Canon EF 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5 USM Lens

I bought one of these lenses on eBay for $65. It was advertised as in excellent condition but it is missing the covering for the distance scale window and the zoom ring is a bit stiff to turn. That said, it's a really nice lens and I'll be on the lookout for a better copy at some point.

There are four or five versions of this lens which can be difficult to differentiate. When I first learned that this lens existed I did some research but all of the reviews had conflicting information about the different versions. Here a few of the sites I visited:

http://www.photozone.de/reviews/189-canon-ef-28-105mm-f35-45-usm-test-report--review

http://www.ebay.com/gds/WARNING-BUYERS-Canon-EF-28-105mm-USM-Lens-CONFUSION-/10000000003434191/g.html

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-EF-28-105mm-f-3.5-4.5-II-USM-Lens-Review.aspx

http://kenrockwell.com/canon/lenses/28-105mm.htm

The Ken Rockwell review is the one that motivated me to seriously consider this lens.

The one I obtained has the MACRO designation but is not labeled "II" and was made in Japan. It has a seven blade aperture. This should be mechanically identical to the lenses labeled "II" but Canon's DPP software identifies the lens as the original not the "II". The software has, however, a lens profile for the original as well as the "II" so all the corrections of the Digital Lens Optimizer function can be applied.

When I look for a better copy of the lens I will probably stick to the "II" version as they will be newer and more likely to be in better physical  condition. Although made in Taiwan, there shouldn't be a quality difference.

It's a small lens compared to my faster L zooms. Here it is with, the barrel extended at 105mm, along side 24-70mm f/2.8 and 70-200mm f/2.8 lenses.

My first foray with the lens was at Cohoes Falls where the shot of the walkway in my last post was made. Here are some images made with a 5D Mark III showing the extremes of the zoom range along with some HDR images of the falls.

28mm

105mm

A Sunny Fall Morning Perfect for HDR

I did some HDR bracketing at two different locations this morning. First, on my walk up the canal trail North of Waterford, NY with my EOS 5D Mark III and EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM lens.

The colors are starting to turn and the mix of Fall colors with green is quite nice. Here are three shots from that morning walk, organized from South to North along the trail.

Field of Cattails between canal and RR tracks.

Old Champlain Canal lock

Momentive silicone plant's backside

A bit later I made a stop to check out a very cheap inexpensive piece of newly acquired gear. A lens, to be more specific. This shot was made with that lens. The next blog will provide details about that lens and reveal the location.

Before and After

After a pretty dry September, water levels on area bodies of water were quite low so when a few days of potentially heavy rains were forecast I decided to document the before and after.

The before shots were made Monday morning, September 28th. 3.85 inches of rain fell at the nearby Albany International Airport on Tuesday and Wednesday. The after shots were made either the evening of September 30th or the morning of October 1st.

Mohawk River, 9/28/15

Mohawk River, 9/30/15

Mohawk River, 9/28/15

Mohawk River, 10/1/15

Mohawk River, 9/28/15

Mohawk River, 10//1/15

Peebles Island Bog, 9/28/15

Peebles Island Bog, 10/1/15