Spectacularly Sweet!

Author's Rating:

Pros: Very quick AF, razor sharp, solid build, beautiful versatility, and great looks.

Cons: Weight (I like it), high visibility, relatively short zoom, and expensive.

The Bottom Line: 
I highly recommend this lens for its fast aperture,focus speed, solid build, excellent design, versatility, and its super sharp imaging.

Author's Review
A few weeks ago I wrote a very favorable review for the Canon 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6mm IS USM lens. The title of my review was, "I'll Never Sell This Lens". Well, I'll stand by that review, I will never sell it, but I will give it away to one of my daughters (she is very pleased). My generosity is explained by a new love in my life, the Canon 24-70mm f/2.8L. To my deep regret, I reached the point in my hobby that I am no longer satisfied with the "good" images I was shooting, and decided to risk divorce by buying an "L" lens. The "L" designation (stands for luxury)is what Canon puts on its professional quality lenses. To prove their worth (and to let every thief in sight know that I am ripe for the picking), Canon bestows the revered red stripe on these lenses. To make absolutely sure that I also revere it, Canon, without blushing, sticks a price tag on it that is so high that I had to sell my camera to afford the lens! This lens is fast, this lens is sharp, this lens is spectacular! Never again will I put my here-to-fore favorite lens (the 28-135mm) on my Canon 30D because it wouldn't be fair to compare it to this one. This lens has a much shorter zoom (46mm, as opposed to 107MM), it is heavier (a full 16ozs), it is much longer, and it doesn't have my beloved Image Stabilization, but it rocks! The AF is lightning quick and very accurate, the zoom is silky smooth, and the focus and zoom rings are fast, intuitive, and spaced far enough apart to make it a snap select the ring you want and to operate it without looking. It can be even be used as a macro lens (15" minimum/1:3.5 magnification) if you need one in a pinch. It can be used for great portraits with a creamy bokeh, and is absolutely perfect for photographing weddings, parties, family reunions, etc., because of its wide 24mm capability. This lens is built for the ages, it is solid and well built with top notch materials (But be aware that it is not solid metal in order to save weight. There is a pretty accurate fact of life that big, fast, high quality lenses are, by definition, going to be heavy (2.1 lbs.). I personally love nice hefty lenses, and since I am a fairly large person a few extra ounces doesn't mean anything, but if you want a smaller, shorter, lighter lens you can go for Canon's 24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens, which is another great lens. As a matter of fact, everyone I have talked to says that they were torn between the 24-70mm and the 24-105 IS lens. Each has its own strengths and shortcomings, but either of them are going to make you happy. The price includes a lens hood, and a soft sided lens bag (for its price they should include someone's kid to carry it around for you).