Butterfly and the Cheap Lens

A while back, I bought a Canon 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5 II USM lens to use casually. I wanted a beater lens that was cheap, light, and small, and that I could haul around for snapshots. I wasn't too concerned with optical quality, but I did choose this lens because it seemed to be given better reviews than some of the other consumer (non-L) Canon zooms.

The 28-105mm is very light and small compared to my other lenses. It has USM and focuses without hesitation or complaint. For what it is, this lens is well built and solid. Coupled with my 5D, the package is very portable and somewhat unobtrusive (just see what kind of attention you get hauling around a large and heavy Canon L lens!).

Optically, it has surprised me again and again. In the past couple of months, I've taken to shooting more seriously with this lens.



click for larger pic

The 28-105mm does lack the bite that the more expensive lenses provide. There is a slight loss of sharpness. The colors and contrast are a little bit subdued. But with careful RAW processing and editing in Photoshop, I've been able to snap things back to what I'm used to from the heavier, higher quality lenses. Well, almost.

At the short end (28mm), there is some softness that just cannot be corrected in post work. But, it's not terribly bad. I've seen much worse :-) I'm quite comfortable making 8x10 or 11x14 prints of photos taken with this lens.