7D 28-135 Kit Lens

I will be purchasing the 7D this weekend and would like some feedback as far as opinions on the 28-135 kit lens. Any thoughts positive or negative are appreciated.

Congrats on the pending purchase!

Here is the image archive for that lens.
https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=188563

I bought one used, and love it for outdoor stuff. I use my Tamron 17-50 for indoor.

The big question is what will you be shooting? Will 28mm be wide enough or not. For my indoor snapshots of the kids, I need the 17mm sometimes. But your needs might be different, so only you can decide if it meets your needs. So once you get it, just play around with it for a couple weeks and then you'll know if it is the right lens for you or not. If not, sell it and use the money towards something else that will fit your needs better.

I really do not understand why Canon kits the 28-135 with their 1.6X bodies. 28mm on the wide end makes this a niche lens for most 1.6X shooters. Much better choices abound. I'd greatly prefer the 15-85 lens if possible, and barring that I consider the EF-S 18-55 IS a better lens on 1.6X than the 28-135.

I have the 28-135 and the 18-55 IS on my XSI. I bought the 28-135 used and really like it. The IS is older so it doesn't perform as well as the 18-55 IS kit lens. But for outdoor use and well lit indoor use I love it. I use it about 90% of the time. I really don't see a problem with the 28mm. Take a few steps back and you're good to go. From my experience my 18-55 kit lens is just as sharp as the 28-135 and from a novice perspective the only difference I can tell is the 28-135 vignettes more at the extremes, the 18-55 is solid all the way through.

I know there are better lenses out there, but for $200? Get it, for the price it's a winner.

My thoughts on the 28-135. I got mine in a kit w/ my 40D. Used it once when the camera was new, then tossed it in the closet and forgot about it. Hated not having anything wider on the crop sensor. Its not a fast lens either (aperture). Never took it out of the closet until I got my 5DII body only. Now it is a good focal range for walk around again, even if it is not the best lens in the world. I would get body only.

it sucks! you should sell it to me for $150... jk from what i've read its a good lens.

I had it for awhile, but just sold it. Takes decent pictures, good range. One thing I hated was the the zoom creep. It doesn't have a zoom lock feature.

JeffreyG wrote in post #9059144
I really do not understand why Canon kits the 28-135 with their 1.6X bodies. 28mm on the wide end makes this a niche lens for most 1.6X shooters. Much better choices abound. I'd greatly prefer the 15-85 lens if possible, and barring that I consider the EF-S 18-55 IS a better lens on 1.6X than the 28-135.

This is very interesting, as I have been wondering myself, why Canon does this in the USA. Here in Europe the standard kit lens for the 7D is the 18-135 IS, with the 15-85 IS as an alternative.

Kind regards, Wim

Awesome info, thanks for all the posts. I do have a 18-55 that came with my XSi but would like to step up to a 7d, will this lens prove a worthy component on a 7d body? Thanks again for all the replys.

Now's your chance to get a better kit-package. The 7D+15-85 combo is now being discounted in many places I look. In Toronto, it is $300 less than the price announced at launch.

kwando wrote in post #9059805
it sucks! you should sell it to me for $150... jk from what i've read its a good lens.

Check your signature. Do you have a 15-85 or 18-55?

Knoxville81 wrote in post #9064266
Awesome info, thanks for all the posts. I do have a 18-55 that came with my XSi but would like to step up to a 7d, will this lens prove a worthy component on a 7d body? Thanks again for all the replys.

Like I said in my post, I expected better IQ with my 28-135, but from everything I can tell the 28-135 is equal to or worse than my 18-55 in IQ. It's a good lens, but don't expect it to take crisper, sharper, more saturated pictures. My first impressions were I had to bump up my in-camera saturation to equal my 18-55IS. But i'm just one opinion.

But I love the USM (I take pics of moving subjects often so the AI servo keeps up due to USM), I love the all-time manual focus, and I love the versatility of the range. For those reasons I leave it on my camera most of the time.

The 28-135 is an old lens. As far as IQ goes, it is average. Nothing great, and definitely no better than the 18-55. In fact my 18-55 IS trashes the 28-105/28-135 even wide open. Lens design has improved a lot over the past few years. If I were buying a *new* lens, I surely would get something else.