Is A 28-90mm Lens Good For Everyday Use?

[Davey_8313]

Just as the title states, is a 28-90mm lens good for every day use? I'm just asking b/c I have a chance to get a Canon 20D w/ that lens for $400 something. Thank you.

[Franglais]

I imagine that your're talking about an APS-C sensor (for $400). The 28-90 is the equivalent of a 45-145mm in film terms.

No this is not very useful for everyday use. It goes from "normal" to "telephoto" with no "wide-angle" setting. Even the humblest point-and-shoot goes down to a 35mm equivalent and some even go down to 28mm equivalent.

This 28-90 is a lens that was made for film cameras and has been sitting in a warehouse for the last 5 years. You want a really useful walk-around kit lens then get a 18-55 (equivalent of a 29-88mm in film terms)

However if you're talking about a boxed, new, unstolen Canon 20D with 28-90 for $400 - that's not such a bad deal. Use the lens a few times to see what it can do then get a better one.

[Davey_8313]

Alright, thank you. It says it's a Canon lens.

[Franglais]

It's probably this one:

http://www.photographyreview.com/cat...2_3128crx.aspx

Notice that all the reviews are from 2004-2005 and are talking about using the lens on a film camera.

This sort of lens usually has limited definition - it can't resolve very fine detail, especially in the corners. This didn't matter too much with film because the film didn't have great resolving power either, but it's a problem with DSLR's because the sensor elements are so small. I stopped using many of my film lenses when I went from a 6Mpix DSLR to a 10Mpix DSLR. The 20D is 8Mpix so it might not be too hard on the lens.

[freygr]

Film or full sized digital it would be OK. But for the smaller DSLR sensors it would be a normal to short telephoto lens, good for portraits. For the small sensor DSLR's I would say a 17- 80 or 200 is a great walk around lens.