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 - Outstanding Lens!!I couldn't be happier with this lens. Image quality with this lens is superb, bokeh is very smooth. Auto focus is very fast and reliable, and image stabilization makes getting a clear shot easy, even with a moving target. I'm using this lens on a Canon Rebel XSi, and it is now my primary lens. It is far superior to the kit EF-S 18-55mm IS lens, and is a perfect intermediate lens between the kit lens and my EF 70-300mm IS USM telephoto zoom lens. If you need something with greater reach than the kit lens, but you don't want to spend more than $500, buy this lens. You won't regret it. Rating:  - Bad LensShame on Canon. I got this lens as part of a package when I bought a Canon 40D camera. I thought it would be great with IS and all, but I was sadly mistaken. The images are soft and the IS doesn't really help much. Fortunately I still had a Sigma 17-70mm lens that I got for my Canon 350D and I use this lens most of the time because I get the IQ that I am used to getting and the Canon 28-135mm lens is just a great disappointment. I wish I had spent the extra $200 on an alternate lens. I hope someone will want to buy this Canon lens from me. It's the only Canon lens I own and I am sorely disappointed with it. It is in a box collecting dust! Rating: - Must have lensThis is a great lens. A little heavy for all-day carry around but the functionality and great pics make it worth it. Rating:  - Good photos, but very loose zoomI got this lens as part of the kit for my EOS 40D. It takes pretty good photos, and has a great range. I had it on the camera on a nature shoot while it was attached to my tripod and whenever I carried the tripod around with the camera attached, the zoom rolled all the way out. Seems very loose to me, so I emailed Canon about it and they said that was normal, but if there was NO resistance to send it back to them. It's not that bad yet, hopefully it won't get any worse. After some experience, I probably should have just got the body only for the 40D and got the Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS SLR Lens for a walk around lens. Probably would have been cheaper too. Rating: - A good zoom lens for available-light photographyI have owned this lens for nearly a year now and am becoming increasingly fond of it. I own several other lenses, but this is the one I now leave mounted on my Rebel XT almost all the time. My love affair with this lens was not immediate, however. At first I was somewhat disappointed with the image stabilization, but after working with it a bit I realized that it was my mode of operation that was at fault. The stabilization doesn't kick in until you partly depress the shutter button (as you do to auto focus) and it takes a couple of beats before it gets up to speed. Also, the lens has to be relatively still (or tracking smoothly) in order for the stabilization to work properly. Initially, I was simply hurrying too much -- raising the camera and clicking off a shot. Now I have learned to work with the lens by slowing down and anticipating the shot, and the results are much better. I recently had the challenge of taking pictures of a performance from the back of a darkened auditorium. I cranked up the ISO to 1600 and carefully squeezed off my shots. Despite the very low lighting, I got some really great shots even with the lens run out to the full zoom! I think the thing I appreciate most about this lens is that the stabilization gives me just that much more stability to take photos with available light in difficult situations. Of course, there is a limit to what the stabilization can do -- you still have to practice a steady hand and it can't compensate for motion of the subject -- so every shot doesn't come out perfect. But the stabilization feature does greatly improve the odds of getting the shot you are trying for when you can't or don't want to use flash. At this point, my only "negatives" about the lens are that it is fairly heavy for lugging around and I wish I had a little more wide angle capability (the 60% crop factor of my XT makes it effectively a 47-225mm lens). On the vanity side, it's an impressive looking piece of hardware (especially if you fit it with the Canon hood) and the heft of the lens balances well in the hand. All things considered, I'm very satisfied with this purchase.
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