First post. Lens question

[Cozen]

Hi everyone!


First I'd like to say thanks to Bryan for a great site.





I'm a film and television student but photography is starting to take over as my favorite hobby.





I just purchased a 28-135mm to go on my RebelXT. I like the lens, but I find myself looking for


sharper pictures.


I'd like a general use lens with a longer focal length and slight macro potential. I've been


looking at the 70-200mm f4 IS, but I'd lose my wide lengths. It is a pricey lens, but it seems the


quality will be great. Is it a waste to put such a nice lens on a RebelXT? Any advice is


appreciated!

[Daniel Browning]

Is it a waste to put such a nice lens on a RebelXT?

Not at all! You are going to absolutely love it. It's one of my favorite lenses. By the way, if you get more serious about macro, you might consider the EF-S 60mm f/2.8.

[Maleko]

You could always go for the 24-105 f/4 L?
I know that isnt a longer focal length, but a great lens.


24mm still isnt that wide on a 1.6 Crop body (but can be wide enough).

70-200mm is a great lens. I have used the f/2.8 on an old 350D Rebel camera (more like 320mm on 1.6 crop).


Remember though, buying good glass is always a better thing to do than to keep buying upgrades of glass, if you get me.
Its never a waste to put any good glass on any body tbh.


It sounds like the ranges you want, you will have to maybe either sacrifice one part of what you want, or get 2 lens'?

[Maleko]

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-EF-28-300mm-f-3.5-5.6-L-IS-USM-Lens-Review.aspx





? If you have the money

[Dallasphotog]

Don't get too concerned about your Rebel XT. I have the XT, XTi, 1DMKII and the 5DMKII and I still use the XT all the time. The XT is perfectly capable of taking good pictures with good glass.


I always tell people to step up in bodies when they need the extra features (longer battery life, faster frame rate,bigger LCD, better AF performance, etc.) My daughter shot several newspaper covers with the XT last year using the EF70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM out front.


I actuallypass up the 1DMKII and our 1DsMKIII here at work to use the XTi when weight is going to be an issue. I hate carrying the 1D bodies all day!

[Bob]

Cozen,


The 28-135 IS lens is a sharp lens. What kind of softness are you encountering?

[jeffersonposter]

I think the 70-200 f/4 IS is sharper than the 70-200 f/2.8, and is less expensive. The IS is better and when you upgrade (and you will), to a different body, you will still have great glass. The EF-S series will not work on full frame cameras... the EF series will work on both crop bodies and full frame. The 70-200 f/4 is agreat lens at a great price for what it is. Get a 100 Macro later.


JeffersonPoster

[Cozen]

I notice at 135mm, which is what I shoot at a lot, the center focus can be a little soft. And the corners are really soft. Is this typical of the 28-135 or did I get a faulty one?

[Cozen]

the 70-300 is tempting, but the review states the lens doesn't perform well above 200mm. And if I'm going to spend $600 on that, I might as well save up the extra $400 and get the 70-200 f4 IS L lens, to prevent upgrading again in the future.

[Bob]

I notice at 135mm, which is what I shoot at a lot, the center focus can be a little soft. And the corners are really soft. Is this typical of the 28-135 or did I get a faulty one?
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On a FF body in the135mm zoom position,the focusfrom f8 to f11 is as sharp as many "L" lens, with f8being its sharpest from corner to corner. At and above f22 it starts to become very soft in the corners. At the wide end, 28mm, the lens is sharp from 5.6 to f16 corner to corner.


Hope this helps.