Canon - 'walkabout' lenses.

magpieant

magpieant

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Anyone got any views on these 2 lenses ...

Canon 28-135mm f3.5-5.6 IS USM

and the more expensive

Canon 24-105 F4 IS USM



Just contemplating purchasing one of these as a general walkabout lens.

Your views please.

Anth
 
I can't speak for the 28-135mm as I've never tried it. But the 24-105mm is excellent. Possibly a little long on a 1.6x crop body but it depends what you're looking for. As far as quality goes it's not lacking. It's certainly a lens I'll use if I'm not sure what I'm going to be shooting even though at f/4 it can't be classed as fast, but it more than makes up for this in versatility. And bear in mind... this is coming from a diehard prime fan!

cheers
 
I use the Canon 24-105 F4L IS USM, its rarely off the camera and gives me excellent results. On occasions I do find its not quite wide enough at the short end, so I also have a 12-24 WA if I need it
 
My missus uses a 28-135 on her 30D. It's a reasonable value for money lens, good enough for travelling snaps and general stuff but falls short for serious stuff. Use stopped down a couple from wide open and it's sharp enough but doesn't quite give the pop that the higher spec zooms have.
They are prone to "zoom creep" as they age but it's more of an inconvenience than a problem.

Bob
 
since its a interchangable lens camera I don't have a walkaround lens but I would say you'll probably change to and from a 24/28-xxx lens more than if you use a 17-55mm type lens. on a 135 camera then the 24-105 makes perfect sense
 
out of those two the 24-105 wins hands down,

is it a crop or full frame body what other glass have you considered
 
I am kinda new to photography, and am still way low on the learning curve, but I got the 28-135 as part of a kit with my 40D. The only other lens I have right now is a 70-300 (that I use very infrequently), so the 28-135 is primary lens....

I've not been happy with the sharpness of the pics for a long time, but sent to Canon a few months back and now get much better results. They sync'ed or tuned lens/body. (I can't remember the word used....)

Having said that, I don't think the 28 gets wide enough at the short end, so I'm thinking of replacing with another lens, probably a 17-55 or 17-40L (depending on how much money I have to spend at the time.).

If I had it to do all over again, I would not get the 28-135.
 
I have a 24-105. Have to say that it's not the most amazing lens optically, I'm sure that my 70-200 has a slight edge over it. Having said that, it is very good optically, to which you can then add IS, good AF, a useful close in range of just 50cm, not killer heavy and a very usable range.
Check places like the FM forums and many rate it as the best walkabout lens in the Canon range.
 
I had the 28-135mm lens for years... I thought I liked it and it produced good results...

But then I got a 24-105mm lens...

Blown away... It's far superior!!! I have heard the 24-70mm L is a better lens but I prefered having that extra 35mm at the top end. The extra 4mm at the bottom end makes the world of difference... however I am thinking of getting the 17-40mm but that's in the future!

It depends on your budget and outlook... the 28-135mm is a good lens... its just the 24-105mm is better... but is it worth an extra £600... only you can decide!

M
 
Surely it depends entirely on the format? IMHO, 24-105 is perfect walkabout range on full frame, but 17-55 is much better on a crop camera.
 
how about the 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM? I really like it and is great for a walkabout lens on a crop camera
 
As a general walkabout on a cropped canon have you considered the Tamron 28-75mm 2.8?

Very sharp and very good value for money ;)
 
david1701 said:
out of those two the 24-105 wins hands down,

is it a crop or full frame body what other glass have you considered
Click to expand...

Would agree, BUT there is a huge difference in price, so would expect it to be much better. I have the 28-135 IS (or rather had, as my daughter seems to have "borrowed" it :lol:) and am very pleased with the results. I would like / am saving for a 24-105, but only because 1. my daughter is now using the 28-135 and 2. would like to upgrade. I have absolutley no regrets with the 28-135 and have no hesitation recommending it. :thumbs:

If you want to see some examples she took with the lens, have a look in the motorsport section for my thread re Oulton Park on last bank holiday monday :thumbs:
 
24-105 any day, well built sharp lens. had the 28-135 found to be soft against L series lens
 
Okies - some cracking responses there.

i had heard some quality stuff about the 24-105 lens too.

Looking to buy second hand - not sure i can afford either yet ;) But a massive price range between the two.

Will have a look into the Tamron too thanks. Been using a 17-70mm Sigma on the Nikon, which I loved, but do like the idea of the extra 35mm too!!

Oooh, decisions, decisions!!

Cheers

Anth.
 
must admit ant, I use the canon 17-85mm IS as my "Walkabout" and never had any issues. Its a bit more reach than the 70 you're used to but not as much as the 105 you mention.

Just another spanner thrown into the works :)
 
24-105 is a cracking lens, absolutely fantastic - would be even better on a full frame camera but at times can be just slightly too long on a 1.6 crop camera at 24mm.

