I am looking into getting a lens for indoor and low light photography (as it's main use). This lens would be used for taking pictures of people, mostly candid shots with a flash. I am looking for others opinions on the Canon 28-135 IS lens and the Tokina 28-70 f/2.8 lens. I'm concerned about focus speed and clarity of optics. Some prints may be enlarged to 8x10 or 11x14. I am leaning towards the Canon IS because of it's IS and it's focal range. I will not be using a tripod most of the time, I will hand hold with a Newton flash bracket on an EOS A2 with VG and 540ez flash. My biggest concern with the IS is it's optical quality. Has anyone used this indoors with a flash and been impressed with 8x10 or larger enlargements? Any comments from wedding photographers would be appreciated. You may be wondering why I didn't ask about the Canon 28-70 f/2.8L, mostly because it costs twice as much and may not be that much better optically than the Tokina, but if someone has knowledge of all these lenses and swears by the Canon "L", then I may consider puting up the extra $$ and getting it. Thanks for your input...

-- Bill Meyer (william_meyer@stortek.com), May 10, 1999

Answers

I would suggest you go with the Canon lens, either one. I own the 28- 70 2.8L, it is sharper than the Tokina and handles better. You can't beat the USM motors Canon uses. One of the reasons I switched from the Tokina to the Canon is the compatibility issue, the Tokina wouldn't function correctly with the Elan IIE/II. The mirror would lock up after the exposure and would release only after pressing the shutter button again. It is covered under warranty, but how many times do you want to send your lens in for a updated chip? Not every time I change bodies. I have seen slides from a 28-135 IS, they are almost as sharp as the 28-70, but have not shot the lens myself.

-- Dave Mitchell (mitchell@effectnet.com), May 10, 1999.

Just a thought, but do you need IS for your application? If you are using flash as the main lighting source IS is no advantage - the flash duration is so short that you can handhold any lens. If you are using available light and holdholding then IS will help reduce camera shake but it can't do anything about movement of the subject. The 28-135mm IS lens is relatively slow with an aperture of f/3.5 at 28mm and f/5.6 at 135mm i.e. around 1 to 2 stops slower than an f/2.8 lens forcing you to use a correspondingly slower shutter speed (or reduced flash range).

-- Chris Breeze (chris.breeze@iname.com), May 11, 1999.

Thanks for your response Chris, you bring up a very good point, I hadn't thought about it that way, even with the flash, I thought you'd still get some shake due to handholding, especially at 1/40 or 1/60, regardless that the flash only lasts for a minute fraction of that. I have read of many who use the 28-105 f/3.5~4.5 for this kind of photography and thought the 28-135 IS might be a better choice now.

-- Bill Meyer (william_meyer@stortek.com), May 11, 1999.