Interesting stats from lensrental on their repair issues. I’d conclude that this is a pretty respectable resource.

Link

The 17-55 IS EFS, 10-22 EFS, and the 100-400 IS L appear to be the most problematic. The 17-55 IS EFS seems to especially garner quality control complaints by users on forums.

on the other hand, it looks like there are some serious issues with Sigma as well, which can be read at this link:

Link

(2 votes, average: 4.5 out of 5)

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As documented earlier on this site, I had issues with my 300 F4 IS and teleconverters. Well, it appears both items were at fault. I ordered a new Canon 1.4x II TC which also front focused. Upon realizing this, I sent both my teleconverter and 300 F4 IS back into Canon. The combination came back working perfectly. I ultimately sold the Kenko because Canon tech told me they would not touch it, and I wanted a good working TC/300 F4 IS combo.

Upon receiving the unit back from Irvine, I was blown away at how the IQ turned out. I immediately thought, “so this is how a TC should work!”. Based on my experience, I would spend the extra coin for the Canon 1.4x II so you can have it serviced with the lens you plan to use it on. Plus, I noticed better contrast and colors when using the Canon TC with my 300 F4 IS compared to third party TC’s. It also seems to have a more robust build quality along with weather sealing. This does add extra weight though.

These examples were taken wide open(f5.6), hand held. No adjustments were done except for a level 3 sharpening in DPP 3.4.1. Speed was only 1/125th! These are very good results for a 420mm lens handheld at 1/125. Please click the images for the proper sizes.

(3 votes, average: 3.33 out of 5)

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I have to say from the images that the build quality looks too close to the kit lenses. For an estimated retail price of $699, you would except a little better fit and finish.

Canon 18-200 IS

Canon 18-200 IS product page

(2 votes, average: 4.5 out of 5)

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People seem to love their RAW converter comparisons so here we go. Different image this time. All images had *no* adjustments except for 200/ .2 / 0 smart sharpen in Photoshop Elements 5.0. Please click on the images for the full versions.

(1 votes, average: 5 out of 5)

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Link

Some of these look excellent.

(4 votes, average: 5 out of 5)

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Link

Very interesting news. Supposedly it will be around the $1000 mark.

(2 votes, average: 4.5 out of 5)

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These aren’t exactly the same lenses, but they are popular lenses that have an overlapping focal length. Alot of people are looking at 10-22 and 28-135 IS combos over the traditional 17mm to 18mm starting point - especially those who are buying the 40D kits with recent rebates( the 40D kits comes with a 28-135 IS). While the lens switching would add up, you would have a a very wide range of options from 10mm to 135mm. This test explores the IQ where the two lenses overlap. So for those holding on to 17-40L’s and 18-55’s, you can see if a 28-135 IS and 10-22 combo makes sense.

All images were done in Canon’s Digital Photo Profesisonal with a bump of +1/3rd exposure, standard mode and level 3 sharpening. No other processing was done. Tripod shot.

Please click the images for the large version.

28mm

35mm

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There is talk around the net about an upgrade to the Canon 100-400 IS with improved image stabilization and improved optics. It’s unclear wether or not it will be a push pull design.

Guesstimated price = $1899

(3 votes, average: 4.33 out of 5)

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All of the images were shot using F8, RAW, tripod, remote, mirror lockup using a Rebel XT and a Canon 300 F4 IS L. Each image has had zero color or contrast processing, but they have each had a level 4 sharpening done in DPP.

The Canon is $290 retail, and the Kenko is $190 retail. Please click on the thumbnails for the full images.

The first examples were done using manual focus.

Crops:

Things look pretty even when using manual focus at F8. Let’s check out the autofocus results using one shot AF:

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