When someone is looking for a good quality but affordable walkaround lens, the Canon EF 28-135mm f3.5-5.6 IS USM Lens is one of the lenses I will often recommend to them. Though this lens gets some professional use, the 28-135 IS is an upper-medium grade consumer lens with image stabilization and a great focal length range.
 
The Canon EF 28-135mm f3.5-5.6 IS USM Lens is an easy-to-carry 3.1" x 3.8" (78.4mm x 96.8mm)(DxL) and 18.9 oz (540g). Size and weight are relative, but most will consider this a small and light lens. A plastic lens barrel helps keep the weight down while the metal mount is the same as on Canon's best lenses. The Canon 28-135 lens build quality is decent - in line with Canon's better consumer zooms, but there is a noticeable build quality difference between the consumer zooms and the L series zooms. There is also a noticeable difference in weight. And price. Expect some slight play in the two-part extension of the barrel, expect rings that are not silky-smooth.
 
The Canon EF 28-135mm f3.5-5.6 IS USM Lens focuses reasonably fast and very quietly thanks to Canon's USM. Initial acquisition is very fast - the lens then makes a secondary fine-tuning adjustment if necessary for very accurate focusing. FTM (Full Time Manual) focusing is enabled - a window provides distance information and the manual focus ring does not rotate during AF. The manual focus ring is small/narrow and requires familiarity to quickly find while shooting. While focus is internal, the 28-135 extends like most normal zoom lenses while zooming until reaching its longest length at 135mm. No focal length lock is present, so expect some zoom-creep when carrying this lens in a downward position.

Sample Images:

 

Features & Specifications

 

Focal Length & Maximum Aperture	28-135mm 1:3.5-5.6
Lens Construction	16 elements in 12 groups
Diagonal Angle of View	75° - 18°
Focus Adjustment	Inner focusing system with USM
Closest Focusing Distance	0.5m / 1.6 ft.
Zoom System	Rotating Type
Filter Size	72mm
Max. Diameter x Length, Weight	3.1" x 3.8", 18.9 oz. / 78.4mm x 96.8mm, 540g

Review:

THE Consumer-Grade Canon Lens to Get

Dollar-for-dollar, this is the best consumer-grade Canon lens available. The focal-length makes it a great walk-around lens. The onboard Image Stabilization allow for crisp zoom shots without a tripod. If your hands shake a lot, this lens will help overcome that.

On the flip side, I found the Macro option provides a really startling level of detail up close. I also found the combination of the f3.5 and Image Stabilization to be of great use in low-light, indoor shooting where flash is prohibited. It's a fairly fast-focusing lens, too.

Even though I have upgraded to an L-series lens, the 28-135 is still a personal favorite. Considering it is 1/3 the price of an L-series lens, I cannot find a single fault with it. Anyone looking for a general-purpose lens for under $500 to compliment their Canon Digital Rebel, Rebel XT, 10D or 20D has found it here.

Excellent Walkabout Lens

While I considered purchasing a Canon 10D, I also started looking for a good first lens. Most of the reviewers and Canonites on the various forums suggested this lens as a good starting point.

The 28-135mm IS USM Zoom is the one I use all the time now on the Canon 10D, and that will be the case until I get over the sticker shock of the 10D/28--135mm combo and start adding other lenses to my kit.

In the meantime, this lens gets the job done very well. It gives you good range for a variety of of shots, from portraits to telephotos. There is even a macro mode, which gives you the opportunity to do close-ups--not really a true macro, but okay for shots of flowers, your kitty cat's face, etc. It is the flexibility of this lens that makes it so appealing if all you have is just one lens. And remember that if you mount this lens on a digital camera, like the 10D, the range is actually extended by a factor of 1.6.

The USM focuses fast, and the Image Stabilization (IS) really works. In fact, I've been spoiled by it, and IS is now a must for any of the longer lenses I might purchase in the future.

The IS system "locks" on target so that camera shake is eliminated or at least seriously minimized. This means fewer shots ruined by camera shake, and the IS system allows the user to shoot handheld at slower shutter speeds. This isn't just advertising hype. It works.

The image quality is quite good. I get good color saturation, contrast, and sharpness. After tweaking some shots in Photoshop, I was able to turn out some excellent 13x19 inch prints.

As others have pointed out, if you are just starting out with a Canon DSLR or SLR and want one good general purpose lens, this is it.

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CANON EF 28-135mm IS USM LENS
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