The type of photography that you are planning to use is an important decision factor. Here we have evaluated the Lensbaby Velvet 56 and the Canon 28-135mm f3.5-5.6 IS USM for their suitability to various photography scenarios:
Size and Weight Comparison
The size of a lens is a crucial factor to consider when comparing two lenses. Canon 28-135mm f3.5-5.6 IS USM is the longer of the two lenses at 97mm. The Lensbaby Velvet 56 with a length of 86mm, is 11mm shorter. Besides being longer, the Canon 28-135mm f3.5-5.6 IS USM also has a larger diameter of 78mm compared to the Lensbaby Velvet 56's 72mm diameter.
The weight of a lens is equally significant as its external dimensions, particularly if you intend to handhold your camera and lens combination for extended periods. Lensbaby Velvet 56 weighs 400g, which means it is 140g (25%) lighter than the Canon 28-135mm f3.5-5.6 IS USM which has a weight of 540g.
Filter Threads
The Lensbaby Velvet 56 has a filter size of 62mm whereas the Canon 28-135mm f3.5-5.6 IS USM has a 72mm diameter. Larger filters are generally more expensive than the smaller ones given all the other features are equal.
Below are links to the 62mm filters that we recommend you to consider for the Lensbaby Velvet 56:
And these are the 72mm filters that we recommend for the Canon 28-135mm f3.5-5.6 IS USM:
Lens Mounts
Both the Lensbaby Velvet 56 and the Canon 28-135mm f3.5-5.6 IS USM has the same Canon EF lens mount. Some of the latest released cameras that are compatible with the Canon EF lenses are Blackmagic URSA 12K LF, Z CAM E2-F6 II 6K and Z CAM E2-S6 II 6K.
Lensbaby Velvet 56 is also available in the Fujifilm X , Micro Four Thirds, Nikon F (FX), Pentax KAF3, Samsung NX, Sony Alpha and Sony E mounts.
Focal Range
Lensbaby Velvet 56 is a prime lens with fixed focal lenght of 56mm. When it is mounted on an APS-C sensor camera with 1.6x crop, it provides a 35mm (FF) equivalent of
89.6mm.
On the other hand, the Canon 28-135mm f3.5-5.6 IS USM has a focal range of 28-135mm and 4.8X zoom ratio . When it is mounted on an APS-C sensor camera with 1.6x crop, it provides a 35mm (FF) equivalent of 44.8 - 216mm.
