USM

All the rest.
I was REALLY upset when I developed my first film. Quality of pictures is the same as taken with P&S camera. Later I bought 50/1.8. Incomparable.

Buying this lens is relatively inexpensive way to learn that first one have to make a research and only then run to shop. Probably the worst Canon lens.

Similar Products Used:

None

Small & Light.
USM.

Too much of a plastic feel.
Manual focus too sensitive.

Not impressed with the lens and disappointed it needed to be repaired after 6 months of use (AF stopped working).
Packaging it with an Elan IIE detracts from overall quality of the body, especially when Canon makes better EF lenses.

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None

USM motor.
light weight.

Deadful image quality
Poor build quality

This lense is honestly one of the worst lenses on the market.

The images it produces are invariably lacking in sharpness and contrast. This is particularly pronounced when shooting indoors.

It is the kind of lense which cannot do justice to any EOS body.

The bottom line is, a perfectly exposed and in-focus picture can be ruined by the sometimes appalling image quality produced by this lens.

Avoid getting this lens at all costs! The 50mm 1.8 is a MUCH better buy.

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USM is great.
Light
common 58mm filter size.

plastic
could be quicker, but not at this price
sharpness

I would recommend against this as your first lense, and instead recommend canon's 50mm F1.8 which is of similar cost. This lense isn't very sharp which is clear even to a beginner. At F3.5 its not very quick, but you get what you pay for. The 50mm however is very quick, very sharp, and to me who loves crispness, a much better choice. Go with another lense as your first lense, trust me you'll be disappointed with this one.

Customer Service

Never needed

Similar Products Used:

sigma 105mm macro, and other manual focus Nikon and Pentax lenses. canon 50mm F1.8

No

Too much to write down

I don't even want to waste my words on this lens.
If you want to know how bad a lens is and could be,
or how silly you will be, just BUY this lens!
It always comes with Elan II, Elan IIE, Rebel 2000.
If you buy a SLR kit with this lens, or its brothers
28-90 USM and 28-200 USM lens, you definitely
should check your mind first. A Olympust Stylus
Epic (<$100) will definitely give you better picture
than this lens. Canon always make their SLR kit
with a Garbage lens! Be aware of that.

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None

Light, 28mm to 80mm Fairly Sharp

Cheap Feel, Auto Focus not so hot

Has work good so far. I have got some really sharp and nice pictures but I would like somthing better. I got my rebel X and lens for $300 new Canadian. What can I say it is not to bad for the price it was free. I would rather have it then a fixed focal lens, while the fixed focal lens may be sharper it does not do any good if you need to take one shot at 28mm and then one at 80mm you would get the picture all. So for action shots it is pretty good for the price! I have found anything under $800 is really not that BIG of a differance. So I have to say if your not making money with your pictures it is not all that bad.

Customer Service

Not used

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All Kinds!

Good starter lens. Quiet, fast, little to no hunting. Reasonable optics for the money.

An entry level lens. Learn on it, use it when damage is likely, spend $$$ to move up if you are serious. Don't be afraid to buy this lens if you are less than a pro. It's fine for family photography. Indoors it's too slow without a flash, but with a flash can produce excellent portraits.

It's a good GP lens that will produce excellent results if you can match it's strengths to the situation. No beginning photographer should hesitate to buy the package with this lens. It will take you years before you can see the difference. Remember, photography is about taking pictures not collecting gadgets. After you've taken 1000 rolls of film then buy an "L" lens for $1000 !! Before that why waste the money??

Customer Service

N/A

Similar Products Used:

The Nikon line, several german brands

USM
lightweight
fast focus (seldom hunts)
sturdy

not always crisp sharp
starts at F3.5/4.0 (and how I sometimes miss my old 50mm 1.7 ...)
brilliance could be better

Bought this one two years ago with an EOS 300. Dropped it twice (shattering the UV-filter..), still works perfectly. It's a fast lens and useful in a lot of situations. Only complaint I have is the feeling that pictures could sometimes be sharper. But it's not as bad as some writers wrote: Foto Magazine from Germany rated it as Sehr Gut (and that means Very Good) for the price.

Customer Service

Not needed

Similar Products Used:

Pentax MF 50mm 1.7
Soligor MF 70-200 4.0-5.6
(both on Pentax ME-super)

Um. (30 second pause), inexpensive.

Oh, boy.

This came with the Canon Rebel 2000 I purchased a couple of years ago. What a disappointment. No matter how stable my tripod, no matter what f-stop I used, I couldn't get a acceptably sharp shot. Once I ditched it and tried a Sigma 28-70 APO (stopped down below f4.0), I felt good about taking pictures again. Stay away from this lens, buy a body instead of a kit, and pick up the Tamron 28-80 or the Canon 28-80 II (both in the same price range or less, and both much better optically). The V is trouble, and I've head that the Canon 28-90 now being sold with kits isn't much better. Canon's cameras are great, but this lens...Ugh!

Similar Products Used:

Sigma 28-70mm f2.6-2.8 APO, Tamron 28-80 3.5-5.6

cheap; USM: slight and fast focus; lightweight; close distance focus; 58mm filter size

not very sharp; not very good build quality

A good beginners' lens.
As many said, this lens lacks sharpness, has a cheap feel. But for a beginer or a causal photographer, this lens is a decent one -- very good for the money. The optics is not THAT bad. It does the job well for the family/vacation pictures. For more serious beginers, you can learn on it, and save $$$ for a better lens (and everything else like a good tripod) when it's the lens, not your skill, limits your photo taking. Besides, the lens can produce excellent results if you know how to use it to its maximum.
I got into photography with this lens, and I should say I learnt a lot with it. One year later, I bought a Tamron 24-135 to replace this one but I did not regret purchasing the EF 28-80mm. I do believe that for a beginner, sharping his/her skills is more important than a sharper lens. If you're a beginer, and budget is a concern, I recommend this lens. Another lens I'd like to recommend is the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8, about the same price and excellent optical quality.

Customer Service

None for this lens. But called canon for another one. They were nice but not very knowledgable. I made several calls, only the last person knew what we're talking about. Overall, not bad.

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Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 macro USM
Canon EF 50mm f/1.8
Canon EF 75-300mm USM
Canon EF 20mm f/2.8