debating between 18 to 135mm IS crop lens or 28mm to 135 IS canon lens???

R

Ronster

Well-known member
I own a 7d and have 16 to 35mm L series lens, 50mm 1.4 canon, and a 30mm 1.4 sigma

I usually use a handheld rig....

but have been finding on some lower end jobs...just the need to run around with a bit more of a versatile focal length lens and need IS.

So I am debating right now between the 28mm to 135mm IS lens and the 18mm to 135mm IS lens.

I can get the 28 to 135mm for 235.00 used from a person on craigslist the 18mm to 135mm I found new for 335.00 all in at a store online. So 100 dollar difference here.

Just not sure what to go with. I know the 18-28mm range in the other lens is great to have but the 18 to 135 is a crop sensor only lens and what if I later want to update or need to use a 5d? I feel the 28 to 135mm might be the way to go....but perhaps that extra range is important enough.

KEY QUESTION HERE IS THIS: Wondering basically if anyone knows the quality difference between the 18 to 135mm IS and the 28mm to 135mm IS canon lenses.

AND IF the IS on the two lenses is a major difference. I know the 28 to 135mm is an older IS but I heard both are pretty good IS systems.

Just trying to debate this and figure it out...if anyone wants to chime in or knows something please feel free to chime in....

Ronster
 
The 18-135 gives you extra range but at a cost. The 28-135 is the better lens. The 28-105 is even better still. see this LINK and watch the roll over effect
 
Cieloent said:
Can you please explain to me how you read those charts, I have no idea :(
Click to expand...

Click on the link and roll your mouse pointer over the image then off again, you will see the image change.

There is a white arrow above the image that points left then right and this indicates which lens you are looking at.

You will see that with the 18-135 the image is not as sharp. Also the blacks are not as deep.

You can alter the pulldown menus to different focal lengths, apertures and different lenses.
Its a very useful tool.
 
J Davis said:
Click on the link and roll your mouse pointer over the image then off again, you will see the image change.

There is a white arrow above the image that points left then right and this indicates which lens you are looking at.

You will see that with the 18-135 the image is not as sharp. Also the blacks are not as deep.

You can alter the pulldown menus to different focal lengths, apertures and different lenses.
Its a very useful tool.
Click to expand...

So when you mouse over it, that is the lens you have selected? So when you don't mouse over it what is that original image based on?
 
J Davis said:
The 18-135 gives you extra range but at a cost. The 28-135 is the better lens. The 28-105 is even better still. see this LINK and watch the roll over effect
Click to expand...

What a great site. I was going to spend $1000 to upgrade from the t2i kit lens to the EF-S 17-55 to take advantage of the 2.8 constant aperture but now I'm not sure. The kit lens really holds up well and wide open on the 17-55 is softer than I'd like.

Thanks for the link
 
Cieloent said:
So when you mouse over it, that is the lens you have selected? So when you don't mouse over it what is that original image based on?
Click to expand...

Directly above the image is a little white arrow that points left or right
Point-Left.gif
Point-Right.gif


and it points to a pulldown menu with the name of the lens that the image is currently showing
 
J Davis said:
Directly above the image is a little white arrow that points left or right
Point-Left.gif
Point-Right.gif


and it points to a pulldown menu with the name of the lens that the image is currently showing
Click to expand...

lol, hahaha... That's crazy. So simple, yet so hard to understand. I understand it now ( after I had a smoke) :)
 
Keep in mind though, the sharpness differences you're seeing are going to be visible in stills, but won't likely show up in video footage.

If you're using your camera to shoot stills, you def. want the absolute sharpest lenses you can get.

If you're using it for video, you don't need the super-sharp lenses, it won't do anything for your video other than add more aliasing to it. If you can get the range and f-stop you need, at less expense, you'll probably find it delivers equivalent results in video mode.
 
Barry_Green said:
If you're using your camera to shoot stills, you def. want the absolute sharpest lenses you can get
Click to expand...

Yeah. I was looking to upgrade from the kit lens for the still photo side of things and wanting to shoot more available light photos and take advantage of the shallower DOF from shooting at a 2.8 But like most lenses, wide open certainly isn't the sweet spot and the canon 17-55 is softer than I thought it would be. At least at its widest it is.

