Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens Review

[Bryan Carnathan]

Discuss theCanon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens Review- Tell us what you think of theCanon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens Review.

[soezin]

Thanks Bryan.. Nice review. At least, now, I know I can skip this lens when comparing lenses for my 'for-me-from-me" New Year present.. []

[Abu Lafya]

Thank you for the review.


Perhaps say that the lens is soft at @135 and perhaps f/8 is the only marginally acceptable aperture?


Perhaps be more critical and say this lens is crap and should be avoided?

[musickna]

Nice review. Not a lens that's going on my list. Still, kit lenses have their uses. When I bought my first dSLR, a Rebel XT with the Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 II kit lens (not knowing any better), I spent a summer holiday in Canada shooting with that low-grade lens. Sure, I can now see many lens related imperfections in those results, but some of those pictures remain my favorites.

[Colin500]

[…] I spent a summer holiday in Canada shooting with that low-grade lens. Sure, I can now see many lens related imperfections in those results, but some of those pictures remain my favorites.

As a friend once said, the difference between no camera and a low-grade one is infinitely larger than between a low-grade one and a high-quality one...

[musickna]

As a friend once said, the difference between no camera and a low-grade one is infinitely larger than between a low-grade one and a high-quality one...

Perhaps the most fundamental rule of photography!

[Tony_Chaw]

Thank you for nice review!


Maybe I'll buy this lens for <span style="word-spacing: 0px; font: medium Simsun; text-transform: none; color: #000000; text-indent: 0px; white-space: normal; letter-spacing: normal; border-collapse: separate; orphans: 2; widows: 2; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;" class="Apple-style-span"]<span style="font-size: 12px; color: #4a4d42; font-family: Arial;" class="Apple-style-span"]Expo 2010 Shanghai China.


PS: i'm from Shanghai

[mikehillman89]

Bryan,


I don't know what it is about your writing style, but all your reviews make me want pretty much every single lens reviewed here on TDP... even the bad ones! Keep up the good work!


Cheers,


-Mike

[Kyleward27]

Good review. I would like to point out though that this lens has a lot of chromatic aberration... More than I

[neuroanatomist]

More than I've seen on other lenses. I feel like it wasn't stressed enough and should be noted. I got this lens as my kit lens for my 7D, and I know that I will probably replace this lens with an L lens as soon as I can afford it.

You might also have a look at the EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS lens. It has substantially less CA and barrel distortion than the 15-85mm lens, as well as a constant, fast aperture. Optically, it's equivalent to an L-series lens, although it falls a little short of that on build. IMO, the main candidates for a good quality general purpose zoom for a 1.6x body are the 17-55mm f/2.8 IS, 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS, 24-70mm f/2.8L, and 24-105mm f/4L IS. The EF-S lenses offer a wide angle FOV on a crop body, whereas the L lenses start at 38mm FF-equivalent, which isn't wide angle. The L-series lenses are weather-sealed, which combined with a sealed body like the 7D means the can be used in the rain. The 24-70mm lacks IS, and I do find that to be helpful even at the relatively shorter focal lengths. If you get the 24-70mm or 24-105mm, you'll likely need something wider than 24mm (and that's the worst part of the 15-85mm's range). Budget permitting, the EF-S 10-22mm is also a very nice lens and paired with a 24-x L zoom makes a nice combination.


Just my 2&cent;. Personally, I started with a 17-55mm and added a 24-105mm for shooting in inclement weather with my 7D (but still used the 17-55mm a lot more). Now that I have a 5DII as well, I use the 24-105mm much of the time on the FF body.


--John