EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM
4.8
5
6
6
Great Lens Silent Operation
Finaly I can record Video with out the noise of the lens that came with the T4I I purchaced, that lens was a Joke!!!! I would have purchaced the body only if I knew Canon was going to put a cheap plastic lens on a higher end camera! as far as the reviewer that said the manual focus ring is fake it's not fake the camera needs to be on and the lens switch set to MF for it to work it is not a mecanical focus ring it causes the focus motor to move like a volume knob. this lens is worth way more than I paid for it!!!!!! as for the plastic len's I don't know if I am going to sell it, trash it or make art out of it? maybe use it for target practice? if your buy a T4I get the body only and buy this lens or any othe STM lens you wont be sorry.
March 2, 2013
Wonderful walk-around lens
I have had this lens for about 6 months now, and it has performed impressively. It is the only lens I have now, having sold several others to make things simpler. I spent four years basically collecting gear instead of learning to take pictures. Thankfully, that futile endeavor is over. I am very confident that this lens can make 99% of the pictures I can imagine in my head.
The pros:
--lightweight compared to L series
--very practical zoom range covering everything most of us could need
--excellent image quality for a zoom, especially non L
--excellent IS
--plenty sharp, even wide open
The cons:
--marked barrel distortion at 18mm and moderate pincushion distortion at other focal lengths
-- "slow" max aperture at the telephoto end (f/5.6 from 85mm to 135mm)
I can fix the barrel/pincushion distortion in 15 seconds with software, so that's a non issue. The larger aperture at the tele end is just not an issue for me, as I don't do much low-light photography. Unless you plan to enlarge your photos to fill walls, the technical aspects of this lens are not going to limit you in any meaningful way. If you want to peep at pixels at 200%, get a few L series primes and knock yourself out. If you just want to concentrate on making interesting pictures, this lens will get out of your way so you can do that.
January 2, 2013
Excellent lens, but some annoyances
I bought this lens as a standalone to use with my Rebel t3i, so I cannot comment on the integrated movie mode image stabilization available with the t4i.
Aside from that, though, the lens is quite sharp across all the ranges I have tested. It is noticeably a little soft around the edges at the extreme focal lengths, unsurprisingly, but this softness requires you to look for it, and for a skilled photographer, it should be expected and not matter much anyway. This is much Much nicer optically than, for instance, the 18-55 kit lens.
The zoom barrel is a little tight for my taste, but the grip is wonderful, and the focal lengths are laid out so that the spacing is very intuitive and easy to precisely control all the way from 18-135. Also, a tight zoom does mean that the zoom lock isn't really necessary, which is good, I guess (though I don't understand why such a feature is necessary in the first place... seems like a band-aid fix in most cases)
The silent stepper motor is truly SILENT. As in, with my ear pressed up against the lens as it focuses, I still cannot hear it, unless I am in a still room by myself with no air conditioning on. And again, that's only if my ear is jammed up against it. Under normal circumstances, it just focuses with absolutely no noise, as if by magic. Very amusing, and of course, perfect for videography (although the video focus still pales in comparison to a camcorder, when used on the t3i, but that was expected).
Focus SPEED is about average for a mid range canon lens.
So all in all, great optics, good usability, and a very useful lens for the crop sensor. Also absolutely silent.
On the negative side, though... two points:
1) The build quality is very poor for the price. yes, it has a metal bayonet, but other than that, it looks really cheap, and feels pretty cheap. This is probably mostly an aesthetic thing (it does not affect performance, and plastics can be as strong as metals nowadays), but it is annoying and make me less satisfied using the lens. So sue me, I'm a little shallow like that.
2) More importantly, the manual focus is not actually a manual focus!!! This is just a little electronic sensor attached to a ring. When you change the focus, it takes a split second for the motor to catch up to you. And the focus (and therefore the lens) won't work if the camera is off or not attached to EFS powered signals.
Not only is this annoying and weird to work with under normal circumstances, but it makes this lens almost completely useless if you do a lot of work with non-Canon extension tubes, or a macro reverse ring, or on a non-EFS Canon camera with adapters, or duct taping lenses onto bellows, or other non-standard setups like that (which all amateurs should try at some point! And that is obviously who this is marketed at). Considering that this is obviously a "one-stop-shop, do-everything" lens, not being functional in situations like this is a significant drawback. Not being able to use a reversing ring on a 300mm prime lens? Well fine, obviously that wouldn't be a problem.
Here, it is a problem.
However, if you're not a very experimental person, or if you have other lenses on hand to mess around with in that way, then it's fine. Still annoying to not have instant manual focus control, though.
October 1, 2012
Better Than Expected
I have been using this lenses on a 7D for about a month now. I have taken this lens on two vacations, the bahamas, and the grand canyon. In both instances the pictures I took were amazing. I was supprised when I compared them to pictures taken with my 15-85 is usm and the pictures were sharper with the 18-135 stm. I went to the US open yesterday with my 18-135 stm and my 70-200 f4 is usm, and I will say that I had a hard time telling the pictures apart. This lens is a must not only for walk-around conveniemce but a great all purpose lens.
September 7, 2012
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