Today, Photopurity takes a look at the Canon 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 Image Stabilized telephoto zoom lens from Canon. This lens showcases a number of impressive features not often found in a lens of this size. The first immediate pull is the lens’ impressive range. Most standard zoom lenses stretch to 105mm (some even less) whereas this canon goes to a nice 135mm. The extra reach is definitely appreciated especially on a full frame body.
The next much appreciated feature is the Image Stabilization. With an maximum f/stop of 3.5 that quickly reaches 5.6 in the zoom range most users are going to appreciate (and at times definitely *need*) the IS system in this lens. IS allows users to “break” the rule of thumb and shoot below the generally accepted guidelines in dim lighting conditions. (It will not help at all with rapidly moving subjects).
The lens is fairly compact, light weight and in general doesn’t add much to your camera. To be fair, a user of the smaller, more compact APS-C cameras will notice the weight and balance more than a Full Frame user. On a Full frame body the lens is hardly noticeable and does a great job of keeping everything well balanced in your hand.
So, yes this lens seems like a good performer in all the right areas, how does it measure up? Let’s take a closer look at each of the features individually and then sum up the conclusion of the matter.
Price
I always like to mention street price in my reviews because most consumers are so concerned with it. Its not often that a buyer can say, “Money is no object” because even if you have more money, we all would prefer to spend less. The Canon 28-135 IS USM can be had for around $299.99 in excellent condition from websites such as, www.amazon.com, www.adorama.com or even www.bhphotovideo.com. At $299.99 street, the canon is higher priced than some of its competitors such as the cheaper Canon 28-105mm f3.5/4.5 (sans IS). The sigma 28-70 f/2.8 can also be found around this price range. As far as I have been able to determine though, there is no other lens with the same range (28-135) with IS for a comparable price. Sigma offers an 18-125 OS DC (optically stabilized) lens for around the $330 price mark but that lens is only for cameras with a digital crop (APS-C) so its really can only be considered for competition if Full Frame is not a concern for you. Essentially at least as far as price considerations go, this lens at $300 isn’t exactly a budget zoom but its not an L series either. Its middle of the road.
Finish
Often an overlooked portion of a lens is its fit and build quality. Canon usually is regarded as one of the best in this respect but some of the others have been making strides (specifically thinking of Sigma with their EX lenses). This Canon 28-135 is made primarily of a type of plastic so its definitely lighter however its just “feels” less solid than some of the Canon’s more rigid offerings. During our testing time with this lens though at no point did the lens exhibit any cracking, unusual wear or even give the impression of flimsiness. It seems to be well constructed and the only limitations on it would be the inherent qualities of plastic fittings.
Image Stabilization
Canon pioneered Image Stabilization back in the day so it would be expected that they would have an effective system in the 28-135mm lens. The IS system definitely works however you have to balance that against how often you are going to actually need the IS. At the wide end of the zoom, you’re at 28mm which means you really only need a 1/30th of a second shutterspeed according to the general rule of thumb, how much slower do you practically need to go? Still, in case you would need the slower speed I was able to drop it down to 1/5 of a second and get a sharp picture of still vase. Again, this won’t be very practical for moving objects. At the long end, 135mm I was about to use 1/30th of a second shutter speeds and get consistently sharp pictures. I’d say you could go a little lower than that but your hit ratio might not be as high. When the IS is engaged you may hear a very soft hum coming from the lens, its generally quieter than the AF motor noise so its not noticeable.
AF Speed
I’ve said this for a while and I’ll repeat it, I believe a good portion of Autofocus is camera body dependent. Certain lens just don’t perform as well with certain bodies so you really have to test them on the type of body that you’ll be using to know exactly how they’ll perform. In this case I was using the Full Frame Canon 5D MK II, combined with this body the lens performed very admirably, snapping shots into focus in a crisp responsive manner. The AF noise was very quiet (which you should expect from a USM lens). In my time of using the camera I only had a few shots where the focus was missed and I expect that it was more a fault of the photographer than the lens or camera. Sometimes we ask for miracles…
Sharpness
The preoccupation of every photographer today…sharpness. How sharp is the lens? To quote a line from one of my favorite TV shows (Red Dwarf), “This lens is so sharp it looks like a piece of tinfoil rolled into a point, sprinkled with lemon juice and jabbed into someone’s eye!” Ok, maybe its not quite THAT sharp, but for all intensive purposes the lens produces very sharp results. At no point did I examine my picture and find myself disappointed with the sharpness of my photos. Just as a side note, remember that your in-camera sharpness settings can have an effect on the perceived sharpness or flatness of your photos.
Image Quality
What is more important to me than Sharpness is the overall image quality. A lot of factors go into making up the overall image quality, contrast, saturation, presence or absence of Chromatic Aberration, Vignetting etc. I won’t cover each aspect, I will only report on it as a whole. By and large the 28-135 lens produced excellent results at both wide and tele ends of the zoom. Contrast appeared very consistent and representative of actual shooting conditions. I felt the lens gave me excellent performance.
Conclusion
So, to sum everything up, what’s the verdict? Well, the Canon 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM is a lens that grows on you. Be careful not to expect too much from this lens initially or you might find yourself a little underwhelmed at the start, this is a lens that must be used extensively to truly appreciate. After some time you’ll find you really really like this little guy. At first I felt like it was a little overpriced and I started considering exchanging it for a Sigma 28-70 f/2.8 or similar for a faster (aperture speaking) zoom. However, you got to realize that you are losing 65mm off your zoom and that’s pretty darn significant. Compared to the Canon 28-105 f/3.5-4.5 you’d only be losing 30mm but even that small amount can be evident and what would be more evident with that lens is the lack of the IS system. Its a classic case of “You don’t know what you’re missing till its gone.” You use this lens for a while and then try using a shorter zoom or even a zoom without the nicely integrated IS system and you suddenly realize why you liked the 28-135 so much. Its an excellent performer and if you feel like $300ish is too much I urge you to try some of the alternatives, you might find your opinon changing quite a bit. So, is the Canon 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM a good purchase? You bet it is, go find your own copy and enjoy it!
