Canon EF-S zoom lens - 18 mm - 55 mm F/3.5-5.6 > Reviews (4)

The previous reviews for this item seem to be for the "old" kit lens. The item reviewed here is the Image stabilised version of this lens. It is the kit lens for the Canon EOS 450D.

This is one of the most under-rated EFS lenses canon makes. The Image Stabilisation was added to the kit lens with the release of the 450D. The optics had been re-designed improving the resolution, contrast and colour over the old kit lens. Even having quite a lot of very expensive lenses, I went out of my way to buy one of these kit lenses to use on an everyday basis.

Optically
The lens has outstanding resolution and contrast at wide angles. The f/3.5 at 18mm, means that you effectively have a moderately fast wide angle (~28mm equivalent) with Image Stabilisation for a mere 100 of your great british pounds. I do a lot of journalism/documentary photography, and this is by far my cheapest but most used lens. The long range on the lens is not great, in fact, fairly poor. Bit of chromatic aberration, slightly smudgy on the corners, not very bright through the viewfinder. The Image stabilisation works like god send. Anyone can easily hand-hold a 0.5 second shot (at 18mm) and keep it sharp.

Mechanically
The lens is just a lump of plastic, feels fairly cheap. But that's why it can be sold at such price. The lens definitely feels like bottom of the line cheap! But don't be fooled. When you're packing your bag for a trip every ounce counts, to have a lens which can perform almost as good (at the wide range) as the 17-55mm 2.8 IS. But costs 1/8 of the price and weighs about as much as the battery in your 50d. My 18-55mm lens has been abused quite often, I lost the lens cap on the first day I bought it and I have taken it out in the rain, snow and the sun. There is still no faults with it, everything is intact and i suspect there's quite a few more years of life left in the poor thing. The only problem I do have with it is when I need to focus quickly at night. At street lamp/indoor situations, the Auto Focus is slow.

Overall
This is an excellent first lens to have for your crop cams; even if like me you already have an arsenal of canon glass, you won't be disappointed. The value for money is unbelievable, wide angle image stabilisation which works very well. I always pack it in the bag or just leave it on the camera as a body cap because it weighs nothing! If you're a landscaper, you'd probably not like the look this lens gives, but you're gonna have to spend a lot more to get better. The lens is no substitute for a wide angle L lens, but then again it's not meant to be! Use it and love it!