EF 28-135mm IS USM

I have the chance to pick up a used example in great shape for around $120.

I've read the opinions and reviews on this site, where this lens seems to get a lot of flack, as well as on Ken Rockwell's site.

Currently I have a T3 body and a kit lens (18-55mm III). I'd like a little more reach than the standard kit lens for when I'm at my kids soccer games, but I am not good enough yet to want to spend the money on a larger telephoto lens with IS. I borrowed my FIL's 75-300mm III USM, but I need IS on the lens for when I'm at the soccer field.

Just wanted some thoughts as to what some more seasoned photographers think of this situation.

If you're looking for a walkaround lens, I'd save up to get something like the EF-S 18-135mm IS STM. You can get those ~$330 new on eBay. I say that because 28mm is very long for a crop on the wide end, regardless of the quality of the lens.

For your Rebel series camera I would suggest you get a efs 55-250 IS lens. I think the range will be more satisfactory and likely sharper than the lens you are looking at. There are at least 3 variations of this lens. an original efs 55-250 IS and a version II of it and The one I like best even on cameras without the STM feature is the sharpest and lightest of the bunch the efs 55-250 IS STM. But the earlier versions I think will all be more satisfying on your camera than the older 28--135 designed for film cameras, lens.

I have and use both these lenses, the 28-135 gets left home a lot anymore. For me it is only useful on full frame bodies that the efs series cannot fit.

Good luck with your choices, Have fun, take pictures!!

I used the 28-135 for quite a while on my 60D. The 28 was just not wide enough for me on the crop body. I would not suggest it. I think picking up an 18-135 or 18-200 would work much better if you want a single lens solution. As suggested above, adding a 55-250 could also be a great option.

I had the same relative issue, and just picked up the 55-250 STM on ebay for 300 bucks. I think it would be a great addition to your kit.

Agree that the 55-250 is a better choice. The 28-135 is a nice lens at that price but too short for soccer. I think you will find that IS for soccer is not an issue if you are keeping your shutter speeds high enough to capture action.

16vRocket wrote in post #16946290
I have the chance to pick up a used example in great shape for around $120.

I've read the opinions and reviews on this site, where this lens seems to get a lot of flack, as well as on Ken Rockwell's site.

Currently I have a T3 body and a kit lens (18-55mm III). I'd like a little more reach than the standard kit lens for when I'm at my kids soccer games, but I am not good enough yet to want to spend the money on a larger telephoto lens with IS. I borrowed my FIL's 75-300mm III USM, but I need IS on the lens for when I'm at the soccer field.

Just wanted some thoughts as to what some more seasoned photographers think of this situation.

Heya,

135mm isn't enough for sports, like soccer. I would go longer. Your budget allows you to grab a used or new copy of a 55-250, or possibly a Tamron 70-300 VC if you can push it. Push your ISO up, to keep shutter speeds fast, and these lenses are nice and sharp when stopped down just a hair, like F7.1 or F8. I'd try and get that shutter to 1/640s or even 1/1000s~1/1250s with some ISO pushing, at those apertures. The IS will help stabilize the viewfinder, but IS does nothing for a moving object other than that. For that kind of motion, fast shutter speed is the only way to go, even when panning.

Very best,

gonzogolf wrote in post #16946522
Agree that the 55-250 is a better choice. The 28-135 is a nice lens at that price but too short for soccer. I think you will find that IS for soccer is not an issue if you are keeping your shutter speeds high enough to capture action.

Totally agree with this... and from what I researched (back in the day) is that the IQ is better with the 55-250 than the 28-135mm.

I think the 28-135 IS is a better lens than the 55-250 STM but not on crop bodies.

So, I agree with all of the above that the 55-250 STM is the way to go for the OP.

When I use consumer grade zoom lenses (such as both of the above lenses) I try hard to stay around the sweet spot of f/8 and comparing the 28-135 IS on full frame vs. the 55-250 STM on a 60D, the-digital-picture.com seems to prefer the 28-135 IS by a wide margin. But I do understand this is not all that relevant to the discussion herein. But it should be known that the 28-135 is quite a nice lens - on full frame bodies.

http://www.the-digital-picture.com …omp=0&FLIComp=1​&APIComp=3

Buy it for $120 and resell it for $220. Then buy a 55-250mm IS. The 28-135mm is an awesome lens and is worth having. It is cheap and easy to replace because there are a lot sold in kits. $120 is also a very cheap price, so if anything try to resell for a light profit.

I had this lens on a 40D and used it for sports, soccer was one of them. It worked fine, IQ was excellent, IS is irrelevant at higher shutter speeds. I say it was fine for me because I was able to get pretty close to the action as opposed to, I'm assuming, you are going to be on the sidelines or in the stands.

I sold it to fund the 15-85 as I wanted higher IQ. The new lens does provide that but had I known I would have fallen for the FF bug (I purchased a 1Ds) I would have kept the 28-135.

For 120$ you cannot go wrong. Buy it and give it a whirl. A lot will depend on your access to the players. If it doesn't get you plenty of keepers, then sell it off. You can probably make a bit of profit. Mine did very nicely at my grand-daughter's Volleyball games, but I was able to be very close to the action. Frankly light was my biggest problem and likely won't be a problem for outdoor sports.

It's a good price on the lens - it's usually in the neighborhood of $200+. If you had a FF camera, it'd be a great deal. With a crop camera, there are better alternatives.

As a couple other have mentioned, for $120 you can not go wrong. I do not mind the focal range at all on a crop camera. Just think of it as a normal to medium telephoto. You have the 18-55mm if you want wide. Many of the same people that say this is not wide enough for a crop camera turn around and and praise the 30mm length for crop.

I have a 28-135 and use it regularly on my 50D. It has three problems:

1. It's not quite wide enough. I have a 10-22 so this one is not a big deal for me.
   
2. It's not quite fast enough - but that takes a lot of money to fix,
   
3. It has a poor reputation that it probably doesn't deserve.