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Questions & Answers

DEBORAH W : I have a new question about memory cards. Does the memory cards loose quality after it has been used and photo's deleted then reused.? If so how often is it recommended to change to keep quality of the shots taken?JOYCE R : I'm still using some that are several years old and they are fine. Make sure you FORMAT your cards and not just delete them. This will make a huge difference.Donald M : I am not sure about the cards. But I believe as long as they are properly deleted they should give you quality shots for a very,very long time.
DEBORAH W : Hello! I just purchased and received the 28mm. I tried it this weekend and am not happy with the bokeh at all compared to the 85mm. Suggestions?RICHARD T : Wish I could help. The 28mm served me real well, but there are some excellent alternatives. Sigma's lenses are terrific. If you're looking for a good wide-angle lens, look there, or to Canon's professional line. Hope this helps-LORIN B : Yes, change your expectations. You can't fool mother nature. The following is just a brief, nontechnical suggestion of what is involved in see bokeh -- i.e. seeing how the out of focus areas appear. The longer the lens, the greater the out of focus areas are for any given lens opening. Enlarge the image taken with the 28 to the same size you would get with your 85 if you had shot from the same distance with the 85. Of course it would show so much noise (aka grain) that it probably would be unusable. The depth of focus - a factor in when the out of focus elements of the image or bokeh appear - for any given focal length is a function of the focal length of a lens. Bokeh is also a function of the number of blades in the lens. A wide angle lens, as a matter of optical physics, has a greater depth of focus than does a longer lens at the same camera to subject distance. To make the point in a different manner: The bokeh of your 85 will appear different at different f stops since the larger the stop, the less depth of focus. With less depth of focus, the out of focus element will be greater. The bokeh of your 85 will appear different for any given subject for the same f stop as the lens to subject distance varies. The same is true of your 28 although it is not as apparent as in the 85 because of the inherent greater depth of focus in the 28. Check out an article on hyperfocal distance, which is the distance for maximal sharpness for a given f stop of a lens. The limiting variable is the circle of confusion -- the smallest image that your eyes can distinguish. Bokeh is also determined by the circle of confusion. Compare the depth of focus scales on each lens you get: With a 28, the range is from approximately 2 feet to infinity; with the 85, the range is approximately 15 feet to infinity.DAVID J : That is the nature of the lens - a larger DOF. I shoot prime lenses... 28/50 and 100. I use the 50 for fairly close portrait work with nicely blured backgrounds.. I haven't use the 28 much at a really close range... I like that it can have a large DOF particularly when stopped down.BROOKS W : Hi, If you are care about bokeh, then I suggest switching to Zeiss primes, like the 28mm f2. Superb bokeh. I know it is significantly more expensive, but you get what you pay for. To see what the Zeiss 28 bokeh looks like, see my vimeo 10334912 PRISM. It's a 1 minute video montage of the lens going from wide open to stopped down and back again. A less expensive alternative, if you can deal with manual lens and adaptors, is a used Contax / Zeiss 28 f2.8 - super value for money. The Contax 28 f2, an incredible lens, will not work on a full frame canon, but should on a DX, but hard to find. I had the canon 85 1.8 and the 100 f2 as well, sold them all and switched to nikon D800E. some of my Contax lenses I could modify to Nikon, but I prefer saving my money for Zeiss primes, because really can see the difference. That being said, the very affordable super sharp Nikon 85 1.8 I recently acquired, is much better than Canon's, and I would risk my money on their 28 vs Canon's. All the best, Brooks
DEBORAH W : For confined quarters is there another affordable lens u might recommend other then a 28mm that has the quality bokeh as an 85mm? I tried a 50 but still had to be to far away.BRIAN A : I have had a Canon 28mm f/1.8 for several years now. It is a great lens - especially for the money. I bought it for the same reason you gave. It provides great bokeh with wider view than nifty-fifty. It is probably worth pointing out that amount of bokeh for given aperture should be reduced as focal length decreases...NICOLE W : 35 mm might be a nice middle ground.

