small light big range of focal length. good colours sharp in good light, portable, resistant to cold and hot weather

little light and not balancing the camera, if you use a heavier camera.

nice lens, good colours
i used it extensively in all conditions, silent, fast focusing, who cares if it is small and light who buys a lens to put it in the treasure vault, the essential is to buy the low investment lens and get the same results as with a very expensive lens. i used it also with film cameras and also digital.

who say it is a very bad lens, should try to change its field of activities because the fotography is not their domain.

Customer Service

not necessary

Similar Products Used:

tamron 24 - 80, sony 18 -70, canon 50, f1.8

Colour rendition
Zoom range
Portable

Cheap build
Slowish autofocus (not the slowest though)
Slow f number

I bought this together with a Canon 500 in cash converters. My version is III made in Japan if that helps. I just now scanning some kodak portra I shot with this set up and am amazed with the results. Colour rendition is fantastic and decent sharpness. I use voigtlander lenses all the time which are well regarded as well as zuikos OM and this lens its holding it's ground well. And for the record I shot almost all shots wide open because I was doing portraits.
OK its not as sharp as the prime lenses and surely not as fast but the zoom range is perfect for what I do- people and wide angle-
I have not tried L lenses but this lens certainly gave me satisfying results.

Customer Service

not used

Similar Products Used:

Nikon 18-55mm kit lens
Nikon 50mm f1.8
Voigtlander Nokton 50mm f1.5
Zuiko 85mm f2
Tamron 90 mm sp f2.5
Many other Zuikos

Cheap lightweight Quiet quick focusing

Image quality not that good cheap plastic and flimsy not as good as the mark 1

The very first 28-80 usm was fantastic then they ruined the mk2,They should all have just about stopped working by now.Then they have improved them slightly each mark after that.True its not an l glass lens but how many of these could you buy for the price of the 28-70L lense? Its ok for people just starting out.It takes a decent quality pic at f8+ and the contrast isn't bad and it is very light especially with a eos 500 or 300 body

Customer Service

not needed

Similar Products Used:

canon sigma tokina tamron consumer and pro lines

* Fast AF * Optics, resolutions * Size and weight (makes for easy hand held use) * Good for beginners, casual photographers * Inexpensive * Good choice to learn with

* Will be found to be limiting as skills improve and develop.

This lens isn't as bad as some reviewers have made it out to be. No, it's not an "L" lens. Nor is it comparable to an "ATX". This is lens was not designed with the pro in mind. It's a consumer grade lens designed with the beginning photographer in mind. The lens does have a little distortion at one end or another. However, I haven't had any problems with it in my pictures, where it counts. It has a fast and quiet AF. This lens had surprisingly good resolution. I've gotten good results with enlargements taken with Kodak Max 400. My prints have come back clear and sharp. The lens is small and light. This makes the lens easy to carry and takes little space in the camera bag. It also makes for easy hand held use. Again, this is not designed for the pro. The pro or serious ameteur will not be satisfied with this lens. It was designed with the beginner in mind. The beginner will be at least content with it as he/she learns basic photography. Another lens with a longer focal range and/or larger apetures will be desired later. As one's skills develop and improve, you'll find the lens limiting. But for now it will server its user in mind just fine. These days, you can get Canon's 28-90 for not much more. If I'm correct, Canon is now (or will be soon) introducing a 28-105 lens as its kit or stock lens.

Customer Service

N/A

Similar Products Used:

Pentax f/1.4 Sigma 28-200 Hyperzoom DL

Light sharp good minimum focusing distance holds its own against a 28-70 f/2.8 L great for beginners through intermediate photographers quick, accurate focus

plasit build (though, haven't had a problem) distortion (though, not bad) vignetting (though, not bad) lacking f/2.8 end of barrel rotates (not good for polarizing or gradient filters)

This is a review of the Mk II version of this lens. My virtual reality research group recently purchased a very nice Canon D60 with a Canon 28-70L lens. Out of curiosity, I did come comparison shots with my cheap 28-80 zoom and the nice L lens. Honestly, it was hard to tell the difference. The L is (of course) a better lens, but with the 28-80 stopped down to at least f/8, it was very, very hard to see a difference in sharpness (even at f/3.5 or f/5.6, though, it was a close call). In fact, in a few double-blind tests my wife (who is also a photographer) and I could not see the difference between the two. Now, I didn't compare distortion, so that is still a factor. Colors came out differently between the two as well. The cheap lens produced slightly warmer colors in several situations. This had the effect of making the photos more attractive, however. The cheap lens has a smaller mininum focusing distance (38cm versus 50cm for the L lens). It also is much, much smaller and lighter. You shouldn't necessarily compare a consumer lens with a professional lens, but I couldn't resist. What can I say? This lens came with my cheap Canon EOS300 kit, and it holds its own. The L lens is better, but for a non-professional, is it $1500 better? Now that I have improved as a photographer, I am wishing that I had a slightly better lens, but the light weight of this one and my little comparison with the 28-70 f/2.8 L has made me hang on to it.

