Have EOS 300 kit and am looking to upgrade lens to either USM 28-105 or 28-135 IS. Would prefer to go with the bigger lens as I do a lot of traveling in Asia and feel the longer reach and IS would be useful for capturing impromptu shots, plus this would allow me to travel light with just a single lens. Only concern is whether weight, 72mm filter size is a little big for the EOS 300 body. Any handling problems with this combo? How much will this interfere with the built-in flash unit?

-- David Lawder (david_lawder@yahoo.com), February 27, 2002

Answers

the 28-135 should be fine as long as you hold it by the lens more than by the camera. i belive (not sure though) that the EOS 300 has a plastic lens mount so you should be wary about letting the camera dangle while carrying over your shoulder. a simple upgrade to an elan ii or elan 7 could fix this problem. other than that they are both superb lenses that should work fine when handled with care on your current body.

-- Jeff Nakayama (moonduck22@hotmail.com), February 27, 2002.

I've used the 28-135 with EOS-500n (presumably of the same built quality as the EOS-300) and quite often held the combo by the EOS body without any problems. The lens mount isn't made of cardboard, it can take some rough/normal handling. Never felt I was taking a risk by handling the camera this way.

O.K., the 28-135 is a bit bulky and not lightweight, but the longer lens and the IS come in handy, especially while travelling. IMO this is the best travel lens, at least in Canon land.

The lens will block some of the light from the built-in flash, especially while using the lens hood. Can't tell you how much since with this lens I will use an external flash.

-- Jos van Eekelen (jos@compuserve.com), February 28, 2002.

i have a EOS 300 + ef 28-135mm lens. i don't think that weight or 72mm filter size is a major problem. if you are not carrying too many lenses then its ok. with this combo and a battery pack BP200 it gets a professional camera look and feels similarly. that increase in weight increases the stability when you handhold the camera.

-- sajeev (chack74@yahoo.co.in), February 28, 2002.

Oh, my goodness! David, I sometimes use a 3 pound Canon 70-200/2.8L on my little Rebel 2000. Sometimes a Canon 400/5.6L. With a Canon Extender. They use 77mm filters and are a lot bigger than the 28- 135. It's not a problem. As for flash with the 28-135, just take off the hood when you use the built in popper.

-- Lee (Leemarthakiri@sport.rr.com), March 01, 2002.

well Lee, i guess, even taking off the hood will not help much, especially when you are shooting at lower focal lengths like 28mm. i took a couple of shots at 28mm with built-in flash of my EOS 300 and got the lens shadow at the bottom. but when shot at higher focal lengths and cropping the bottom, it worked as usual.

-- sajeev (chack74@yahoo.co.in), March 02, 2002.

Many thanks for your input, after checking them out, am now leaning toward 28-105 due to budget constraints. As I'm still very new to SLR, am thinking it may be better to go for the 28-105, get some practice and save for 'L' glass. On some consumer review sites, 28- 105 seems to get lower optical marks than the 28-135 or the 24-85. Camera shop guys say there's no difference in optics for these three lenses. Any opinions?

-- David Lawder (david_lawder@yahoo.com), March 07, 2002.