Just get one...

For the price it's a million times better than the kit lens. Got some great photos out of this lens and I doubt I'll ever attach the kit lens again. Can't really understand why Canon ship the EOS400D with the frankly dreadful kit lens.

Excellent value

I have spent years suffering with an old Tamron 28-200mm zoom lens and had got used to crappy results.
I was therefore not expecting much from this budget Canon lens.
It therefore came as a very pleasant surprise when I reviewed the first few dozen photographs I took while testing out the lens's capabilities in relatively poor light (right at the end of the day).
The results are truly amazing. The pictures are pin sharp. I managed to capture pictures of birds in flight where the individual hairs on the feathers are clearly distinguishable.
The build quality is leaps ahead of the poor quality 18-55mm lens that came with my 20D.
At this point I can honestly say I'm a very happy bunny indeed....

Good camera cleanning pen

It is one of the best in the market. It is neat and light. You can carry it with you outdoor. It is especially good for small lens camera. Good Stuff!

Excellent performance for the money.

This and a Tokina 12-24mm ultra wide angle lens are my travelling companions everywhere I go. The Tokina is wonderful for landscape/seascape shots, the Canon 70-300mm for getting in nice and close for sharp detail. I've also used it very successfully for portraiture (allows you distance, so no need to crowd your model) and for fine art photography subjects. It's an absolute boon for travelling, being fairly light, and the image quality is consistently high every time. Thanks to the Image Stabilisation, hand-held shots, even at the full telephoto 300mm range of things, are plenty sharp enough and despite its relatively small aperture, the IS ensures the lens performs well in fairly dingy light too - providing you know how to set your camera up right. Okay, so the build isn't L class, but then you're not paying L Class money either. For a very useful and extensive zoom range, image quality, and convenience, this lens is invaluable and excellent value for money.

Great budget starter lens for the amatuer/hobbyist

I bought this lens about eight months ago for my Canon 350D. If like me you bought the kit that comes bundled with the 18-55mm lens you'll notice there is a big gap when it comes to zoom/telephoto shots, this is a great budget tele-photo zoom lens that does what it says on the tin, and fills the gap nicely.

I am an amateur photographer at best and still learning, but after using the lens for a while I was disappointed to learn that the f stop values really do make a big difference - the widest aperture you will be able to set this lens to is 4.0 at 75mm and only 5.6 at 300mm, if your really serious you need a fast lens like f/2.8, and definitely with IS (image stabilisation) - the lens is not that heavy (for me), but during a long shoot it starts to feel like a cannon (pardon the pun), the lens really protrudes out at towards the 300mm end, and if you hold the camera pointing straight down, expect lens creep. Add an external flash onto the hot shoe and expect a real workout!

My wife complains its way too heavy - especially with a speedlite mounted on top, just carry a tripod if you expect to be on a long shoot, or mount the external flash on a tripod (you'll need something like a speedlite wireless remote for this, expensive, but its tiny and weighs next to nothing and gets the speedlite off the camera).

Having said all that, I have got some really great shots with this, and overall for the price you pay for this lens it's a real good value for money. If I'm going to a function, like a party within a hall, I would almost always use this lens (not to good for mid range shots - 50mm better for this, which is why I carry another camera to save swapping lenses about), great for candid photography where you can position yourself at the other side of the hall and take shots without distracting or letting your subjects know they are being shot - just have a strong arm, and good light conditions/flash. For portrait shots, and shots where you slow the shutter speed use a tripod, or you get too much blur/softness. If you also intend to pan the shot, a tripod with a panning handle is also essential.

The other thing you need to bear in mind is the multiplication factor (of the focal length) of your camera. Unless your lucky enough to have a camera with the same focal length as a 35mm film camera, i.e. a full 35mm frame size, the camera may effectively crop the image to fit on the film sensor - the 350D has a factor of x1.6, this means this lens is effectively a 120mm - 480mm lens (!) This is great on the tele-photo side, you get more magnification than you pay for, but not so good for wide angle or down at the 75mm end, where you've actually got 120mm. (Because of this factor, if you want a wide-angle lens and you have a 350/400D then you'd be better off going for ultra wide 14mm).

Bottom line, it's a heavy lens, and no IS, but for the price of the lens very good value for money! I haven't regretted buying this, and unless you're a really serious photographer, and shoot within the limits of this lens you wont either.

Works well with the EF-S 10-22mm

It should have been included with the EF-S 10-22mm lens. Canon is not really nice with its"amateur" customer, even if it is not a L lens it is cheap to not include it compare to the competition.

Far better than the 18-55 mm kit lens

I've bought this lens as a kit lens in Asia with a 400D (why not offer it in Europe as an optionnal kit lens Canon?) and it is the ideal starting lens. Good range (27-136 mm equivalent), sharper than expected, and reasonnably fast.

A must-have addition to your kit

I'm relatively new to amateur photography, and bought this lens after TRAWLING through (i think) every single review available. Three months down the line, and I'm unbelievably glad I spent the time I did researching a lens that I wanted as a decent 'walkaround'.

Focus lock is very quick and accurate - only a couple of times photographing very similar tones in low light has the lens lens suffered, but any lens in the same situation would do the same. The lens actually focuses a second time after the initial lock to get very sharp pictures. It also features FTM (Full Time Manual) focusing which I've found particularly useful.