Reviews about this item

Review Summary

2018-01-23T04:42:37

Rated 5 out of 5

Very satisfied lens!

Canon lens is the no.1 lens for canon body. That is true! Compared with other competitors' lens, it provides more brighten and clean image.

jiwoo r.

2017-12-31T19:00:00

Rated 5 out of 5

Great prime lens

I was looking at the 24mm f/1.4 and the 2.6. Then I found this lens at half of the price. It had some bad reviews on You Tub, but also some good reviews. I needed a lens with a wide angle of view plus a fast lens. So I thought I would take a chance. After just a few days of use, I am getting some outstanding pictures with great color. Plus it works great in low light. For the price this turned out to be a outstand buy.

putts832

2016-10-07T16:02:10

Rated 5 out of 5

Great Light Gathering

So far, I'm enjoying this new lens. I've used it for the Northern Lights with good ISO speeds and short exposure times. It doesn't have IS but it's not important for a lens of this size unless you have problems with steadiness. A similar lens with IS can be purchased for substantially more $$. Save your money and go with this one instead. It works great!

PATRICIA P.

2016-09-12T20:00:00

Rated 5 out of 5

Still a solid choice on crop body

I have owned this lens for almost three years and have used it on a 40d, 60d and a 7d. I love the speed and accuracy of the USM focus system and appreciate the solid build quality and feel of this lens in hand. Of late, I have used this lens quite a lot on my older 40d body where having such a wide aperture lets me compensate for a relatively low maximum ISO speed. Under certain conditions it can sometimes produce some CA against a bright sky, but overall, I am very happy with the output from this lens and would buy it again without hesitation. Makes a great standard lens on a crop body.

Claimjumper

2016-06-22T03:35:28

Rated 5 out of 5

Nice Lens

Solid Construction. Good low light performance on a T6i. Excellent sharpness at f2.8. Still not bad at f1.8. Nice wide angle without fisheye for a crop DSLR.

TOM H.

2016-04-10T13:08:05

Rated 5 out of 5

Great Lens

I shot a wedding yesterday and this was my first time with this lens! It was fabulous. The wide angle covered all my needs. I'm not a pro so I can't give you that insight but I have great pics and couldn't be happier. I also have a 50MM and an 85MM but this was my go to lens yesterday!

Debbie S.

2015-01-29T19:00:00

Rated 5 out of 5

Extremely Pleased

This has been my favorite lens so far. I have another fixed lens of Canon's that I fell in love with & both are great. The images are crisp and clear and they are sturdy/durable.

LuLu

2015-01-29T19:00:00

Rated 5 out of 5

Quiet, fast autofocus. Very useful field of view - I use this as my walk around lens on a full-frame camera when I go hiking. Wide enough for light landscape / architectural use (though, if this is a primary need of yours, you probably want something wider. Not so much distortion that shots of people are unusable. For me, it's in the sweet spot. It's plenty fast and I'm impressed with the sharpness.

badkarma

2014-12-23T19:00:00

Rated 4 out of 5

Almost great

I've used this lens for some video shoots and have gotten some amazing results. On a full frame, it's great for wedding receptions, concerts, etc. Sunstars are nice and it handles light really well... for the most part. In some photos, I've gotten some really nasty chromatic aberration. However, I still love it. Everyone needs a wide angle and this is a good one.

Connor

2014-03-28T20:00:00

Rated 5 out of 5

I LOVE THIS LENS!

This is the 4th lens (all Canon) that I purchased for my full frame 5D Mk II, and I love it. This lens has relegated my slower mid-range IS zoom to the closet. In a side by side test at 28 mm in evening light, the images this lens produces blows those of my slower mid-range IS zoom away! I prefer this lens for walk around and events - basically anytime I am not shooting portraits. It feels light and not bulky, makes my camera much more enjoyable to carry around. On top of that, it looks great and feels very well built. The only reason I didn't 5 stars for: Features - is it is simple - which is a good thing. What more does it need? Performance - I have read that certain other fixed L lenses have very slightly more contrast at apertures wider than 2.8, which is hard for me to believe after using this one. If I hadn't read that, I would have given this lens 5 stars. Quality - 4 stars only because it is not metal, but it feels solid like metal, and thank goodness it isn't metal because otherwise it would be heavier. Since you are reading this, you obviously think you might need a fixed 28 mm. My suggestion is stop reading and just buy this lens - you won't be sorry - unless you feel like you want to spend more on an L lens ...

sigxbill

2014-03-03T19:00:00

Rated 5 out of 5

Canon EF 28mm f/1.8 USM

Great lens. Bright, sharp, great images

ARNOLD Z.

