Optical Review Blog No. 52 – Canon Zoom Lens EF 28-105mm 1:3.5-4.5 USM

Kit lenses: I have ones I like and others I’m not too fond of; of the ones I’m not too fond of, it’s the Canon Zoom Lens EF 28-80mm. After using the lens extensively last year for the Frugal Film Project, I realised that it has many things that could be improved in the optical quality and set out to get my hands on Canon’s elevated kit lens, the 28-105mm USM. I also used the lens while reviewing the Canon EOS Elan 7ne and A2. First introduced in 1992 as the standard kit lens for the EOS A2, it features the USM or Ultra Sonic Motor for faster and quieter autofocus operation. Since getting my hands on one, it has become one of my go-to travel lenses paired with my Elan 7, and it is a worthwhile addition to any EOS kit, especially with larger body models where the 28-80 looks comically small.

Lens Specifications
Make: Canon
Model: Zoom Lens EF 28-105mm 1:3.5-4.5 USM
Focal Length: 28-105mm
Focal Range: ∞ – 0.5m
Aperture: f/3.5-4.5 – f/22-27, 5 Blades
Structure: 12 Elements in 15 Groups

Build Quality
The one thing that sets the 28-105mm apart from the other kit lenses I’ve worked with from Canon is that there is significantly more metal in the construction, notable in the areas where it matters. Namely, the lens mount, where the lens takes the most amount of stress during mounting and dismounting the lens. Most of the external body of the lens is plastic, and the internals are a hybrid of metal and plastic. This construction results in a lens that isn’t too heavy and makes a camera nicely balanced no matter the size of the body, but in my case, it fits perfectly on the Elan 7. However, the lens’s front element telescopes out from the front when zoomed to 105mm but doesn’t throw off that centre of gravity. The zoom control ring is large and moves easily, and you can quickly move from 28mm to 105mm. One thing that sets the lens apart from other EF lenses in my tool kit is that the manual focusing ring is larger than I expected and works well for its job. That said, I’ve never liked the manual focus function on any EF lenses; they seem a little finicky and not accurate. The one thing I notice with the 28-105 is the lightning-fast autofocus speed, thanks to the USM motor. While I’ve always been impressed with the AF speeds of all EF lenses, the USM in the 28-105mm makes it even faster.

Image Quality
Despite being an elevated kit lens, the 28-105mm is still a kit lens, so don’t expect excellent performance. This is a good lens, but it isn’t a great lens. The first thing I noticed was the distortion when shot at 28mm and close up. Now, I got too close to the test chart at the 28mm mark to help fill the frame, but even still, it is not the best result I’ve seen. I also left the distortion in place; thankfully, Adobe Lightroom has a preset to help remove the distortion. Next, you’re going to see some fall-off at your corners and vignetting when shooting at f/3.5 (wide open); again, I did get some of that removed by adjusting the images during the editing stage. But once you start to stop down, say f/5.6, it all goes away. Similarly, with the distortion, if you either back up or zoom into 35-50mm, the distortion is all but gone. When you zoom all the way to 105mm, there is only a slight amount of distortion and not as much fall-off and vignetting because you now have a maximum aperture of f/4.5. Again, these can all be fixed automatically with corrections after processing. Now that I’ve gotten all the negative aspects of the lens out of the way, the image quality of this lens is pleasing. The out-of-focus rendering is smooth, nothing special, but satisfying. Even wide open at f/3.5 and f/4.5, the images are surprisingly sharp. As I said earlier, it’s a good lens but not a great one.

Applications
The last time I reviewed a lens of similar spec, the Nikon 28-105mm, I described it as a jack-of-all-trades. The Canon 28-105 is the same thing; it is a lens that you can use when you want a single lens to take the camera out on a trip. But as the quote goes, jack-of-all-trades, master of none. The 28-105 lens will handle most situations and deliver good results. Perfect for travel and the best of all, it will work on all Canon EF cameras, and even you can adapt it to work on the new R-Mount cameras far better than the Nikon version of the Z-Mount. While I haven’t put the lens on my EOS 3000, it fits perfectly on my larger-bodied cameras, the Elan 7 and EOS 650, and it works flawlessly. And yes, it will be a good match for your full-frame digital SLRs and, in a pinch, the crop sensors, as you can mount EF lenses on EF-S bodies without damage. If you have been running around with any of Canon’s kit lenses (28-80) and are getting disappointed with your results, I recommend replacing that lens as quickly as possible with this lens.

The Low Down
The 28-105 is an elevated kit lens, which means it is still a kit lens with all the problems that come with a jack-of-all-trades optic. But that doesn’t make it a lousy lens as long as you work around the more annoying aspects. This isn’t a lens that you always want to use wide open or up close; always stop it down to at least f/5.6 and forget the ‘macro’ feature. It isn’t that good. Please don’t take this wrong; the lens isn’t bad, but it isn’t stellar either. It is a good lens that does what you need and is better than the 28-80mm basic kit lens. While the original version shows its age, a slightly improved II model is the same. It is made in Taiwan and has a 7-blade aperture. On the used market, these lenses cost around 140$ for both the original and the II versions. There are less expensive ones out there, but I would not pay any less than 130$ to ensure you get a good condition lens. If my copy ever goes, I won’t replace it like for like; instead, I might fill that gap with something better with a constant aperture or spend the money on that portrait-length prime. While this isn’t always my first choice for lenses, it does what I need to provide a compact option when I only have room to carry a single lens with my EF cameras.

Further Reading
Don’t just take my view on the Canon 28-105/3.5-4.5 USM, check out these other reviews.
Film And Sensor – Rediscovering a Favorite Vintage Lens: Canon EF 28-105 USM f3.5-4.5
Photozone.de – Canon EF 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5 USM – Review / Test Report
Frary Guitar – Canon EF 28-105 3.5-4.5 USM
28mmf2 – Full Frame on a Budget – A Canon 28-105 f3.5-4.5 USM