Can't go wrong with 2.8 apperture. "L" series should be named "O" for Outstanding, Out-of-this-world quality. Excellent zoom range.

Too long for onboard flash. A bit on the heavy side (not too disapointing though)

When I read the reviews about this lens a great deal of them called it 'outstanding','superb' and 'can't say enough good things...'. After three months of heavy use I understand what they meant. The first three photos I took with this lens was just outside my appartment on a sunrise. The results were better than being there in person; and you will have to get use to this. The only caveat with the lens is that being a short~lenght zoom (28~70mm) your subjects will probably always be within flash range. Don't use the onboard flash however. The lens is large enough to produce a black shadow on your flash pictures large enough to ruin the photo. Beign a pricey item, however, bear in mind the following if you are discouraged about espending this amount of money on glass: 1. This may very well be the only lens you need for most situations and it will produce professional results. 2. You can't go wrong with 2.8 aperture. I'll be glad to send anybody a sample of a picture taken with the lens and then the same scene taken with a 1.4x adapter. The aperture was reduced to 5.6 and the same beautiful picture now looked terrible... 3. Cameras change every couple of years where as lenses. . . well, lenses are forever.

Customer Service

Very, very good service.

Similar Products Used:

Canon 70-200 L 2.8 with IS

Sharp, very good contrast and color.

A little bit heavy

This is a great lense. Sharp, very good contrast and color. Auto focus in low light with my D60 is also very fast. Highly recommended.

1) Sharp even wide open 2) Fast and decisive AF 3) Good control of field curvature (barrel and pincushion) 4) Buttery smooth AF and zoom rings 5) Balances well with pro-level bodies 6) Sharpness and colour beyond reproach for a zoom lens

1) Front moves when zooming, necessitating the permanent use of the easily-scratched lens hood

This is the one that I've been aspiring to get ever since I got serious, this and the 70-200L. Now I have both and a happy camper am I :) The thing that strikes me is the similarity in performance between the 28-70 2.8L and the 70-200 2.8L, focal length notwithstanding. Now I never have to worry about sharpness, contrast, shadow detail and AF speed whether I'm shooting events, sports, weddings etc. With the question of quality out of the way, all I need to worry about is my composition and timing. Long Live L!

Customer Service

Canon Malaysia generally gives very good service to even non-pros. Kudos to the team!

Similar Products Used:

28-135IS, 70-200 4L, 70-200 2.8L, 50MkII.

Fast, Sharp, Pro Quality, not that heavy to me. and the most important thing that not many people mention is HIGH RESALE VALUE. New one(imported) at B&H cost only $949 but the used one on EBAY sold around $800-$950. I try to buy used first but no one willing to sell lower than $800 so I end up with the new one instead. Very Happy :)

Can not use to open the can. ;P

Just get it if you can afford it. It is the best of the best in this range zoom. Worth every penny.

Customer Service

none

Similar Products Used:

Canon 100mm Macro

- Price performance - Superb quality over the entire zoom, apperture, and focus range - Quiet and accurate AF - Built quality

Considering this lens is almost 10 years old (first released in Nov, 1993), certain features of this lens will need to be updated/fine-tuned to liveup to the specs. of a mordern-day "L" lens (e.g. moisture+dust resistance, USM speed, Circular appertures).

Being my first Canon "L" lens, this zoom lens certainly is worth every penny especially at the current price level. A versatile zoom lens - must have for any serious Canon fans. A note (not a comment on its weakness!) to potential buyers of this lens: This is a heavy (strong arms a prerequisite for handling this lens) and huge lens (esp. with the supplied hood attached), there are two things you might want to consider before going for it. 1) Which camera body will you be attaching this lens to? A body with comparable built and weight (e.g. E0S-1V) will be required to achieve good balance and handling. 2) If lightness and discreetness is what you require of your photo equipments, then you should definitely check out the weight and size of this gem (attached to say, an EOS-1V body) before reaching for your plastic... And lastly, this lens is almost 10-yrs old, chances are that Canon might come up with a newer version anytime soon, but expect the price to be substantially higher than the current model.

Similar Products Used:

Canon EF35mm f/2 Canon EF50mm f/1.8 Canon EF35-105mm f/4.5-5.6 Canon EF100-300mm f/5.6

Its optical quality, well-built... and I am happy to be behind it when I am going to take a picture with it, always.

Although, I am satisfied with its quality but my smile will fade away after I have to carry it for a long time, its weight is nearly kill me.

I have been using Tamron 24-135mm for a while, yes of course I was satisfied with its wide-range of zoom. But after I purchased canon 28-70mm f2.8L, I realized what is Tamron can not satisfied me, it is the shapness, firm-feeling, focusing speed and color satulation. When I had this lens a try with Fuji superia400, I was surprised with the color and its shapness. Although I am not a pure or a real photographer, I can tell you that this lens has its own magic, the pictures looked like they were 3D, and the color satulation was hard to believe.(I love to see my pictures in high-contrast) This lens makes me feel good when I look through it. I also purchased canon 70-200mm f2.8L, I tried these two lens at the same roll of film, the result is about to say that they were designed to be together, the pictures looked like they came from the same story. I told myself how lucky I was to be able to purchased these two lens with the price under 1400usd, and their condition is undistinguishiable from the new ones.