2013-09-10T21:00:00

Rated 5 out of 5

Canon lens

It is wide enough for the Grand Canyon, but not too wide (or fish eye). It is quiet, and worked well shooting Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin West a week ago.

RICHARD W.

2013-08-17T21:00:00

Rated 4 out of 5

Quality construction, great pictures

I bought this lens for indoors and low light photography. My go-to lens has been the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8, but it is too tight indoors. Although I can't tell whether the photo quality is any better than my cheap 50mm, this lens definitely feels more durable and made with better materials than the 50mm. The autofocus seems pretty quick and also very quiet.

cassandraann1

2013-06-12T21:00:00

Rated 5 out of 5

My new favorite lens

I got this for my crop sensor t3i and it is awesome. I have used it for night shots and landscapes so far and it seems real sharp. Excellent in low light situations. The focal length is great for an everyday walk around lens. This will be mounted most of the time. I will be retiring the 18-55 kit lens for this one.

Dan

2013-06-04T20:00:00

Rated 4 out of 5

Fast Primes Are Your Friend

I bought this lens because I wanted a fast prime. That's precisely what I got. As the other reviews have said, this lens works out to be very close to an actual nifty fifty focal length on a crop sensor like the T3i. In hindsight, I probably should have gone with a 35mm or a 50mm, but that has nothing to do with the quality of this lens, just my preference. When I pulled this lens out of the box, I was thrown off by the weight. Coming from only having kit lenses before, the weight for the size of the 28mm was surprising to me. It's still very compact and wieldy, which is very nice for just bringing a camera and a lens with you on a trip. The working with a f/1.8 lens is great. Because of the fast aperture and short focal length, IS really isn't necessary. As I mentioned earlier, this lens works out to be roughly a 50mm, which I like because I learned on a film camera with a fast 50mm lens. However, you will still end up with the wide angle distortion. On a full frame camera, the field of view is quite stunning. Great for medium to small rooms or getting a close foreground and distant background.

Major

2013-05-20T21:00:00

Rated 5 out of 5

Great Lens

I love the quality of this lens so far, and the photos it produces. I love it because it represents a very real image, close to what the human eye sees - that gives the photos a lot more emotion, and the feeling that you're almost right there in the moment. Not to mention it's great in low light situations and focuses quickly & accurately - great for weddings & intimate gatherings!

mashbmash

2013-05-13T21:00:00

Rated 4 out of 5

Great Lens for the Money

Bought this lens as a light weight walk around lens on the 5d MKII. For the money you really can not complain. The lens is a little slow to focus in low light, but here agian it's not a L lens.

Fatboy

2013-05-02T20:00:00

Rated 5 out of 5

You Can't Go Wrong.

This is truly a great piece of engineering. I bought this lens with a wide-angle in mind, since I have a cropped sensor camera (T3i). The quality is great and the camera is perfect for street photography. I would personally refrain from using it for portraits... I use my 50mm for that. But that's personal choice! All in all, I'd say you cannot go wrong with this lens. The images are sharp, the focus is smooth. The only thing I could see people complaining about is the fact that it has a plastic body, which may make it feel a little cheap. But that is soon forgotten once your camera is turned on!

ImNotSam

2013-04-25T21:00:00

Rated 5 out of 5

Great for Portraits

This is one of the most beautiful lenses I've ever used. It's ability to take great portraits is insane. The high f/ stop is so fantastic when taking photos in a theater, too.

Christopher S.

