It is slow and has a modest zoom range. Color is slightly dull. However it does look sharp enough at f/8 and captures plenty of color to make a workable file. For the same price you can get the 50mm f/1.8 which is head and shoulders better than this lens by every single criterion. Move closer/further for zoom.
This is an awesome lens! I have been able to get some amazing images from this even though it is a starter lens.
"Great product... read review for why :)"
2007-09-11
- Reviewed By User: A2KF3VVPHUCEFE
I bought a Canon Rebel XTi online that didn't come with any accessories and so i wanted (and needed) a 35-80mm lens... but of course didn't want to pay $70+! This is a great beginner's lens, as it's small and lightweight, lets you choose between manual and automatic focus, and has overall great optical quality. The only downside is that it can scratch without a lens cap, so although it comes with one... you may want to buy 1 or 2 extra! After using this for a while I became better prepared for a bigger, better, (and more expensive lol) lens!
I have to respectfully disagree with some of the other people who rated it low. Sure, this is not quite the lens you would take to a professional photojournalism or portrait-taking gig, but for most every non-professional need it is perfect.
I was especially blown away by the macro quality. About twice as good as some of the newer kit lenses that Canon includes with their Digital SLR cameras. The only issue I had with this lens was that starting at 35mm it wasn't quite wide-angle enough for many shots I needed to take, so I did switch it out fairly often. This lens did, however, save me from having to go out and buy a macro lens. Again the macro job is outstanding. maybe not professional grade, but pretty darn close.
overall I would say this lens is an excellent value and unless you are planning to use it for highly-paid professional work, you can not go wrong.
This is the first SLR lens I ever used. Not a very memorable experience, I have to say. The lens is cheaply made, not at all sharp, has a very limited zoom range and is very, very, very slow. The lens is so slow that it really isn't useful indoors at all without a flash. The wide end of the zoom range - 35mm - is insufficient for landscapes while the telephoto end - 80mm - doesn't offer enough reach for distance shots. The build actually feels as if the zoom and focus mechanisms use internal cardboard components. I would be hard-pressed to find another EOS Canon or third-party lens that was as uniformly mediocre in all respects.
Instead of this lens, I would very highly recommend the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II which is sharper than this or any lens you can find for twice the price. Granted, the 50mm isn't a zoom lens but the limited range of the 35-80mm doesn't offer much of an advantage anyway. AND the 50mm is nearly 3 f-stops faster needing only one-eighth as much light for a shot making it great choice for indoor and dim lighting conditions.
Can someone make sense of this for me please? """The smaller the maximum aperture, the smaller and lighter the lens.""" WTF? Anyway... it's an affordable range for those of us in the real world to explore. It gets 4 stars for price Vs usability for the Joe Soaps and the Jane Does like me out there.
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Expedited Available
"Not great, not horrible"
"Amazing Lens for the price"
"Disposable Kit Lens"