Canon EF-S 18-55mm lens
Encyclopedia
The Canon EF-S 18-55mm lens 3.5-5.6 is a wide-angle
to mild telephoto
zoom lens
for digital single-lens reflex camera
s with an EF-S lens mount
. The field of view has a 35 mm equivalent focal length
of 28.8-88mm, and it is the standard kit lens
on Canon's consumer DSLRs.
There have been four releases of this lens:
The 18-55 IS is currently sold as a bundled kit lens
with Canon's consumer DSLRs, replacing the 18-55 Mk I/II (USM-less version) in this role.
On February 7, 2011, the 18-55mm 1:3.5-5.6 IS II was announced to be bundled with the Canon 600D and 1100D. This lens is identical in specification to the previous version, and features exactly the same optics and IS system, but has a revised external design.
(purple fringing) is common.
Canon released a new version of the non-stabilized EF-S 18-55 f/3.5-5.6 III lens in line with the new stabilized EF-S 18-55 f/3.5-5.6 IS II, the non-stabilized with likely to come on future lower-end "Rebel" models and higher-end "Rebel" models. The new version of the non-stabilized lens is much sharper than the older version, very similar to the new IS II version, only not having Image Stabilization.
The three other general purpose EF-S
zooms are:
The Canon EF 28-90mm lens
is the corresponding EF lens
.
Extending the telephoto range, the Canon EF-S 55-250mm lens
is a telephoto zoom that picks up at 55mm (88mm equivalent), and together these cover the 18–250mm range (28.8–400mm equivalent). The newer Canon EF-S 18-200mm lens
is a superzoom that covers much of this range (28.8–320mm equivalent).
Wide-angle lens
From a design perspective, a wide angle lens is one that projects a substantially larger image circle than would be typical for a standard design lens of the same focal length; this enables either large tilt & shift movements with a view camera, or lenses with wide fields of view.More informally,...
to mild telephoto
Telephoto lens
In photography and cinematography, a telephoto lens is a specific type of a long-focus lens in which the physical length of the lens is shorter than the focal length. This is achieved by incorporating a special lens group known as a telephoto group that extends the light path to create a long-focus...
zoom lens
Zoom lens
A zoom lens is a mechanical assembly of lens elements for which the focal length can be varied, as opposed to a fixed focal length lens...
for digital single-lens reflex camera
Digital single-lens reflex camera
Most digital single-lens reflex cameras are digital cameras that use a mechanical mirror system and pentaprism to direct light from the lens to an optical viewfinder on the back of the camera....
s with an EF-S lens mount
Canon EF-S lens mount
The EF-S lens mount is a derivative of the EF lens mount created for a subset of Canon digital single-lens reflex cameras with APS-C sized image sensors. It was released in 2003. Cameras supporting the EF-S mount are backward-compatible with the EF lens mount and, as such, have a flange focal...
. The field of view has a 35 mm equivalent focal length
35 mm equivalent focal length
In photography, the 35 mm equivalent focal length is a measure that indicates the angle of view of a particular combination of a camera lens and film or sensor size...
of 28.8-88mm, and it is the standard kit lens
Kit lens
A kit lens is a "starter" lens which can be sold with an interchangeable-lens camera such as a single-lens reflex camera. The kit consists of the camera body, the lens, and various accessories usually necessary to get started in SLR photography. A kit lens can be sold by itself; ie; not in a kit...
on Canon's consumer DSLRs.
There have been four releases of this lens:
- Mk I (USM and non-USM),
- Mk II (USM and non-USM)
- addressing sharpness in the original lens, and
- IS (non-USM only)
- addressing general image quality problems of the Mk II.
The 18-55 IS is currently sold as a bundled kit lens
Kit lens
A kit lens is a "starter" lens which can be sold with an interchangeable-lens camera such as a single-lens reflex camera. The kit consists of the camera body, the lens, and various accessories usually necessary to get started in SLR photography. A kit lens can be sold by itself; ie; not in a kit...
with Canon's consumer DSLRs, replacing the 18-55 Mk I/II (USM-less version) in this role.
On February 7, 2011, the 18-55mm 1:3.5-5.6 IS II was announced to be bundled with the Canon 600D and 1100D. This lens is identical in specification to the previous version, and features exactly the same optics and IS system, but has a revised external design.
EF-S 18-55 USM I/II / EF-S 18-55 I/II/III
This is a low-cost lens and the image and build quality reflect this. The lens body is of plastic construction, including the lens mount. Unlike many Canon lenses, the EF-S 18-55mm I/II USM and the 18-55mm I/II are manufactured in Taiwan rather than Japan. The optical quality of the lens is variable, depending on the quality of an individual lens. Generally, however, this version of the lens is soft to very soft and must be stopped down to gain acceptable sharpness. Barrel distortion becomes quite noticeable at the wide-angle setting and chromatic aberrationChromatic aberration
In optics, chromatic aberration is a type of distortion in which there is a failure of a lens to focus all colors to the same convergence point. It occurs because lenses have a different refractive index for different wavelengths of light...
