Camera Labs

Hi Everyone,

Looks like Camera Labs has not reviewed this lens...any comments?

I went to the camera store to look at the Canon EF-S 17-85mm f4~5.6 IS USM lens and see how it worked with the Rebel XTi, they did not have one in stock so I looked at the Canon EF 28-135mm f3.5-5.6 IS USM and found it interesting.

Thanks,

Mitch

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Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3 (Lumix DMC-TZ7)

Hi Mitch.
I don't know too much about the 28-135, but don't forget that the Rebel has a cropped sensor, which means you should multiply the zoom by 1.6. The 28-135 will become ~45-216. You should decide if 45mm is good for you. That is, of course, if this is your only lens, or at least your widest.

The 17-85 is nice, and I know some people who are satisfied with it, but also people that didn't like its quality. Reviews say the same.
I thought about buying it, but decided to go for the better quality (and more expensive) 17-55.

Liron.

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Canon EOS 50D, Canon EF 17-40L, Canon EF 70-200L f/4 IS and Canon SpeedLite 430EX
My picasa

Hi Mitch,

It's really hard, but you need to decide if you'll be working more on the long end or the wide end of the lens. I owned the lens for quite some time and loved its reach. I also owned the 17-85 for not quite so long and liked it too, but found that I hang out around the longer end of my zooms. I believe that the 28-135 also uses an older generation of IS technology so it may not be as effective, maybe only a 2-stop advantage vs a 3/4-stop advantage.

Right now may be a particularly good time to pick up the 28-135 since it's being sold as part the new 40D kit and many people are selling them off fairly cheap.

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Leica M9, Nikon D300s, Leica X1, Canon S95, Zero Image 6x9

Thanks for the info guys!

To be honest I have no idea how wide I need, I have these two cameras and I never felt they were not wide enough for family events:

Canon SD550: 37 mm - 111 mm (3x) zoom lens

Olympus C2100UZ: 38 mm - 380 mm (10x) zoom lens

Seeing that I forgot to factor in the cropped sensor, perhaps the 45mm would not be wide enough for a good general purpose lens.

I think I will stick with the 17-85 lens.

Thanks!

Mitch

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Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3 (Lumix DMC-TZ7)

You can go back and look at previous shots you've taken and find out what focal length they were taken at. If you find many in the 27-45(35MM equivalent) range then it's most likely that you will be missing the wider focal lengths.

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Graham
Flickr

Before you buy the 17-85mm, go and take some test shots (especially on the 17mm side) with your camera or bring a memory card with you and examine the images closely at home with your computer. If you are satisfied with the resolution, then you can consider buying it. Some people from other forum are happy with this lens, but there are also loads of not very happy people including myself.

eBay (UK) shows a lot of 17-85s (second hand) for sale. I wonder why!

This is what I do now, before I buy something, I always do a search on ebay and if there are loads of second hands, I ask myself a question WHY?

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40D, 400D, 24-105L, EF 50 1.4, 580EX MKII, EF 100 f/2.8 Macroe, EF 85 1.8 (on order)
http://strobemonkey.blogspot.com/

Thanks everyone for the info.

eL...what size did you print your photos that you did not like or did you look at them on the computer?

The reason I ask is that I have read tons of reviews on various lenses and the people that usually dont like a lens print photos that are huge (bigger than 8 x 10) or look at the photo at 100% zoom on a computer (pixel peepers).

I can almost guarantee you that I will almost never print bigger than 5 x 7 and maybe an 8 x 10 once in a blue moon.

Thanks,

Mitch

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Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3 (Lumix DMC-TZ7)

Mitchel

I am a pixelpeepr

But I also print 4x6 and A4 sizes. I was never satisfied with 17mm to around 50ish (with my lens anyway). I only speak for myself and my own experience with the lens. Thats why I asked you to take pictures with the lens and examine it at home and decide if youre happy with the resolution. Only you can decide for your self, and dont just rely on reviews.

If there was a "17-85L" it would have been nice!

Good luck!

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40D, 400D, 24-105L, EF 50 1.4, 580EX MKII, EF 100 f/2.8 Macroe, EF 85 1.8 (on order)
http://strobemonkey.blogspot.com/

eL,

I guess it all comes down to personal opinion. I'll see what they look like when I get the camera and lens.

I'm cautiously assuming that if I always thought my pocket size Canon SD550 did a good job, that the Rebel XTi with the 17-85 lens will do at least as good or better...it BETTER do better!!! haha

Oh yeah...pixel peepers ( ), I never understood what the allure was with looking at a photo at 100%. Please feel free to explain what it's all about....maybe I am missing something.



Couldn't resist.



Thanks,

Mitch

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Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3 (Lumix DMC-TZ7)

Nice!

But it does remind us that so far there's not been any L lenses in the EF-S mount... I wonder why...

That said, the EF-S 10-22mm on a cropped body is arguably better optically than the EF 17-40mm L on a full-frame body - but again the build of the latter is much nicer...

I agree that pixel peeping is a bad habit. But, and there's always a but, if pixel peeping reveals softness then the biggest size at which you can sensibly view your pictures will usually be limited, no matter how much post processing you do.

Bob.

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OM-D E-M5 + ED 12-50mm, H-PS14042E, H-F007014E, L-RS014150E, M.ZUIKO DIGITAL 45mm 1:1.8.
Gitzo GT1541T, Arca-Swiss Z1 DP ball-head.
Astrophotography: TEC 140 'scope, FLI ML16803 camera, ASA DDM60 Pro mount.

I agree, but pixel-peeping does not seem necessary to me if the final product is a 4 x 6 or 5 x 7. I can however see it being necessary if you're going to print out a poster size photo. If that was my goal I would have invested a lot more on a lens.

I guess I just looked at what the final product was going to be and tried to purchase the lens/camera that made the most economical sense.

Mitch

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Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3 (Lumix DMC-TZ7)