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

Pros:
Cost
Weight/size
Macro performance
simplicity
Circular aperture
fairly bright as Zooms go at f/3.5
Resale value

Cons:
Lack of advanced features
Plastic mounting ring
no USM (I know it SAYS USM, but it's not really - it's a micro motor and not the faster ring-type)


This is a great lens that often times people will put down just because it is simple. The truth of the matter is that if you're a true beginner, it has the level of sophistication you want to learn on. Will you outgrow it and want more features? PROBABLY! but that's okay.

If you're considering getting your first digital SLR, I recommend getting the body only and picking up the standard kit lens (this lens) separately, you can save $100 (USD) or better total. I was always impressed with this lens, especially its close focus ability. It is quite sharp from edge to edge and superb for macro photography, landscapes and portraiture. True, it doesn't have a distance gauge, but most novices, whom this lens was designed for, don't want or need that. You don't learn how to ride a motorcycle on a chopper. once you "outgrow" this lens, which could be 6 months or 3 years depending on how much you shoot, you can either keep it as a backup, use it as a reverse-lens macro (with an adapter ring) or resell it on eBay: the fetch between $70-$100 regularly (for good condition). Bottom line: it is a great beginner to intermediate user lens that has fantastic optics for the price.

I'm writing this review because I'm tired of hearing self-named experts degrade something that wasn't made for them. You don't want to start with professional lenses any more than you would want to buy a race car to drive around town (though it would be fun). Professional lenses are made for specific things, which is why pros need so many of them (i.e. the soup lense, the salad lense, the butter lense, the appetizer lense, the pasta lense, you get the point). Professional NASCAR would laugh if you tried to enter a new Ford Mustang at Indy, but nobody laughs at the one in your driveway. Anyway, on with the review:

Two years ago I purchased the Digital Rebel to replace a combination of film SLR and digital point-and-shoot. My SLR was a Minolta, so when I decided to go with Canon my lenses became obsolete (Minolta just hasn't been keeping up). This was my first lense investment. Everyone, even professionals, still want photos of friends and family and that's just what this lense will do.
My next lense investment was based on my reasoning for going with SLR. I wanted to get closer to far away objects, so I started looking for telephoto.

If you are considering stepping up to digital SLR from point-and-shoot, there is little question that you should invest in this lense. This lense will allow you to take all of the photos that you were used to taking with your point-and-shoot, and it will auto-focus and zoom with similar efficiency.

You may read or hear complaints about image quality from this lense. The image quality with this lense is comparable or better than any of the high end point-and-shoot cameras and better than any of your generic alternatives.

The price is great. The professional lenses that everyone compares this lense to cost 10 times as much. If you have $500 to $1000 to blow on a lense, I recommend sending me the difference via PayPal and getting this one anyway. Hey Ebay, I was kidding!

wouI bought this lens to take on a snowshoe hike in the back country. We were in a narrow canyon and I thought the focal range would be perfect.

Getting aquainted with the lens I found the zoom ring to be wide and easily recognized by touch. The focus ring is behind that (closer to camera body) and is narrow and took some getting used to. Neither ring is silky smooth but the zoom ring was downright 'catchy'. It seems to be better after some use. Unlike my 16-35mm lens, this lens externally gets longer/shorter as you zoom in/out. If I held the camera face down gravity would cause the lens to 'fall out' to it's longest focal length, VERY annoying. The autofocus works well, quiet, quick and accurate. I took many hand held low-light pictures and most came out better than expected which I attribute to the image stabilization. Tripod shots came out sharp (be sure to turn IS off). On my 5d there is noticeable vignetting at the largest aperture. On this lens the EW-78B II lens hood didn't fit very tight, a minor annoyance. All in all I was very happy with the picture quality and utility of this lens. As a walk-around utility lens with AF/IS I think its a good buy.

Update:
This lens has been redesigned in a new "kit" lens that now has image stabilizaton. The reviews all indicate that whatever its virtues in the older form, the new one is clearly better. So - if you are buying a kit lens, make sure you get the newer one with "IS" in the name. The price new is essentially the same and image stabilization is a real plus.

The English mag, Digital Camera Magazine, has decided this is a soft, worthless lens compared to the Nikon equivalent. Yet in the most recent issue (in the US, as of March 9. 2006) at least three of their "winning" photographs were taken with this lens. Popular Photography magazine's review of this lens (available at their website)concluded 'Excellent ... performance at all focal lengths'. Is it equivalent to a Canon 'L' lens? No, of course not, but it is surely the lightest lens available for the Canon Rebel, 20D and 30D digital cameras. It is essentially weightless, certainly by comparison to the IS lenses that would probably replace it. Its one real flaw is that the front lens element rotates making polarizing filter use problematical. After a year, I bought a better Canon lens, but I'm keeping this one for the times when I want an small, light outfit to just carry around. At the wide angle end, f3.5 is not too bad even for available light, given the Canon ability to capture decent images up to ISO 1600 and even 3200. I've done a fair amount of hand-held interior work with this little gem.

Great quality for a non-prime or L series lens. Excellent if all you can carry (and/or afford) is one lens for a crop sensor camera. Fast focus for a non USM, more quiet then the mirror and shutter flop or focus beep, fairly low flare unless directing straight into the sun or bright light but even then it's pretty darn little. Good bokeh wide open but do get that starlight effect at small apertures from bright objects at night, but I suppose just about any lens would do that. I also use the Canon EFs 18-200 f/3.5-5.6 on anther camera and they perform equally including that awful lens drop when pointing down (they call it (lens creep?... NOT, lens 'drop' because it's now and fast). The 18-135 does NOT have the barrel lock. Bring some sort of tape if using it (them) pointed downward and on a tripod. I used the Tamron 18-200 for a couple of years which is great all around as well but, just wanted to upgrade to a stabilizing feature because I was loosing too many shots at low light due to camera movement. In adequate light it was fine and frankly just as good, I still use it on another body. The 18-135 fits perfectly on the Rebel size bodies, excellent balance at all focal lengths and very unobtrusive in crowds. It does NOT come with a hood but they are very reasonable on eBay, even genuine versions which is what I got for $13 and free shipping.
Keep in mind that this lens is designed for crop sensor cameras so will not fit a full frame sensor camera.
Overall a great lens and highly recommended.