My Favorite Focal Range

I have a multitude of lenses, both Canon and a few second party. However my favorite lens (if focal range was all I was considering and if I was not printing much over 8x10 inches) for a full frame camera would be the old, trusty Canon 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS. This was my first DSLR lens and I used it on crop format cameras. However, lately, I am playing with it on a full frame camera.

Lots of folks tend to sneer at this lens but, it is a viable contender, especially as a low priced, light weight back up lens.

I like the 28mm side which is plenty wide enough for most of my shooting. Since I am not a really great fan of wide angle shooting, 28mm is just fine on a full frame camera. But, it was not quite wide enough when I was using a crop camera.

The long side gives me an extra 30mm over the Canon 24-105mm (series) lenses and I do like that extra reach.

The image quality of this lens can be decent especially when stopped down a bit. The following portraits were shot using a crop format camera with the 28-135mm using f/8 at about 60-65mm. Of course, 60-65mm on a crop camera is equal to 96-104mm. a pretty darn good portrait focal length...

https://photos.smugmug.com/Pets/MALT...ched%20002.jpg

https://photos.smugmug.com/Pets/MALT...amed%20004.jpg

https://photos.smugmug.com/Pets/MALT...amed%20001.jpg

Sure, I'd like this lens to have a constant f/stop at least an f/4 (f/2.8 would be better and I think technology is coming that would make that possible). I'd also like the lens to have a later generation of IS. I do need to boost up the contrast generally.

It is a decent outdoor lens and at a longer focal lenght can give some separation between subject and background. This was shot at 135mm using f/5.6 on a crop camera.

https://photos.smugmug.com/Pets/Sara...3%20framed.jpg

The 28-135mm lens for its price on the used market is quite a good deal. In fact, it is light enough to carry as a back up for basically whatever lenses are your main contenders.

I mainly use two lenses on two bodies: 17-55mm f/2.8 IS on a crop body and a 70-200mm on another crop or full frame body. Throwing the 28-135mm, at 18.9 oz or 540 grams, into my suitcase could be an insurance policy to back up either lens, especially if I were carrying a crop and a full frame camera...

Mainly, it is a lot of fun with which to shoot and for $100 to $150 on the used market is a hidden gem:eek:

Interesting. My view is: whatever works. Some of the lenses I have used the most are quite inexpensive, and I was happy with them. Images this size, however, only tell you how well a lens functions in producing small, low-resolution images.

Out of curiosity, I looked at the review on The Digital Picture. Here's my quick take of their tests:

1. As you said, it gets much better stopped down.
2. Its weakness is in the corners (not surprising)
3. It performs better on a crop (not surprising given #2)
4. It's pretty sharp at f/8 but has considerable CA in some locations--but none in others.

Because of #2 and #3, I was very happy with an inexpensive Tamron 28-75 when I shot only a crop. It was excellent in the center but weaker in the corners, and the small image circle of the crop lopped off those problematic areas.

I have quite a few images, shot with the 28-135mm and printed to 8x10 hanging on my wall in the hallway of my home. I am quite satisfied with the quality of these images. I have not printed larger than 8x10 using this lens. This is not necessarily the lens I would select if I were wanting to shoot exhibit size prints...

Many of the problems associated with lenses are SOC concerns and are easily overcome in post processing. CA, especially, is usually quite easily corrected.

IMO, the final test of a lens is not how well the SOC images look but, how well the images look after post processing.

After all, few photographers post or print their SOC images...

Nice series, I don't really pay attention to what focal length gets printing; it depends on the content, the difficulty of capture, and overall quality of the capture. For instance, for some glamour shots I did the 85mm was exclusively used on one occasion, for another session I used the 24-70mm, both provided good results and I don't have a preference although the 24-70 has VR.

My favorite portrait lens for people and dogs is now the 70-200mm f/4L IS. I have been shooting my dogs with this lens since it was introduced and I absolutely love it!

I switched over to a full frame camera a year or so ago since I was having problems getting back far enough to capture my subjects in the area I use for a studio.

This image was done at 70mm on a Canon 5Dii...

https://photos.smugmug.com/Pets/MALT...20Joy_7446.jpg

I began using the 5Dii and 70-200mm lens to capture people outdoors and learned that I wanted a camera with a bit better AF. I opted for a 6Dii because I got a good deal on it. Of course, the 6Dii is also good for dog portraits with the 70-200mm lens...

https://photos.smugmug.com/Pets/MALT...20BOY_1191.jpg

I have a problem with this premise of having a "favourite focal length", "favourite focal length range" or even "favourite lens" because I feel the context is missing in the question / discussion.

Is my 80-400mm or 150-500mm lens my favourite because I have it along because I am out in Africa or Asia shooting wildlife, something I only get to do every three or four years?

Is my favourite lens my 24-70mm because that is what I use in the vast majority of my work?

Is the 70-200mm lens my favourite because I use it when doing nudes and other photography with experienced models?

Is it the 14-24mm lens because I love the images I get from it, but is probably definitely the most difficult lens to get a good shot with that I own?

Is it the 24mm shift-tilt because it lets me get some awesome architecture or urban landscape shots I could not get with any other lens?


You might get the idea. My favourite lens happens to be the one that gives me the results I am looking for and that is highly dependent on the genre or subject I happen to be shooting. That doesn't mean it's something I get to do all that often, but I certainly enjoy it while I am doing so and then subsequently processing the images.

I'm in the middle on this. If I had to pick "favorite" lenses, I would pick the ones that meet two criteria: I use them a lot, and they perform very well when I use them. The two I have that clearly meet both criteria are my 70-200 f/4 IS and my 100mm L macro. I wouldn't list my 100-400 II, which is a truly fabulous lens, because I don't use it often. I wouldn't list my 24-105 even though I probably use it more than any other (given the mix of photography I now do) because it isn't optically all that good. Another way to think about this is: which would I replace if my equipment were stolen? If I were short the cash and had to do without one, it would be the 100-400--again, given the mix of what I shoot. If I were going to make use of misfortune to consider replacing one with something different, it would be the 24-105. I would definitely replace the 70-200 and 100mm with new copies of the same lenses.

Perhaps the question should have been the old favorite "if you could only keep one lens, etc"?

For me, the answer to that be the Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4.5 "macro" on an APS-C camera.

Or could go to extremes with their cheap old 18-300mm . . :eek:

The 28-135mm IS lens is certainly not my favorite lens but, I really like the focal range Contrasting this to the Canon 24-105mm lens,I would give up the extra 4mm on the wide side to get the extra 30mm on the long side. I am quite happy with the 17mm short side of my 17-55mm IS lens, so 28mm on a full frame camera would be fine for me...

If this lens was faster and if the optics were a bit better, it would be my go-to lens. Since it is neither fast enough nor does it get good enough image quality, my TWO go-to lenses are the 17-55mm f/2.8 IS on a crop body and a 70-200mm lens on a full frame body. On trips, I will usually shoot 1/3 of my images with the 70-200mm and 2/3 with the 17-55mm. Unless I am specifically going to need a longer or wider lens, I carry these two as my standard kit...

A 28-135mm f/2.8 lens with a modern IS system would be my perfect lens for the majority of my shooting...

My "favourite" focal length is 85mm on full frame RF, but I will settle for a 50mm on APS-C if that's the camera I'm using but then I'm a street guy.

For anyone who shoots zoom lenses and uses LR it can be interesting and informative to use the filters in LR library to see what focal lengths you use most. It is a particularly beneficial exercise before "upgrading" to prime lenses.