By far, the SHARPEST lens I own.

When I started doing Digital SLR photography, I started out slow. I already spent most of my money on the D30 digital body to the tune of $2800, and didn't have many choices in lenses.

So, I purchased a 28-200mm zoom lens as an all-arounder (which was amazingly sharp for what it was, but wasn't the fastest in the world) along with some essentials (flash, etc). I was happy with it for the most part, but there were times where the zoom wasn't QUITE good enough. There were also lower light situations where the lens wasn't quite fast enough. After my wallet recovered from the first $3500 I plinked down, I decided to kick it up a notch with the 28-135mm IS (image stablization) lens and a 75-300mm IS. Again, neither of them were INSANELY fast or sharp, but were a good match for the D30's 3.1 megapixel sensor. The IS system let you hand-hold some shots you normally wouldn't have been able to, and the photos themselves were reasonably high quality.

Then along came the D60 and it's whopping 6.3 Megapixel sensor. By this time, I was a daily reader on all the "usual suspect" websites, and a regular contributor to their forums (my favorite being www.dpreview.com). There was always a lot of buzz about Canon's "L" series lenses and their incredible contrast and sharpness. After taking a few shots with the D60 and the lenses I owned, I decided I just HAD to see what I could do with these L's that made everyone so addicted to them.

I headed down to Adorama camera in lower manhattan, and decided to pick up a couple of these L's. I really stuck my nuts out at this point, buying both the 28-70mm f/2.8L and the 70-200 f/2.8L IS. I dragged these lenses home and immediately started shooting pictures of my daughter in that sweet afternoon light.

I ran upstairs to get these images transferred to my PC. Little did I know, I was about to "take the first hit" from the big photographic crack pipe.

Physically, the lens is definitely on the large side. If you were to place it next to any non-L zoom lens in the same zoom range (I think 28-85 is closest) you would find that it's a lot beefier, a lot tougher looking, and somewhat heavy. It's a standard EF mount lens, stretching out to its outer lens element that accepts 77mm filters. If you're purchasing one of these, do yourself a favor and get yourself a nice multicoated haze filter for the end of this pup, something on the order of a Hoya SMC. The lens itself comes with a hood, something all lenses should include but often don't.

One thing i've noticed with this lens as opposed to the 17-35mm L and the 28-200mm L is that this one isn't an internal focusing lens. The outer element does protrude roughly 1.5 inches while zooming in and out. Focus performance is out of this world. Quiet, fast and predictable, even with the D60's somewhat substandard autofocusing. The focus ring works regardless of camera setting (AF or Manual) which is nice if your eyes are a lot sharper than the camera's. However, i'm afraid with the amateurish viewfinder on the D60, I rely much more on the AF properties of the camera/lens combo.

Given the D60's 1.6x focal multiplier, this lens effectively becomes a 45mm to 112mm zoom. This is actually a very good range for portrait photography, as well as some short-zoom stuff. I mainly use this as my "main" lens, as it seems to be appropriate 75% of the time in day-to-day situations. Since i'm often taking portraits of my wife and new daughter, I use this as my main portrait lens. While a lot of people SWEAR by the 50mm f/1.5 non-L prime, I have not found a good reason to bother getting one since this covers just about any application i've run into so far. As far as the lens' speed is concerned, the f/1.4 rating on the 50mm might be nice for REALLY low light situations, but the 28-70's rated f/2.8 maximum aperture across its entire focal range is certainly good enough for even the most demanding portrait photographer. Even in late LATE afternoon, i'm able to get an appreciable shutter speed even at the far end of the lens' focal length.

I cannot stress enough how sharp this lens is. It is SHARP SHARP SHARP. Colors and contrast are also absolutely phenomenal and have that "pop" that i've only seen in photos taken with other L's. While the "accepted" rule in photography is that Prime fixed focal length lenses are sharper than Zooms, this lens is a rulebreaker as far as i'm concerned. It is tack sharp from the wide end to the telephoto end and EVERYWHERE in between. Its bokeh quality is also outstanding offering predictable and non-distracting backgrounds. Note: 'bokeh' refers to the intentional out-of-focus background qualities at large apertures, typical in outdoor portrait applications.

For those of you considering of making the switch from the 28-135mm IS lens and think you might be missing out on that IS action, I can honestly say I don't miss it. With the faster lens, i'm able to get an appreciable shutter speed without any blurring even in lower light situations. This is clearly a better lens on all fronts when compared to the 28-135mm IS (heck, for the price it better be).

Since purchasing this and the 70-200mm f/2.8 IS, I have also picked up the 17-35mm f/2.8L. I've also picked up a 1.4x Teleconverter to give me an effective 480mm zoom for long zoo hunts. I simply love Canon's L line, and don't think I can ever go back to their standard line from this point further. The photos are just FAR more to my liking, and people really take notice of the shots i've taken with the L's over previous lenses I've owned.

Yes, it will cost you. As of this writing, this lens goes for around $950. But you won't be sorry. Honest.