Customer Service

none. It has even been backpacking in the alps and it still works fine.

Similar Products Used:

Canon 28-70 f/2.8 L

Light, sharp, and inexpensive.

As with all zooms, it is prone to flar, and some what reduced contrast.

This is a good lens if used within it's limitations. Stop it down to at least f8, 1/film speed for the shutter, or a stable tripod, avoid flare situations, and you will get sharp, relativly contrasty pictures. Many slam this lens as a cheap "Kit" lens, and it is packaged as a kit, and it is a "consumer" grade lens. All of this does not cause it to be a bad lens. It provides a useful range of focal lengths, fast focus, and sharp, relativly contrasty photos. From some of the comments though, I can see that consistency in build quality may be some what lacking.

Customer Service

Haven't had to use it.

Similar Products Used:

Canon 100-300 5.6L Canon 50mm 1.8 Mark II

CONTRASTY,SHARP,FAST and SILENT and LIGHT,very LIGHT!And also-focuses realy close!

Some pincushion appears but its not that bad.Feels a little cheesy,and the MF-ring is loose

Gosh you people dont know what are you talking about!This lens is a CONSUMER lens NOT AN "L" LENS!And it is very stupid to compare it with one of these.Yes,it has pincushion within the whole range,yes,it is not very solid,but it IS constrasty and it IS sharp,it focuses FAST and SILENT,and it focuses CLOSE,closer than your highly glorified "L" lenses,and it is LIGHT(very light!)And at the end,it is a nice lens,it is a bargain for the price!

Customer Service

never needed

Similar Products Used:

EF 28-80/2.8 "L" ; EF 28-105/3.5-4.5 USM

Reasonable cost, and sharp photos. Focuses fast and quiet as a mouse!

Very plasticy, and plastic lens mount. The zoom control is slightly rough sounding.

I got this lens with my Elan 7 camera, and was almost afraid to use it after reading all the comments slamming it. But took it on a trip and came back with some outstanding pictures. Very sharp and colorful. I am at a loss to see what these naysayers are talking about! Sure, it is plasticy, and the build quality is not the greatest.....but the pictures tell the true story. Even had one picture I was particularly proud of blown up to 11 x 14 with 400 speed film. Still sharp, sharp, sharp!

Customer Service

not yet needed

Similar Products Used:

Tamron 28-80 Sigma 28-80

Quite OK for beginners, only for beginners, absolute beginners. This is the only pro I can think of. With this piece of lens you can learn about limitations and features SLR camera offers you. The more experienced you are, the more angry for the quality of shots taken with this lens.

No sharpness at all!!! At any ''f''! The more you use it, the worse is the sharpness. Maybe when the lens is new its sharpness could be acceptable but after taking 100 rolls - it''s almost a crap, the rings are quite loosy etc. Poor contrast. Don''t be a fool - get yourself other, better lens. This one is just a crap, sorry to admi :-( For this price you can buy much much better compact camera...

SHARPNESS - this is the feature this lens lacks the most. And contrast too. It could be acceptable for beginners who just threw their compact cameras. But - as other advise - better buy only the body and other better, sharper lens.

Customer Service

not needed

Similar Products Used:

Canon "L" series, Sigma, Tokina, Tamron...

Looks like a lens

Looks like a plastic lens. Results will never satisfy you, and you won''t enjoy using it. Too heavy to be worth carrying and too light to act as a decent door-stop.

Bundled with Eos bodies just to provide ''a zoom outfit'' to sell. Horrible in use - plastic feel and very poor results. Do yourself a real favour - swap it for some (any) money off one of the fixed focus 50mm Canon lenses. Even the cheapest f1.8 50mm at £80 retail is infinitely preferable in image quality.

Customer Service

None used

Similar Products Used:

Bell and Howell 35-70mm and Pentax K 75-150mm some years back; Canon USM 28-105mm, 75-300mm and 75-300mm IS more recently - til I gave one away and traded the others towards a 70-200mm L lens and som