For shooting at a 2.8, I might end up going with a non canon lens.
 
I really just want to know which of the 2 lenses is better overall quality...I shot with the 28 to 135 with IS and honestly it was rock solid....I'm really just wondering if the 18 to 135 has as good image quality and if the IS (which is newer is better) Anyone Anyone?

one of my buddies said the fact the 18 to 135 has a bigger focal length range than the 28 to 135 it probably means the quality is not as high.....anyone know anything on this front?
 
I just got the 17-55 f2.8. Trust me, it blows doors on the kit lens. The color rendition is excellent, great sharpness, really nice bokeh and best of all, solid mechanics. I do wish the focus throw was a bit longer. It has to be one of the nicest zooms for the 7d.

don't forget Photozone.de. I actually like their tests better than Digital-picture.com, which also has great reviews. Photozone is german, so their reviews are no fluff, no humor; just the cold hard facts.
 
I have shot with the 17 to 55 f 2.8 I agree its amazing...but alas not the question I am asking.....

18 to 135 or the 28 to 135....which is sharper...and is the IS a huge step up on the 18 to 135....anyone anyone? Bueller?
 
Ronster said:
18 to 135 or the 28 to 135....which is sharper...and is the IS a huge step up on the 18 to 135....anyone anyone?
Click to expand...
That is easy and nothing to compare here. 28-135mm is older IS generation but why bother? Better/sharper glass quality.
 
Barry_Green said:
Keep in mind though, the sharpness differences you're seeing are going to be visible in stills, but won't likely show up in video footage.

If you're using your camera to shoot stills, you def. want the absolute sharpest lenses you can get.

If you're using it for video, you don't need the super-sharp lenses, it won't do anything for your video other than add more aliasing to it. If you can get the range and f-stop you need, at less expense, you'll probably find it delivers equivalent results in video mode.
Click to expand...
Sometimes yes, sometimes the sharper the best. I'd rather shoot video with high quality glass and I do.
 
When it comes to range, maybe its best not to worry about quality. I recently bought a sigma 28-300 for $200 preowned, mint condition. Its not a great lens as far as sharpness goes but its not crap either.

But that is not why I bought it.
If I want sharp I shoot with my 35/1.4 ais or my 50-135/3.5 ais.

I bought the sigma 28-300 because I want one light lens that will do everything. Great for travel, familiy and sketching out video storyboards, even does macro.

Maybe you could adopt that philosophy? By a cheaper zoom with incredible range and build up on your sharp lenses later.
 
I'm going to try and see if I can focus this discussion one last time....

I'm simply asking between the 18 to 135 and the 28 to 135 which one is a better overall lens and is the IS in the 18 to 135 (which is newer) that much of an improvement in IS

So far I got one person saying yeah the 28 to 135 is "better/sharper" glass quality...but like by a tiny bit...or is it way better????

Let stick with these two lenses for today and just compare and contrast....I'm just on the fence between the two...I got the 28 to 135 on craigslist for 235 and I found the 18 to 135 online for 335....so a 100 dollar difference gets me a slighly wider range but a crop sensor lens.....just trying to weigh this out....

any final words?

(and I am wanting this lens to do some behind the scenes stuff on video...that is why I want the IS feature and at least a decent range....I just tested out the 28 to 135 from a friend and I actually thought it was really solid....the only thing I didn't like was the fact that at the 28mm end because of the crop sensor on my 7d it is a bit tight....so hence why I wouldn't mind going for the 18 to 135...I just don't want the quality to go down much farther than what I saw with the 28 to 135 and was also just wondering if the IS improvement with the 18 to 135 will make that much of a difference in video mode...of what I saw with the 28 to 135 with IS it was pretty steady looking)
 
Last edited:
@Ronster
If you already have the wide angle covered with another lens (eg a t2i 18-55 kit lens then) buy the 28-135 as you will have wider than 28 already covered. Otherwise get the 18-135 and enjoy the extra range. Any quality loss is marginal as Barry already pointed out.
 
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