jeffn's reviews

  • Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM

    7 out of 10 points and recommended
    Very good walk-around lens. No glaring deficiencies. IS works well.
    Consumer grade lens which requires stopping down (f5.6 to f) for best sharpness.

    The combination of IS and the 28-135mm range makes this an ideal walk-around lens.

    But it's still a slow, consumer-grade, 5-to-1 zoom. So it's a compromise. But a very good one!

    I have no technically bad images from this lens but not very many great ones!

    reviewed November 25th, 2006 (purchased for $500)

  • Canon EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM

    6 out of 10 points and recommended
    It works as advertised.
    Soft on the long end.

    In the 75-180mm range, this lens is very good. After that it's a long descent into marginally acceptable softness. At the long end, you really do have to stop down to f11 to get any kind of reasonable sharpness.

    So above 200mm the IS is simply compensating for the lens' other shortcomings.

    This is Canon's first generation IS so there is no panning and it's good for a two-stop advantage max.

    reviewed November 25th, 2006 (purchased for $500)

  • Canon EF 20-35mm f/3.5-4.5 USM

    7 out of 10 points and recommended
    Inexpensive ultra-wide zoom.
    Slow.

    Optical performance is very good once you stop down to f5.6-f8. Not a lot of high-contrast "pop" in the glass.

    I really liked the fact that the lens has internal zoom (the front end does not extend while zooming).

    reviewed November 25th, 2006

  • Canon EF 24mm f/2.8

    7 out of 10 points and recommended
    Excellent optical quality; lack of distortion
    Average build quality; not a lot of "snap"

    Very good glass: center is sharp wide open. Stopped down to f5.6 and you are sharp corner to corner. Distortion free.

    This is my first choice for on-tripod, panoramic compositions.

    It's small, light & handy.

    reviewed November 25th, 2006 (purchased for $300)

  • Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II

    7 out of 10 points and recommended
    Cheap & sharp
    Cheap & lousy bokeh

    How can you criticize an $80 lens?

    Regardless of what you say, you got your money's worth! Wide open, this lens is sharp in the very center but the 5-blade aperture means unattractive bokeh. Stopped down it is very sharp corner-to-corner.

    It's small and lightweight and a bargain.

    reviewed November 25th, 2006 (purchased for $80)

  • Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM

    9 out of 10 points and recommended
    Excellent optics & build quality.
    None

    This is a wonderful lens.

    I have owned only two lenses that exhibited "Leica" quality images (this "sparkle" or 3-D quality is evident even in 4" x 6" prints)--and this is one of them. (The other one was the Rollei 35.)

    Any time I need a short telephoto and a top-quality picture, I reach for this lens.

    reviewed November 25th, 2006