In-lens IS allows sharp images to be captured from a camera handheld at very long exposures and it also provides a stabilized viewfinder image that aids in subject framing. This twisting causes the focus ring to turn - which drives the gearing inside the lens if in AF mode. Engage with our used photography equipment partner MPB in a forum dedicated to giving members the opportunity to feedback their experiences or seek advice. I've previously tried my friend's EF 24-105 f/4L IS USM and I'm amazed that this lens can do almost the same speed as that USM on a L lens that is about 8 times more expensive, though it is quite noisy. The manual focusing ring isn't very well damped, and feels quite loose in operation, which can make applying fine focus adjustments a little harder than it may be, as the focus ring is very easily nudged.

You may not be able to shoot tiny details like you would with a pro macro lens, but you can still definitely get great results. Because of the dual speed MF ring, large focus distance adjustments can be made very quickly while precise fine tuning is made available. The newer Image Stabilization is also much quieter than the older generation IS which is nice since the older louder ones could be somewhat distracting. Those of you bold enough to do serious video work with this lens will have a small amount of focus breathing to work with. In this case, the cost of the quality filter to cost of the lens ratio is high enough for me to give pause to the recommendation.It was listed as condition "V" and after unpacking the lens, it looks to be in nearly new condition. How to read our charts The blue column represents readings from the centre of the picture frame at the various apertures and the green is from the edges. is still a respectable maximum magnification spec and this lens will work well for images of relatively small items including larger flowers and products in a wide range of sizes. This lens isn't a ''constant'' lens, in that as you increase the focal length, both the maximum and minimum aperture sizes decrease. Because the softening effects of diffraction becoming visible by f/8 with this camera, I didn't share the f/8 results in these comparisons.

While the center-of-the-frame performance is not amazing, it is not bad for a lens costing this little. At that point, the image is quite soft, but at least the softness is uniform at between 4 and 5 units.

Especially at the wide end, it would be nice to be able to use a circular polarizer AND the lens hood for landscape shots, and the rotating front makes that a PITA to achieve. Advances in DSLR low light performance (reduced high ISO noise), make even slow (narrow aperture) lenses more useful and, image stabilization comes to the rescue for low light motionless-subject photography. The IS version has changed the zoom dial grip texture; arguably, the non-IS version was just fine, but with the new grip there's no confusing the two. I'm still not a fan of the DA L series' plastic bases, but overall, I'm happy with the lens for what it is.