Quote Originally Posted by Squidy View Post
I've also been told instead of getting the 18-55 USM I should go for 18-135 USM as it has better zoom, but then I've read it also increases barrel distortion the longer the "focal difference", like 18-55 wont have as much distortion as 18-135 or 17-200 or whatnot.
Sorry, but I think you are referring to lenses that don't exist. There is no USM version of the 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS, nor of the 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS. There is a 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM (excellent lens, much more that $500 over the kit lens price), a 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM (also excellent, and about $500 over the 18-55 kit lens standalone list price), a 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM (not significantly better than the 18-55 kit lens, optically), and an 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM (not USM) lens (optically a bit better than the non-STM 18-135, the latter is similar in IQ to the 18-55 kit lens, but with a broader zoom range).

Can you clarify the lenses you're talking about?