Customer reviews from usa.canon.com
Canon - EF-S 18-55mm f/4-5.6 IS STM Zoom Lens for EF-S mount cameras - Black
Average customer rating
4
(59 Reviews)
Rating breakdown 59 reviews
5 Stars
24
4 Stars
18
3 Stars
12
2 Stars
2
1 Star
3
87%of customers recommend this product.
(
46 out of
53)
Customer Reviews for Canon - EF-S 18-55mm f/4-5.6 IS STM Zoom Lens for EF-S mount cameras - Black
Customer Rating
4
A Good Entry Level Lens
on May 9, 2010
Posted by: goodlucksdk
from Danvers, MA
This lens comes with many Rebel camera kits. Given its' price it is very capable and versatile and has also gotten quite a couple of positive reviews for that. I have successfully used it for macro, landscape and portrait photography. It does a decent job in all of these categories and therefore makes it a great learning tool for the beginning photographer. As one advances one may outgrow this lens but possibly with a good idea what one will find important in future purchases.
Pros: price, versatility
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
4
Great standard zoom for Entry Level DSLR
on October 30, 2008
Posted by: rkf
from Stade near Hamburg, Germany
I purchased this lens in October, 2007 as an replacement for the non-IS version of the kit lens of my EOS Digital Rebel XTi. Now, after one year of experience, I must admit that I'm very satisfied. The IS works as advertised, 0.5 seconds w/18mm and 1/6 seconds w/55mm are no problem. When I was in London last year, I was able to shot a bunch of free-hand panorama photos at the River Thames bank, which I merged into one panorama which decorates my office now.
Pros: very efficient is, very good price value
Cons: no metallic bayonet, rotating front element
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
4
Great Kit Lens + for Learning DSLR
on March 9, 2013
Posted by: merlexie
This is the kit lens that came with my Rebel T3i. Overall, I think it serves its purpose well. The T3i is an entry-level DSLR, and this lens pairs well with it as a learning lens while newbies to DSLR figure out what exactly they're doing. The lens + camera combo is a huge step up from my Canon Powershot ELPH 300; the image quality is excellent, and it's much more versatile.
So, the pros about this lens: it gives you enough zoom to experiment with both wide-angle/landscape shots as well as portraits and other close-ups. People get into DSLR for different reasons, so it's reasonable that Canon would pick a kit lens with versatility rather than confining people to a one-trick wonder. The IS does wonders, especially in low light.
Now, the cons--and not all of them are really cons. The build quality does, admittedly, seem to be on the cheap side. But come on, it's a kit lens, and its retail price-point is at the very low end of the range for all Canon lens. So this shouldn't come as any surprise, and isn't worth causing a fuss over. More critical, however, is the autofocus: it's very finicky, and frequently has to hunt (which is slow and time consuming), especially in low light or low contrast situations. Honestly, I've found it easier just to focus manually; but I think that's more a reflection of me being too impatient to learn how to tell my T3i where I want it to focus (it's rather tedious to change zones) than anything else. I'm also not generally looking to capture the big action shot, so a fast autofocus is less critical to me.
All in all, I've taken some amazing photos with this lens and am very pleased with it. Is it the greatest lens? No. Will I be upgrading it soon? Absolutely. But that's probably part of the idea behind most kit lens: give you something that's good--even very good--at many things but not the greatest at anything so that consumers are tempted into purchasing upgrades.
Recommended as a kit lens (on the assumption you don't own any other lenses of higher quality), but not as a separate purchase (since Canon makes better quality lenses that are more tailored to your individual needs at prices comparable to this or that aren't all that much more).
Pros: Super-sharp images
Cons: Slow auto-focus
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
5
Highly Recommendable Lens
on July 20, 2010
Posted by: Tats Me Not
from San Francisco, CA
I have a 28-135 mm IS USM lens that came with my 50D as a kit lens. The widest angle of this lens proved to be not wide enough to capture most of the images I want included in my landscaping shots or capture all subjects in a small room when there is no backing up space. Although my kit lens serve me well for telephoto purposes and in auditorium settings when flash photography is not allowed or in low light conditions.
