Yeah, you're right.


I would add ... not every pro photographer needs the total pack of L. What I mean is, all depends on client needs. As client pay for something and his expectations are often a bit under what pro photographer delivers. Good pics are good pics, whatever the lense ... until the lense is able to have a minimum necessary sharpness, which is not the case here.


One often see pro pixel peepers fighting about a quarter mili pixel of softness. Right, no problem, and they're right. But in this case, we talk about an incompetent lens to take a simple (normally, or a bit better) sharp image of a simple flower in the garden. And an company incompetent to sell something above the quality level of south-Khazakstan lens maker company (if they have one).


In the case of the 18-135, it was just to replace the 18-55 as an everyday lens. Not to have high grade Top lense. But not to have pure s*** too. Instead, Canon advise to take the 17-55 or a "L". Uh. Thank you very much, Mr Canon.


I'm an independant pro (i.e. I make a living of this) product photographer, and I don't work at Canon and therefore I have no big salary to change lenses all 3 day. And even if it's not a work lens, the less is, for this price, that it does its job.


As someone said, here, Canon didn't even managed to do better than it's previous poor plastic lens.


What, in 2009 ? Wake up boys, it's the end.


I know I'm making a mess with a simple buy of a simple lens. But it's my money (from my work), and it's my trust in a company (which takes itself quite seriously in its domain) "renown" quality.


And I'm fed up with companies which don't event take their faithful customers seriously. Canon don't know the market anymore (crisis, what crisis ?) . Canon dreams of cash cows. Canon dreams of pro photographer that will buy anything at any price just to look pro.
But the majority of pro photographer can't afford even to change their camera every two years.


And the average consumers (which will pay 1500$ for a 7D and 400$ for that lens ?) ? Well, they'll do what they can. They have their problems too. And it might not be photography . But job, rent, etc.


Canon acts like an Afghan trade company, thinking that if one can cheat once can cheat twice, dummies will come back anyway.


But market rules and is no <span class="clickable" onclick="dr4sdgryt(event,"Ox")"]inexhaustible. Sigma and Tamron already understood that. Maybe.


Anyway ...