Canon EF 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6L IS USM Lens
Review by Boris Kandov : Nice piece of glass.

I was salivating for this lens for four months and finally bought one a few weeks ago from the Amazon. I was very excited and couldn't wait to put this glass on my 20D.
First impression I got was that this lens is not that heavy as 3.7 pounds may seem, but boy I was wrong about that. It feels solidly built and looks not that huge on the body. So there we go... After filling up my 1GB CF with shots (taken outside, inside with external flash and without, with different f-stops and all range of zooms) and closely examining the results I decided to write this review with which I did not try to downplay the qualities of this piece of art, just to share my humble opinion.

Pros:
All in one solution (well may be except super wide)
Under most light conditions the lens performs as expected which is very good
Great zoom range that converts to 45-460mm on APS-C bodies
Nice color saturation and contrast, gorgeous bokeh
Push pull zoom (for some may not) which allows lightning fast zoom change
Focusing distance only 0.7 meter for any zoom range!
IS is doing a great job on longer exposure times
Quiet and fast focusing, never had a hunting problem
Included lens case is of good quality

Cons:
Painfully heavy (you start to feel it after an hour or so)
Pricy the much more suitable price would be around $1700.00
Softness in pictures at the 28 and 300mm range with fully opened aperture.
Focusing ring is too close to tightening ring so when you trying to loosen the tension inadvertently you may change the focus.
Very inconvenient to loosen tightening ring with one hand almost always had to do it with both hands
Aperture falls fast to f/5.6 somewhere in the 85-100mm range.
200 and 300mm ranges are too close to each other which makes it hard to adjust to precise zoom and it's causing overshoot. At the very end (300mm) lens gets stuck and you have to use force to push it back, and that's prevents you from gradually and smoothly change the zoom in between 180-300mm. I heard it's because it's new and this will go away.
The lens hood is barely sufficient at 28mm and almost completely useless at 300mm.
The shoulder strap is very narrow and will definitely pinch a nerve if you carry the lens case around your neck or shoulder

Overall it's a great solution if you only want to carry one lens and if you want to travel "light" but really don't know what focal lengths are required. But still I decided to return mine back and replace it with EF 24-105 L IS USM f/4 and EF 70-200 L USM f/2.8. as it's performance did not live up to my expectations for such high price and inconvenience to carry such a heavy load on your shoulder all day around.

Canon EF 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6L IS USM Lens
Review by David "dave jones" : optimal event photography lens

i shoot mostly family events, specifically candids, so this lens is ideal for me.

---[ CONS ]---

[1] weight
your arm will probably hurt after shooting for a few hours, especially with its push/pull it gets long so your arm is extended holding all that weight. there hasnt been a person yet I let try the lens that didnt immediately say "wow, thats heavy". i read that in the reviews and thought "na, I can handle it". nope. i have to admit I had to take breaks. not for the timid. (maybe itll toughen me up)

[2] cost
$2k+ for a non "fast" lens? come on canon - make us a 28-300mm f/2.8L! :-)

[3] push/pull
Im not a big fan but am getting used to it. my guess is its not the more popular twist style cuz the range is just too long - itd probably take two twists to go thru the whole range. push/pull does allow you to get the zoom VERY quickly. again, great for candids.

[4] length
fully extended its awkward to hold at times. especially if you attempt to fine tune the range.

[5] slow low-light AF
it hunts in doors, especially at the higher zoom. but to be fair its gotta cover alot of range and its quick enuff in the 28-70 range.

[6] fast range fall off
Id say 50% of the physical range is 28-90 and the last 50% is 90-300. it falls off especially fast from 200-300. I find it hard to get anything in between. it kinda slams to the 300 and its a bit of a trick to pull it back a little. 300 is so much zoom I find myself often in too close and then needing to fiddle to back off a little, loosing a second or so which might loose the shot.

[7] min focal distance is a tad too long
I find myself having to physically back away from people when shooting 28mm. I guess Im spoiled by the 24-70 - i enjoy some of the face-distorting shots it can do so closely and the 28-300 cant.