I decided to get a wide angle lens that will not break the bank, I got this 18-55 mm IS. To my surprise, it turned out to be the mainstay lens attached to my camera as its range met most of my day to day photo needs. It also has IS for good handheld shots and as extras, it produced surprisingly good quality pictures. The pictures I took where razor sharp, with good color resolution, and no aberrations. I now have it attached as my primary walk-around lens. My original kit lens has been relegated to sit in my camera bag. I also like the fact that this lens is light in weight, with a short focal length that makes it convenient to lug around when travelling. I highly recommend this lens. I was not dissappointed with it and I believe, so will it be with most of its users.
Pros: light weight, razor sharp, good color resolution, angle wide enough
Cons: plastic-ky look, may need flash in low light
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
4
No complaints for a kit lens
on May 31, 2009
Posted by: Anonymous
from Princeton, NJ
Received this lens as part of an EOS kit. Really enjoyed having the image stabilization included, which helps make up for the average aperture range of the lens. The zoom range is very useful, and the lens is very capable on the wide end.
As expected, sharpness is not excellent, nor is the autofocus quick enough to keep up with more demanding subjects. However, the overall balance of price, performance and features is strong. I'd recommend this lens to anyone starting out in photography, especially as part of a kit. Those who already have an EOS body might consider a faster lens or one with USM.
Pros: value, is, light weight
Cons: Semi-sharp images, Slow auto-focus
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
3
Upgrading Soon
on March 28, 2011
Posted by: Skippii
from Waupaca, WI
I purchased this lens as part of the kit with my T2i. Overall, I like the product as a entry level tool. However, after only three months of use, as I learn about the exposure triangle and the ins and outs of my camera, I now see a need to upgrade to a prime lens which will give me access to bigger apertures for more creativity. The lens is good comparable to price.
Pros: Fast auto-focus
Cons: Poor build quality
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
5
Good for landscapes, buildings
on August 19, 2014
Posted by: dran_reb
from Wisconsin
Good all-around general purpose lens, versatile enough for many situations. Relatively light weight. Good for a walk in the woods because it can capture a decent wide-angle landscape shot, yet still take a great close-up photo of an object along the trail, such as a flower. Limited zoom means it cannot get a close-up of distant wildlife, so if that's your target, you will need to consider a different lens. This lens works great for fitting buildings into the frame when standing close. I have taken some beautiful night shots of cityscapes with this lens using a tripod and long exposure.
Pros: lightweight, takes good photos at night, wide angle
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
4
It's suprisingly good
on August 1, 2009
Posted by: Ron
from San Jose, CA
Sharpness:
This lens is very sharp, even on the edges, 18-28mm. Starting at 35mm, sharpness starts to fall becoming least sharp at 55mm.
I've compared this lens to 17-55mm and 24-105mm L. On my comparison, I saw slightly better performance of the 18-55 over the 17-55 @18 (@17) mm. I saw no major sharpness advantage for the 24-105mm. At 55mm the 17-55mm is much better.
This lens is very sharp, even on the edges, 18-28mm. Starting at 35mm, sharpness starts to fall becoming least sharp at 55mm.
I've compared this lens to 17-55mm and 24-105mm L. On my comparison, I saw slightly better performance of the 18-55 over the 17-55 @18 (@17) mm. I saw no major sharpness advantage for the 24-105mm. At 55mm the 17-55mm is much better.
Focus:
It is fast with low noise. Manual focus is not feasible for the most part. No full time focus. The focus is *sometimes* inaccurate (could be a camera issue too).
It is fast with low noise. Manual focus is not feasible for the most part. No full time focus. The focus is *sometimes* inaccurate (could be a camera issue too).
Macro:
18-55mm can be used at 25cm distance from subject, for a 1:3 magnification. Which is significantly better than the 1:6 of the 17-55mm.
18-55mm can be used at 25cm distance from subject, for a 1:3 magnification. Which is significantly better than the 1:6 of the 17-55mm.
Distortions:
CA is not a major problem, but worse than 17-55mm, especially on the edges.
Barrel/pincushion distortion @18mm worse than 17-55mm but better for rest of the zoom range.
Vignetting is not a problem >= f/5.6.
CA is not a major problem, but worse than 17-55mm, especially on the edges.
Barrel/pincushion distortion @18mm worse than 17-55mm but better for rest of the zoom range.
Vignetting is not a problem >= f/5.6.
Other features:
Very useful and silent IS
Lens is light and very compact
All plastic
Delicate focus mechanism
Very useful and silent IS
Lens is light and very compact
All plastic
Delicate focus mechanism
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com