When someone is looking for a lens of decent quality, but affordable, then they can safely recommend the Canon EF 28-135mm f / 3.5-5.6 IS USM. It is the brightest member of the top of the mid-range image stabilization lenses, with a wide focal length range and a low price tag.
The Canon EF 28-135mm f / 3.5-5.6 IS USM lens fits nicely in the hand and is sized for easy portability. Dimensions and weight are of course relative, but most will find this model small and light. The plastic design allows for additional weight savings.
While not a privileged L-series, it still boasts build quality in the best Canon tradition.
Canon EF 28-135mm f / 3.5-5.6 IS USM focuses fast enough and very quietly, which is undoubtedly the merit of the ring USM ultrasonic motor. Manual focusing is also possible, with the manual focus ring not rotating during autofocus. This control is pretty narrow and it takes experience and knowledge to find it quickly while shooting. Information about the current focal length is displayed on the screen.
While the focus is at the wide end, the 28-135 looks like most mid-focal zoom lenses until it reaches another 135mm state.
Pictured from left to right: Canon EF 24 - 70mm f / 2.8 L USM.
If you look at the Canon EF 28-135mm f / 3.5-5.6 IS USM in terms of price / quality ratio, you can say that optically it works out for all the money. With a wide open aperture, the 28-135 IS is fairly sharp in the center of the image across the entire focal length range. It provides 28mm moderately soft corners, 35mm very soft corners, and fairly sharp mid-range corners. But don't expect drastic changes in sharpness from this lens when choosing small apertures. At f / 8, there are improvements that are noticeable over the wide-open hole, however the change is not that significant.
The most noticeable change is the reduction in vignetting. The Canon EF 28-135mm f / 3.5-5.6 IS USM shows this negative effect very strongly at 28mm wide open. Vignetting gradually decreases to almost imperceptible to 100 mm, and then slightly increases again by 135 mm. Users of 1.6 FOVCF cameras will notice much less distortion - mostly in corners below 35mm.
Strong convex distortion at 28 mm will be noticeable even on a 1.6 sensor. You will see a distortion effect in the center of the image. The minimum negative changes will be noted at 40 mm. From 70 mm distortion is enhanced and observed up to 135 mm.
When using the flash, it is recommended to wear a hood over the lens. In our case, it is included in the package.
Chromatic aberration is visible in the corners even on the 1.6 sensor - especially at the ends of the focal length range and especially at 135mm, where it is especially pronounced.
The presence of bokeh (clarity of the foreground and a high-quality blurred background) is good, but the 6-segment hole does not allow us to talk about any special properties or advantages of this model. Creating a diffusely blurred background is not one of the lens's strengths due to the moderately wide aperture. At 135mm, some blur is created if the subject is relatively close and / or the background is far enough away.
The available maximum aperture range is from f / 3.5 at 28mm to f / 4 at 38mm, for 50mm f / 4.5, f / 5 near 65mm, and finally f / 5.6 from 85mm to 135mm. These are decent values for a mid-range zoom lens, but not for high-quality low-light performance.
The best feature of the USM lens is its wide focal length range. It is not difficult to find an application for 28-135 mm. For family photography on vacation and travel, it can also be used for landscape photography and photojournalism, this lens is able to cover a wide range of your creative needs.
Along with its focal length range, Image Stabilization (IS) is a feature that makes this lens one of the most attractive in its class. Some photographers have questioned the usefulness of stabilization for the short focal length of a zoom lens, but we can safely say that it is very convenient.If the target is not moving, you can shoot in much less light than without IS, and the ISO can be set lower to avoid noise. To activate, or, more simply, to move to a position, you must press the shutter release halfway. There will be a quiet start-up sound of the stabilizer, the image in the viewfinder will jump a little (this is an old version of IS, but still very convenient), and then bounce back (unlike a camera that has its own stabilization system). Note that IS must be disabled when using a tripod. Failure to do so may result in erratic image stabilization.
With a minimum focal length of 500mm, the Canon EF 28-135mm f / 3.5-5.6 IS USM provides a fairly low maximum magnification of 0.19 x at 135mm. This is good enough for shooting flowers and other medium, small subjects. The addition of extensions shortens the focusing distance and provides significant (macro) 0.53x and 1.09x maximum magnifications for 12mm and 25mm extensions, respectively.
Canon lens hood EW-78B II is not included. It would be nice to purchase it additionally, since its importance can hardly be overestimated. Also the case is not included in the package.
Conclusion
The Canon EF 28-135mm f / 3.5-5.6 IS USM provides a wide focal length range, fairly sharp images and a relatively low price tag. This is a very popular lens. If you are looking for a good 28mm zoom lens and your budget is tight, the Canon EF 28-135mm f / 3.5-5.6 IS is the perfect choice.
