Equipment Canon EF 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5 II USM?

Just looking into maybe getting this lens. I have heard many good reports about it, and very few bad (does not always focus correctly, sometimes gets confused). I know its not as good as an L lens, but they are way out of my budget.

The reviews I have read are quite old (early 2007), so is it still one of the best value lenses in todays £150 range for a walk about zoom lens or should I be looking at something else?

I am not too bothered about wide angle at the moment, but will most likely get a nifty fifty for that later.

Thanks in advance for any help you can give me.

 

A few people here have them, myself included. Great lens, nuff said

 

The lens is great, but I'm not sure you're quite aware of "walkaround" and "wide angle". First of all, a nifty 50 is exactly that - 50mm flat. That's not wide angle at all - in fact, on a 300D-350D-400D-450D-30D-40D (crop bodies, all) that's equivalent to about 80mm.

A 28-105 is a good zoom range and this lens in particular is a great performer, but you should know that 28mm on a crop body is really equivalent to 45mm (almost that nifty 50) on any of the above cameras - not exactly what one would consider wide at all.

To be honest, I think you might find yourself a bit too narrow for a terrific walkaround lens, but that's just me. Your mileage, as always, may vary

 

Thanks Da Dego. That is very helpful, regarding the wide angle lens.

Getting ahead of myself here a little but can you recommend a wide angle lens, and would I benefit much from a wide angle converter for a nifty or the 28-105, rather than paying more for a wide angle specific lens?

 

Take a look at the Sigma 10-20 or the Canon EF-S 10-22 for wide.

 

Cracking lens for the money, yeah it's not L class, but you already know that.
I have one myself and really like it, auto focus is good on all focus points even in poor light, obviously the central focus point performs best (more a camera thing than lens though).

It performs best around the 50mm range @ F8, it softens a little wide open but not by much and performs well at the long end.
Obviously being F3.5/4.5 low light conditions pose an issue, but as you will be aware an extra couple of stops will cost more than an extra £100.

Best bang for buck in the Canon line-up excluding the L's

 

To add a different side to the discussion I have one and i hate it. i never use it anymore because it's slow (aperture wise), not that sharp and lacks contrast. overall, it just requires too much PP work to get anything that is satisfying to me. combined with the fact that 28mm is not really wide enough on a cropped body as a walkabout lens it really doesn't have a lot going for it. on the plus it's pretty cheap and not that badly built and the autofocus is quiet and fairly fast.

 

FWIW: http://www.fredmiranda.com/reviews/showproduct.php?product=206&sort=7&cat=27&page=2

It's a decent lens for the money, but there will be instances where 28mm just won't be wide enough and where the slow(er) aperture will take its toll...
As for your plans of picking up a 50mm for a wide angle (?) thats not a good one. The nifty is a good lens...its just by no means a substitute for wide angle.

In the end it may be a good idea to save your pennies up a little while longer and get a better lens (eg. Sigma 17-70, Tamron 17-50) Hell, you will get better images from the 18-55 IS.