EF 28-135mm: New Kit on the Block
It may be slightly démodé, but check the price tag!

In 1998, when the Canon unveiled its first lens with Image Stabilizer the EF 28-135mm IS USM was quite a hit. It wasn't the fastest lens in town, yet the Image Stabilizer feature provided two extra stop of steadiness. In a film world, a 28-135mm focal length was just the perfect walk around lens. A decade later the 28-135 feels, well, a little démodé.

It's not strange that Canon is offering the 28-135 as the Kit lens for the 40D to revamp it. It seems, indeed, like a glorified kit lens: basic features, unimpressive optical quality but usable and it is much better built than the Rebel XTi's kit lens. With an APS-C sized sensor camera this lens is equivalent to a 45-216mm. This is an odd focal length. to narrow for interior photography and too short for real tele shooting. On a full frame camera, the 28-135 focal length is pretty usable, although this kind of cameras wont forgive optical flaws and demand "L" grade optics.

The built construction is pretty decent. It is not up to "L" standards but feels reasonably solid and it is way better than the average kit lens. Zoom protrudes due to the two inner tubes. The first generation Image Stabilizer feels a little rude and you can hear it. If you use a tripod you'll need to turn off this feature. Overall, even being a first-generation IS, it is good to have this handy feature.

The image quality is pretty decent overall, although you can notice barrel distortion even at 1.6x crop factor. Chromatic aberrations are pretty low and that's good.

Although it is not the latest fashion statement, the price tag looks very good. If you buy it alone you'll get Image Stabilization with a good lens for $400. Now, as a kit lens is a pretty good deal. The EOS 40D price is $1,300 (body only), but if you buy the body with the EF 28-135 you'll have to pay only $235 more. A lens like this for $235 is a very good buy, and at this price you will see the 28-135 as a "timeless classic" ;-)