---[ NEUTRAL ]---

[1] inconspicuousness
the lens is white and huge so just about everyone will notice you. the pro is people will take you seriously and it can be fun to talk shop. the con is that its harder to blend in so it makes getting some of those more candid shots more difficult.

---[ PROS ]---

[1] image quality
is as good as my 24-70mm f/2.8L. sharpness, color, contrast, etc. its definitely an L-series.

[2] range
IMHO the best feature is Im ready to shoot anything and I dont have to change lenses. its the do anything lens.

[3] fast AF
AF is L-series fast outdoors with sufficent light.

[4] IS
the IS on this lens is absolutely amazing. at 300mm its like someone grabbed the lens to help me stablize it. indoors its actually amazing as well. at 70mm with my f/2.8L i might have had 1/60 shutter and I may only get 1/20 with my 28-300 BUT with the IS the shot isnt blurry (with a steady hand). ironically Im seeing less blurry shots indoors than with my 24-70 which doesnt have IS.

[5] bokeh
the blurred backdrop at 300mm is stunning. its very pro looking.

[6] fun
this lens is just fun to shoot. maybe its just cuz its new but Im finding myself shooting twice as many shots cuz with the range theres just more to shoot now. Im finding I can be much more creative now.

[7] tightening ring
...is a nice touch. very useful.

[8] rugged
the upside of its weight is its built like a tank so I neednt worry about banging this $2k+ tool against something or scratching it.

[9] switch placement
btw, I dont find the placement of the switches to be a problem like some other reviews. I think they have to be close cuz you cant put them on the barrel since it moves - unlike the 70-200.

[10] natural candids
an awesome serendipity is that 300mm is enuff range that Im seeing very natural looking candids cuz Im far enuff away from people that Im not in their space so they relax. with my 24-70 Id have to get close enuff that itd change their expression slightly. even if Im zoomed way in at 300mm and my subject sees me Im still physically far enuff away that they dont feel threatened (but if they only knew!) :-) this creates PRICELESS shots in my opinion. It definitely has that paparazzi quality. its this last quality that makes the cons worth it to me.

bottomline: I can deal with the cons for the pros. you get what you pay for. nice work canon! :-)

.dsj.

Canon EF 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6L IS USM Lens
Review by J. Tu "Dog Photo Man" : Fast, clear, heavy performer

I bought this lens for my EOS 20D. Before this lens, I was using EOS 28-135mm lens. After the upgrade, I found that 28-300mm lens give me almost distortion free image even at 300mm range. When I used 28-135mm lens, the distortion on the image is very visible when I am at 135mm range. Even at the wide angle range, I noticed that 28-300mm lens gives me much sharper image while 28-135mm lens gives me much softer image. The focus is very fast for 28-300mm L lens. On the down side, this 28-300mm lens is really heavy. Holding it will really wear you out. The auto/manual focus switch is arranged in a very awkard position. It is very easy to change your auto foucs setting to manual setting. The lens also will be pulled all the way down due to its weight when you carry it around. I have to carry it with my hand and not make it extend itself all the way down. If picture quality is what you are after, go for this lens. I am very pleased with the sharpness and the fast focusing.

Canon EF 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6L IS USM Lens
Review by R. Wilson : Great all-around lens

The other reviewers have done a great job outlining the pros and cons of this lens. I've had mine over 1.5 years now, and it is the lens I use the most and the one that gets the best photos. I've used it for sports photography (tennis), hiking, nature, fireworks, etc. The weight is significant, but I don't notice it when I shoot because I am so wrapped up in what I am doing. I did buy a new camera strap made of neoprene and this makes the around-the-neck weight very bearable.

Canon EF 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6L IS USM Lens
Review by Michael Engelen "michael_engelen" : The best One-For-All-lens you can get

This is the best One-For-All-lens for your Canon body--as long as it is a 1.3xFOV body like that is 1DMkII, 1DMkIIN or 1DMkIII. For my liking it's too long on the wide end for a 1.6xFOV body. Versatility and quality are as outstanding as color and contrast. You can get pictures that you otherwise would not get without this one lens. The IS makes it perfect for almost all situations. A perfect travel lens and a great walk-around lens even though it is really heavy. It's my preferred lens if I don't know precisely what to expect. See http://www.meview.de