The lens is certainly heavier than the standard 18-55 EF-S kit lens, but more than light enough to carry around all day. The construction feels very solid - the lens barrel is plastic, while the metal mount gives the lens a hugely firm and professional feel.

I've found one of the two great things about this lens is the Image Stabilisation (IS). I've used the lens a few times to photograph bands where flash photography is banned (or frowned upon), and it's come up trumps. Anywhere in even slightly low light and it has proven invaluable in keeping my handheld images sharp. Go into a camera shop, find any Canon lens with IS and take comparison shots with it turned on and off. Honestly; you'll see what I mean.

The other is the focal length. 28mm is more than handy for landscape shots (in any case you can stitch together the shots on your computer after), and having the zoom go through to 135mm is perfect for portraits and places where you need that extra reach. I think it's best suited as a walkaround lens - especially when taken travelling.

One of the downsides I've found to the lens, though, is the lack of lock on the lens barrel itself. When the camera is pointing in a downward position, the lens can creep which is frustrating. Especially annoying when I have the lens on my tripod pointing to the floor. Grr.

Other than that, I can really see nothing to complain about the 28-135 IS USM. The IS is a dream; the images are sharper than I think the price tag warrants; the USM is silent as a mouse; focusing is quick; the focal range is excellent (but then of course that depends on what you want the lens for!!); and the variable aperture range (f/3.5-5.6) is decent enough for the majority of uses.

I'm not a professional, so distortion, flare, Bokeh and vignetting are beyond me. There are some very good review of this lens splattered all over the Web for that kind of detail.

I'm fantastically happy with this lens, and firmly believe it'll always be a part of my camera bag as my years and experience roll on! Happy buying...

Far better than the 50mm f1.8

I've tried all of Canon's 50mm lenses from the cheap, plasticky f1.8 to the hyper-expensive f1.0. This is the best compromise and allows decent shutter speeds in low light without flash. It ia sharp all the way to the edges (upto A3 at least) and doesn't seem to be affected by flare even without a lens shade. If all you have used is the zoom that came with the camera kit, I suggest you try this and see what a difference a decent prime (single focal length) lens makes. At nearly £300, however, it is quite an investment, but worth it.

Very Good Lens

The build quality (both look and feel) of this lens is far superior to the stock lens supplied with the 400D.
Since purchasing this lens I've had little need to use the stock lens for wider angle shots but I still carry the stock lens around just in case.
This lens focuses very quickly and is very sharp. I've used it for landscape, action and macros and have had extremely good results in all areas.
If you want to step up from the stock lens and you are on a budget, then this lens is a very good choice. A very pleasant surprise comes out of the box. A lens hood is a must have.

Does well if you know what to expect

I've had one of these and have been using it for over a year. I wanted something that extended the eyepiece so I didn't have to turn my face sideways to look through the viewfinder. It achieves that aim just fine. Yes it does shrink the image - this may be an issue for some, especially those using cameras with a smaller viewfinder image. I'm using it on a 5D, which has a very large viewfinder image. So large, in fact, that I find it hard to take the whole image in without looking around it. The eyepiece extender helps me to see the whole frame before I shoot so I consider the image shrinking to be a benefit. I understand, though, that many will not. I've not found any problems focusing manually with the eyepiece extender attached.

4/5 stars. I'm knocking 1 off for the slightly plasticy construction.

Teaches you everything you need to know

I adore it. I resent having to remove it from my camera because it's such fun to use. However, this is not a lens for everyday use - it's for savouring and exploring new perspectives with. On an EOS 40D it's effectively a 160mm lens so it's really not a general purpose lens. It's a lens for savouring. Set everything on your camera to manual. Take your time, and re-learn everything. I love it.
On a 40D I have the advantage of using LiveView with digital zoom to help me focus in low-light conditions. If you're considering using it with a 350 or 400D make sure to try before you buy - you might find manual focus pretty challenging with the dim viewfinder that todays prosumer DSLRs have.
Nevertheless, I've no regrets: if you want to do macro photography this is the lens to start with. Oh, and get the best tripod you can afford; you'll need it! Consider a manfrotto 055XPROB and a ring flash to complete your macro capabilities.

What a difference!

I could hardly believe it when I attached the lense - the picture opened up spectacularly, with little curvature at the edges and a nice, crisp image. It's a small, very light add-on too, so you won't notice any difference in size or weight of the camera when you are using it, and the lense is easily removed and carried about in the case supplied. And at the prices offered here, how can you say 'no'?

I can't recommend this highly enough, I actually wonder how often I'm going to film with the lense off now.

a fantastic investment

I bought this lens shortly after purchasing a canon a620 to give me extra range and the 1.7x magnification does make a real difference! The photo's which come out are clear and of exactly the same condition as on the regular 4x zoom, perfect for getting that bit closer to birds etc. I have since upgraded to a canon s2 and have found it to be of less use - at 12x zoom + the adaptor, the contrast in the pictures is too stong. However, in general, I would say that the canon lenses in the cameras themselves are excellent and within the 1-4x zoom range, this extra lens is a fantastic investment. Just make sure you get the right adaptor for it to fit your camera!!