(purple fringing) is common.
Canon released a new version of the non-stabilized EF-S 18-55 f/3.5-5.6 III lens in line with the new stabilized EF-S 18-55 f/3.5-5.6 IS II, the non-stabilized with likely to come on future lower-end "Rebel" models and higher-end "Rebel" models. The new version of the non-stabilized lens is much sharper than the older version, very similar to the new IS II version, only not having Image Stabilization.
EF-S 18-55mm IS
This is a low-cost lens and the build quality reflects this, but the image quality does not. Compared to its older siblings, and even to other Canon consumer zooms, the IS lens is sharper wide open. Also, compared to its older siblings, the IS lens displays less chromatic aberration. However, barrel distortion has not been improved. As for place of manufacture there are two versions, the made in Japan version does not have "lens made in Japan" in the front, however "made in Japan" is written near the lens mount, the second assembled in Taiwan version has "lens made in Japan" written in the front. Build quality overall is somewhat better than the non-IS versions.Similar lenses
The EF–S 18–55mm is the lowest end Canon general purpose zoom, but its low cost (as part of a kit) makes it a good value.The three other general purpose EF-S
Canon EF-S lens mount
The EF-S lens mount is a derivative of the EF lens mount created for a subset of Canon digital single-lens reflex cameras with APS-C sized image sensors. It was released in 2003. Cameras supporting the EF-S mount are backward-compatible with the EF lens mount and, as such, have a flange focal...
zooms are:
- The Canon EF-S 17-85mm lensCanon EF-S 17-85mm lensThe Canon EF-S 17–85mm 4-5.6 IS USM is a standard zoom lens for Canon digital single-lens reflex cameras with an EF-S lens mount. The EF-S designation means it can only be used on EOS cameras with an APS-C sensor released after 2003. The field of view has a 35 mm equivalent focal length of...
:- Better build quality, larger zoom ratio, better image quality compared to Mk I/II, but worse image quality compared to IS version.
- The Canon EF-S 15-85mm lensCanon EF-S 15-85mm lensThe Canon EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM is a standard zoom lens for Canon digital single-lens reflex cameras with an EF-S lens mount. The field of view has a 35 mm equivalent focal length of 24-136mm. The EF-S mount was specifically designed for APS-C cameras....
:- Redesigned version of the 17-85, wider (15mm), and better image quality than the 17-85, but higher price.
- The Canon EF-S 17-55mm lensCanon EF-S 17-55mm lensThe Canon EF-S 17–55mm 2.8 IS USM is a standard zoom lens for Canon digital single-lens reflex cameras with an EF-S lens mount. The field of view has a 35 mm equivalent focal length of 27–88mm.-Praise:...
:- Better build quality, faster, constant maximum aperture, better image quality (compared to both IS and Mk I/II), considerably higher price.
The Canon EF 28-90mm lens
Canon EF 28-90mm lens
The Canon EF 28-90 mm is a lens included as a kit lens with Canon EOS film cameras.The maximum aperture is 4 at 28mm, reducing to 5.6 at 90mm. When focused at 90mm this will create background blur for portrait photography....
is the corresponding EF lens
Canon EF lens mount
Introduced in 1987, the EF lens mount is the standard lens mount on the Canon EOS family of SLR film and digital cameras. EF stands for "Electro-Focus": automatic focusing on EF lenses is handled by a dedicated electric motor built into the lens...
.
Extending the telephoto range, the Canon EF-S 55-250mm lens
Canon EF-S 55-250mm lens
The Canon EF-S 55-250mm 4-5.6 IS lens is a telephoto zoom lens for Canon EOS digital single-lens reflex cameras with a Canon EF-S lens mount.It provides a 35 mm equivalent focal length of 88-400mm....
is a telephoto zoom that picks up at 55mm (88mm equivalent), and together these cover the 18–250mm range (28.8–400mm equivalent). The newer Canon EF-S 18-200mm lens
Canon EF-S 18-200mm lens
The Canon EF-S 18-200mm lens is a superzoom lens, manufactured by Canon. It is the higher end kit lens for the Canon EOS 60D digital camera, and supplants the previous EF-S 17-85mm, in Canon's product line-up, losing 1mm off the wide end, but offering a roughly 2.5x longer telephoto end.While Canon...
is a superzoom that covers much of this range (28.8–320mm equivalent).