2012-09-16T21:00:00

Rated 4 out of 5

Great all purpose lense

This is a quality product, sharp images, fast accurate USM. On my T3i the images are equal to a 45mm lense in 35mm format. This makes it a good choice for landscapes, low light, people and portraits. Overall you get sharper images than the average zoom. For those who grow up with 35mm film cameras it is like the 50mm or 35mm prime lense that were basic.

GIZMO

2012-09-14T20:00:00

Rated 5 out of 5

Nice lens on a EOS crop sensor

On a EOS crop sensor this lens works out to be a 44mm lens, which is probably why I like it so much. I've used it on a full frame camera too and it distorts on the edges, this is pretty cool too and makes the lens pretty versatile. The glass is nice and I'd buy this lens over and over just to make sure I had it in my bag.

robpossible

2012-08-05T21:00:00

Rated 4 out of 5

heavy but nice

I really liked it, is a little bit heavy but the pictures you get are worth it.

kaki p.

2012-06-03T21:00:00

Rated 4 out of 5

Good normal option for crop bodies

I chose this lens to serve as my fast normal prime on my crop body. It's an ideal focal length for a walk-around prime, much better than 50mm, which is too tight. The USM provides fast, accurate focusing. As a bonus, the minimum focus distance is impressively close, allowing for a lot of creative options. As to be expected, there's a bit of softness wide open, but nothing worth worrying about in this price bracket. Worst issue I've had so far is instances of stark chromatic aberration in high contrast, brightly lit situations. This can be removed in post, so it certainly won't keep me from using this lens a ton.

Alex B.

2012-03-04T19:00:00

Rated 5 out of 5

This is a really nice lens!

I purchased this lens as a 50mm equivalent on my cropped sensor 60D. I am very impressed with the build quality and the fast, quiet AF with USM. This lens is excellent in low light situations and allows for good bokeh in closeups. The lens provides very sharp images. It is one of my favorite lenses.

Preston

2012-03-04T19:00:00

Rated 5 out of 5

I really like this lens!!

I purchased this lens as a 50mm replacement on my cropped sensor 60D. This is a very nice lens. It has good build quality. The USM Auto Focus is fast and quiet. It is great in low light situations and works great with video. This is one of my favorite lenses

PRESTON G.

2012-02-05T19:00:00

Rated 5 out of 5

Great Wide Angle Lens

This is a great wide angle lens. I use it mostly for landscapes but it is also great for photographing large groups of people. Another great lens from Canon!

TERI B.

2012-01-15T19:00:00

Rated 4 out of 5

Falling in love with this lens!

I purchased this as a replacement to my "kit lens." I couldn't be happier. The pictures are crisp and clear!

SUZANNE M.

2012-01-01T19:00:00

Rated 5 out of 5

sharp images

it's worth the money. very nice lens. consistent output of sharp images.

Jane

2011-10-20T20:00:00

Rated 5 out of 5

Perfect!

This is my first lens away from T2i kit. It was a GREAT investment, the quality and feel of this lens is solid. The Focus is quick and silent and the focus ring is nothing to complain about. Before you buy, I suggest you do some research on Depth of Field. It will be something you will have to learn to understand if you plan on using F/3.5 or lower. I am more than satisfied with this lens, it's the perfect everyday lens. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise

Matt'sPhotoDesign

2011-10-09T21:00:00

Rated 4 out of 5

Great lens at reasonable price

I bought the lens primarily for stage photography at our local theater to use in conjuction with the Canon 85mm f1.8 lens. It does all I expected of it. It's a great lens at a reasonable price. I also found the combination of the two lenses quite useful for photographing high school basketball and volleyball games indoors.

LORIN B.

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Canon 28mm F/1.8 Specifications

General

General

Jump to...
  • Brand

    Canon

  • MPN

    2510A003

  • Lens Series

    Canon EF

  • Color

    Black

  • Lens Type

    Wide Angle

  • Lens Mount

    Canon EOS

  • Format Compatibility

    Full Frame

  • Focus Type

    Auto Focus

  • Focusing Technology

    N/A

  • Closest Focus Distance

    9.84" / 25cm

  • Distance Information

    N/A

  • Built-In Motor

    N/A

  • Focal Length

    28mm

  • Angle Of View

    75 deg.