Having said that I have the 10-22 as well, but the 24-105 is rarely off my camera.
 
I would avoid the 17-85mm IS
I had one for a year and although it looks good on paper it always let me down at the wide end of things. Just try taking pictures with verticals near the edge of the frame
for a cropped body 17mm is nice to have though...
for plenty of cash the L glass is nice, but 16-35 (or 17-40) doesn't go very far
17-55 IS Canon is great apparantly, very sharp for EF-S glass.
I have a cheaper alternative, the Tamron 17-50 which is a compromise.
however, it doesn't destroy your verticals at 17mm so makes a great tourist lens.
It serves me very nicely for the time being but is a lot noisier to use than a nice quiet canon USM lens
 
I just got the 28-135mm for this very purpose, very pleased with it.

Nice and weighty, fast focusing, of the few shots so far I am liking the sharpness and clarity.

I'm just a hobbyist though...L glass is something which I am unlikely to purchase for a very long time.

I think it has met my needs spot on and I am very happy with it.
 
I have the 28-135 on a 1.6 crop camera. The lens is good, but not great. The range is very good, for group shots of 6 people or more then you need to get a distance away, but apart from that, it can take some nice landscape style shots (my widest lens is 17-55, I hired the 10-24, but found I used around 22mm most of the time for landscapes as it was easier to frame, but perhaps that is just me).
One downer (as someone has already mentioned), is that if you have the camera around your neck, and walk-around, the lens is prone to extending. However in use taking a shot I have not had this problem. Has a decent focusing speed.
The lens has done well for the almost 3 years I have had it, but I am now considering whether there is a lens like the 24-105 in quality, but with a bigger aperture. (and within budget).
 
My choice is the 17-55 f2.8 is. it is a touch heavy but is an Ideal range for me. I do not use long lenses.
 
I have the 28-135 on my 5D, and am very pleased with it. I may just have a very sharp copy, but it is more than good enough for my needs. Very well built, quiet, fast focussing. Great range on a full frame body.

Clearly the 24-105 would be better, but then it should be. In terms of used prices, it is £400 more.
 
Personally, I use the EF 35mm f/2 as a walkabout. Really light and small so you can shoot from the hip without worrying too much about framing or having to zoom.

George.
 
Mr_Sukebe said:
I have a 24-105. Have to say that it's not the most amazing lens optically
Click to expand...

Well then my friend, you have a duff specimen because my 24-105 is the sharpest non-prime I've ever used and I've got a 70-200 f2.8 IS and had a few other L zooms to compare to. The 24-70 f2.8L is the only lens I've ever found to challenge it in that "walkabout" range and even then they are optically equal at best so the IS and extra focal length vs the wider aperture are the only features you have to consider.
 
out of those 2 I would go for the 105 as its not a bad lens
I would not go as far as to say fantastic, just handy and better than the 28-135.
 
Although not as sharp as my 70-200, when I nail it, the 24-70L is very nice, looking at the tokina 11-16 to complete the range.

Even when I walk about I have two body's.
 
Here's another suggestion . Have a look at the 28-105 F3.5/4.5. A lot cheaper than the L but sharp, quick focussing, light, lovely wee lens.
 
I have a 24-105 and I can assure you that it's a great lens :thumbs:

3551352854_95ae85ed74.jpg
 
Am I alone in wanting a 15-65mm for crop format, with constant f/4 and IS? High quality/price. If it focused down to maybe 1ft (1:4ish) I'd hardly ever need another lens. That's 24-105mm in Canon full frame terms, and I would rather have that range and lose the f/2.8 aperture than the (excellent) 17-55 2.8 IS which I currently use.

But thinking about it, I'm not sure there is any zoom shorter than 17mm that also goes over 50mm, let alone 65mm, so I guess it's the wide end that is the problem. Or is it just that nobody else wants one ;)
 
I started out with a EF 28-135mm that produced very decent images but soon found it lacking at the wide end on a crop body.
I'd vote for the EF 24-105mm L too it is a superb quality lens both in terms of optical performance and build quality.
However I recently acquired a EF-S 17-85mm as a lightweight walk about lens for when I dont want to carry my EF-S 10-22mm about with me, and as a jack of all trades I think it is a cracking lens as well.
In my opinion I don't think that there is £500 worth of difference between them, but you have the assurance that L lenses will hold their value well.
 
Some more quality answers - cheers.

Although I don't know what I'm thanking you lot for ...... you either cost me a fortune, leave me longing for things I can't afford, or give me so much choice I never know what to buy!!!

Looking like the 24-105 is the favoured lens. Now all i need to do is be able to afford one!!!

It's my birthday in July, so that;ll give everyone time to donate a fiver now in time for me to buy one! Please PM for bank and paypal details ;)

Cheers

Anth
 
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