Customer Service

Have not use yet....

Similar Products Used:

Tamron 24-135mm, EF 70-200mm f2.8L

Large aperture for a zoom lens. High contrast with very fast focuing. Extremely sharp at the wide end and pictures are highly corrected through out the zoom range, unlike its cheaper brothers which I am still using. Being over ten years old, this lens is still the top performer when pitted against the much newer Nikon AFS.

Heavy, pictures are a bit too contrasty sometimes. Makes skin tone a bit unnatural. But this can be easily retified by using some less contrastly films. The extension of the front elements during zooming can attract dusts into the barrel although it is pretty well sealed. If you look at the Nikon 28-70 AFS, it has a fix length design.

I have tried out every standard zoom lenses in the Canon lineup, from 28-80 f3.5-4.5 to the 28-70 f2.8. This L lens is absolutely stunning. I have used it to photo several weddings, and most of the pictures came out "better" than I expected them to be. Some of the guests later complained about the pictures being too sharp becuase they could see their wrinkles all over their faces and necks. Too bad then!

Similar Products Used:

Sigma 28-70 2.8, Canon 24-85 3.5-4.5, Canon 28-105 3.5-4.5, Canon 28-80 3.5-5.6 II (My first auto lens).

Sharp, no compromise in picture quality. Fast, silent AF, full time manual. Constant 2.8 aperture.

Really would be nitpicking here but here goes: Its a hefty piece of glass, especially with the hood attached and this can hardly be described as a discreet, inconspicuous lens. Not really a weakness but an IS feature would be a godsend, especially for low/available light work.

In a word, the sharpness of this lens can be described in one word, "ouch!", and this is even at 2.8! After using this lens for more than a year, I still get that "wow!" factor from viewing some of the shots from this lens and this continues to justify the high price tag. I use this lens for weddings in conjunction with a number of other EF primes and there is hardly any compromise in terms of sharpness. AF is also fast, silent and doesn''t hunt. Used in conjunction with eye-focussing, its a dream come true. Now if only Canon would make one of these zooms with IS! Would classify it as a workhorse lens and the only time it''s taken off the mount is when I need a faster aperture than 2.8 or a wider or longer focal length than its zoom range. Overall, this lens definitely earns its keep and deserves a place in any serious Canon arsenal, its built with a purpose and will not disappoint.

Customer Service

never had to use it.

Similar Products Used:

EF 20mm 2.8 USM EF 24mm 2.8 EF 50mm 1.4 USM EF 100mm 2.0 USM EF 28-135mm USM IS

Optically first rate for a zoom or any lens for that matter. I have owned the 28mm 2.8 and the 50mm 1.4 and, yes, they were "better" at their respective focal lengths. However, this lens is outstanding across the board and has never disappointed me. The small zoom range is not a problem for me, but others may find it limiting. I guess I do have to mark it down in the "value" category though, since the 28-135 IS is half the price, has almost twice the zoom range, and produces great quality pictures too.

Heavy, huge with the hood on. People see you coming, and want to know what you are doing.

The zoom to have. I have owned the 28-135 IS zoom, and it is wonderful. I traded it in a deal that brought me the 28-70 2.8L and have never regretted the swap. This lens just has a elusive quality that brings the best out of the film and camera I use. Slide film is unreal. Even consumer 400 speed developed at Walgreens looks better with this lens. On my EOS 3, with PB-E2, it is not an uncomfortable set-up. It looks imposing though, so be prepared for people to ask you just who the hell you are with that camera. This is an L lens, and the results are what you would hope for. Sharp, low distortion, colors that "pop" especially with slide film.

Customer Service

not used

Similar Products Used:

28-135 IS, 28-80 USM, 80-200 2.8L, 100-400 IS L

Fast f.28 Durable lightning auto focus Incredible sharpness Great hood design

A bit heavy Front element extends on the wide end but if you keep your lens hood on you should never have a problem Price

WOW............was the first word out of my mouth when I picked up a few rolls of velvia after shooting with this lens. I previously owned a Tokina at-x pro 28-80 which is an awsome lens itself. But after shooting with this canon lens I just can''t believe how much better the results are in all area''s I.E. wide open/shut down at all settings. Under a 8X loop the chromes a just flat out awesome----end of story. The few complaints I have read in the past are just nosense. As in every product we comsumers buy there will always be something we don''t like, but keep in mind that current lenses of today are truley works of art technically speaking, but after seeing the results from this lens Im not bothered by them in any way. Just by the lens, sit back and hold on!

Customer Service

In twenty years with Canon products I have never once had to send anything in for service.

Similar Products Used:

Sigma 28-70mm (returned two of them and both had problems. Tokina at-x pro 28-80mm