  • 35mm Equivalent Focal Length

    Not Applicable

  • Coverage

    N/A

  • Minimum Aperture

    f/22

  • Maximum Aperture

    f/1.8

  • Maximum Magnification

    0.23x

  • Lens Coating

    N/A

  • Aspherical Elements

    Yes

  • ED Glass Elements

    N/A

  • Filter Size

    58mm

Construction

Jump to...
  • Lens Elements / Groups

    10 Elements / 9 Groups

  • Diaphragm Blades

    N/A

  • Dimensions

    2.9 x 2.2" (73.6 x 55.6mm)

  • Weight

    10.9oz / 310g

Features

Jump to...
  • Image Stabilization Type

    None

  • Tripod Collar

    Yes

  • Waterproof / Water Resistant

    N/A

  • Dust Resistant

    N/A

  • UPC Code

    082966213281

11 Accessories for Canon EF 28mm f/1.8 USM AutoFocus Wide Angle Lens - USA

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About Canon 28mm F/1.8

FEATURED REVIEWS

Good low light lens

By Aequitas

I take alot of pictures at concerts, mainly punk shows or shows where you can be close to the stage so zooming isn't a huge issue. (If I'm at bigger shows I'll use my 100mm Macro lens because its 2.8f and usually fast enough in low light situations, and takes great pictures too.) This lens is great for concerts, I can generally take pictures at any show without the use of flash. I've used this lens on a Rebel XTi and Elan 7NE and had great results with both. I use this lens the most out of th...

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Great Little Lens

By Michgirl

I have a T1i and mostly use the 15-85mm lens. Recently faced with a holiday shopping weekend in Chicago, I knew I wanted to bring my camera, but not carry around a heavy lens all day. I also wanted something that would take great indoor shots, restaurants and bars, as well as wide enough for street shots. After much reserach, I selected this lens due to the f/1.8 and width of lens. The first shots I took were like "oh wow", the larger aperture that noticable. My weekend trip produced some won...

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With the large maximum aperture, excellent background blur is possible even with a fast shutter speed. The aspherical lens element makes the lens compact and corrects spherical aberrations. The image is sharp even at the edges. Lead-free glass is used.

Fast and wide
The lens' large maximum aperture of f/1.8 ensures photographers can use fast shutter speeds in a variety of different lighting conditions, and blur backgrounds by controlling depth of field. An aspherical lens element corrects distortion and ensures the image is sharp across the frame. When fitted to EOS cameras with APS-C sized sensors, the EF 28mm f/1.8 USM offers a field of view equivalent to a 45mm lens on a full-frame camera, making this an ideal fast-aperture standard lens.

Ultrasonic focusing
A ring-type ultrasonic motor drives autofocus extremely quickly, and in near silence. Excellent holding torque ensures the point of focus is reached accurately, without overshooting. Furthermore, full-time manual override is available, making it possible to adjust focus without leaving AF mode.

Super Spectra coating
Super Spectra coatings ensure accurate color balance and enhance contrast. They also reduce flare and ghosting - a common problem caused by light bouncing off a camera's sensor.

Integration with E-TTL II flash metering
The EF 28mm f/1.8 USM passes distance information back to a compatible EOS camera's E-TTL II flash system to ensure optimal flash metering.

Canon 28mm F/1.8 Features

  • Wide 75 degree angle of view on full-frame cameras
  • Fast f/1.8 aperture
  • USM focus motor with full-time manual focus override
  • 25cm closest focusing distance
  • Aspherical lens element
  • 58mm filter size

Key Features

  • Wide 75 degree angle of view on full-frame cameras
  • Fast f/1.8 aperture
  • 25cm closest focusing distance
  • Aspherical lens element

What's in the box:

  • Canon EF 28mm f/1.8 USM Lens
  • Lens Cap E-58U
  • Rear Lens Cap E
  • Canon 1 Year Warranty