine detail will be sharp. Even if at full-screen it looks ok. But this also happens with shots that are flat and full of good, well-lit detail, but usually not so much. Second is the in-camera NR which is ISO dependent, and last is the available light. It simply tends to have more blown-focus shots as the light goes down...but that doesn't mean that all of the shots taken in full daylight are in sharp focus! Far from it. And I never imagined having to distinguish between "in focus" and "in sharp focus". I had this problem with my Olympus SP-500 and a little bit with my S2 and certainly the A710, but not at all with my FZ5 or A610. I just am not used to this as a problem. If you're used to it...it may not be a problem, but I'm not used to losing a third of my shots to a dodgy focus. Having said that, when the 28-135 F3.6 hits a good focus, it can give you some good shots, and certainly if they are at a range beyond the 17-55, and you want it tight so you can maximize the chance of getting a good focus, and also, so you don't worry about having to crop later, it *can* give you some good results. Then you just have to deal with stuff like this. Those are headlight reflections, even a streetlight or two. 28-135mm F3.6 at F5.6 ISO800 1-60s 112mm.

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Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM Standard Zoom Lens

Strengths: Exceptional quality. Light weight.

Weakness: Price. High aperture requires good lighting.

Using dedicated accessories elminates incompatibility problems and "Error 99" issues on Canon digital SLRs. Extremely light weight. 78mm filter required. Takes exceptional outdoor pictures. Not as useful in low light situations.

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Great !!

Strengths: IS, USM, PERFECT FOR EVERY DAY USE, GREAT PICTURES INDOORS AND OUT

Weakness: NOT WIDE ENOUGH FOR WIDE ANGLE SHOTS ON 1.6 DIGITAL CAMERAS

I am stunned at the image quality this lens has produced for me. Action shots are crystal clear thanks to IS which is extremely quiet compared to my other Canon lenses. And indoor shots without a flash are a breeze, thanks to the 3.5 aperture and IS. The USM focusing is EXTREMELY fast so you can get those unexpedted shots too.

The only downsize is if you need wide angle shots on a 1.6 system, stick with your 17mm lens.

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Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM Standard Zoom Lens

Strengths: Fast focusing, image stabilizing, good picture quality

Weakness: A bit heavy.

I used this lens for 2 days and I'm very completely satisfied with it. The picture quality is superb, professional, and very sharp -- much much better than the kit lens I have. The IS really helped me in taking pictures in low light without flash -- a must for me. The focus is fast also. I will use this lens for years to come...

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Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM Standard Zoom Lens

Strengths: The image stabilizer is excellent;extremely versatile lens; beautiful, sharp pictures;

Weakness: a little bit heavy, a little bit abrupt/large mounted on aCanon Digital Rebel

The image stabilization is definitely worth the extra money. Its fuction is amazing. I can use it without tripod or other support under certain conditions. The pictures still looks very nice.

In addition, the lens are fast and quiet.

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Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM Standard Zoom Lens

Strengths: Image stablization is a great feature. USM motor is pretty fast

Weakness: slightly heavy

I had this lens for 10 days and used it for my Canon Digital Rebel. I took it to hiking and other outings. This is a good all-around lens and the zoom range covers pretty much all my needs. The IS is a good plus and I don't need to worry about taking a bulky tripod all the time.

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Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM

The Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM is a budget-friendly general-purpose lens labeled by critics as an upper-mid-grade unit. It features an image stabilizer for sharp images in dim lighting, a high zoom ratio, and a ring-type USM for quick but quiet autofocus. Critics say the manual focus ring is a tad too small and therefore requires familiarly if one is to quickly find and use it while...

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Best General Purpose and Travel Lens for Canon SLR Cameras

Bestcovery experts have rated the Canon 28-135mm IS USM EF Lens as a best pick for the Best General Purpose and Travel Lens for Canon SLR Cameras. This product has also been rated as a best pick for the Best Budget Canon Zoom Lens. Bestcovery's experts recommend the best products and services for a particular need based on extensive research and evaluations. Click below to see Bestcovery's full...

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Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS

TestSeek.com has collected 5 expert reviews for Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS and the average expert rating is 60 of 100. The average score reflects the expert community’s view on this product. Click below and use TestSeek.com to find all ratings, product awards and conclusions.

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