Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS UD Standard Zoom Lens for Canon Digital SLR Cameras: Customer Reviews & Product Details

I want to buy this lens. Yesterday, the price was $344. Later it changed to $356 and then later to $379. By this morning the price was $399 and now this evening it is $435. Wow, the price has risen by a quarter in a little more than 24 hours. What's frustrating is that they list the MSRP as $599. That isn't right either. Canon list the MSRP at $499. Why the erratic pricing?

I'm surprised that this lens is actually pretty good. Pretty sharp even wide open. Now I own lots of L lenses but this one is good enough for my walking lens.

Let me start by saying that this review is by an photographically active amateur, not a professional. I am returning to SLR use after many years of using a more simpler camera. While I do not take professional pictures, I do consider myself quite active in taking pictures so wanted to step up to the next level of camera, and lens, without going to the really high end equipment. I now have several lenses, but this one was my first. In this lens, I was looking for versatility - a "walk around" lens as it were. After several weeks of research, including reading as many reviews as possible through customer ratings on Amazon and other sites, I felt that this lens would meet my criteria of a walk-around lens with some telephoto as well as wide-angle capability. Over the last month, I have take nearly 1,000 pictures and while this lens, according to some reviews, may not produce quite as good a picture as one of the equivalent Canon "L" lens, it is more than adequate for me, not nearly as expensive at this stage of my involvement, nor as heavy. Nor does it have the "lens creep" reported through reviews of Canon's other equivalent (28-135) lens which I also considered. As an interesting anecdote, during a recent trip on the train from Central Florida to the Washington, DC, area, I wanted to take some photos out of the train window showing snow scenes as we entered Virginia. The train was traveling at approximately 50-70 MPH so I knew I had to adjust for blur. I set my camera speed at 1/1200; let the aperture adjust automatically, as well as the ISO, and found that I could take sharp photos out the window without problem. It also made me realize how important a lens with Image Stabilization was for these type of shots. While not all were perfect (due to user error), most were very good considering that this was my real first attempt at doing "speed shots." After further review of my shots later in the trip, I noticed that I shifted my zoom from 35mm to 85mm, back and forth, depending upon the type of picture I wanted to take. This process was quite easy to do with this lens. In summary, I find this to be a very capable lens for the purpose I intended it to be and would unequivocally recommend its purchase for similar needs.

I wanted a versatile, cheap lens that could help me rediscover the magic of photography and also serve double-duty as an all-around lens with similar zoom coverage as a point-and-shoot.

The EF-S 18-135mm IS lens had just come out, but I was somewhat put off by the bad technical review it got from photozone.de considering that it was retailing for almost $600. I kept looking. However, I found it online for about half that, I decided to take a chance, and thus, here are my impressions...

GOOD:
- decent sharpness through much of the zoom and aperture range
- good color reproduction (I am a weirdo who pumps saturation to get "comic book" color as B. Stubblefield puts it)
- less chromatic aberration due to UD element (whatever)
- versatile zoom range of 18-135mm (equivalent to 29-216mm)
- for the price I got it, a great value... at the price you see here, getting iffy but still good
- new generation IS for at least 2 stops of hand-holdability
- good balance and weight (1 lb), goes well with my 40D
- non-rotating front element (means little to me since I only have a UV filter)
- fairly tight tolerances (better than kit, not as good as "L", not that I've ever owned either)
- no zoom creep (will this change with a hood and filters?)
- decently fast focus motor, despite being non-USM (again, whatever)
- wide enough to get everyone in the picture (fix distortion in Canon DP Professional)

BAD: (Intuitively, these are all fixable by spending more money on your lens)
- non-USM focus motor, no manual focus override (spend more money, get USM lens)
- some focus-hunting at wide angle especially low contrast or dim shots - spend more money, use infrared focus assist from a 430EX or use a fast prime lens for your dim shots
- heavy barrel distortion at wide end, which you can fix with DxO ($$) or Canon DP Professional (free) - better fix is buy a true wide angle lens!
- vignetting at large apertures, which you can fix with peripheral illumination correction in Canon DP Professional
- peripheral softness at wide end and large apertures, which you can fix by spending $1200 and buying the Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM Lens for Canon EOS SLR Cameras - better fix is stopping down or using the more central portions of your frame for your subjects
- no distance scale (unlike the Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM Standard Zoom Lens for Canon SLR Cameras, which I looked at and was seriously considering)
- you're stuck with EF-S (no compatibility with Canon full frame bodies)
- priced about $80-100 more than what it is worth

I do not have the experience to discern minute differences in sharpness, color fidelity, etc. that people seem to place so much of a premium on. MTF charts and pictures of lines and grids are great, but honestly, I question the real world utility of these things. Maybe that's my ignorance talking. To me, a picture looks good if it evokes the emotional response or thought process that the photographer intended regardless of the technical aspects. Hey, let's take photos of brick walls to assess distortion! Let's spend hours on the internet looking at pictures of gray walls at different apertures and focal lengths to see which lens has the least amount of vignetting! No, thanks.

This lens delivers what I need for a price I was very happy with, and I will be using it to take lots and lots of pictures in the hopes of improving my abilities and and preserve family memories at the same time. If you have the photographic need to place high-detail complex subjects at the corners of your frame, or simply have the cash to blow on L-class lenses, then why are you even reading this? Who am I kidding, I crave L-class glass as much as the next guy! I just can't justify the cost given my current ability level (which is below "beginner" but above "t3h suck").

Are you are a beginner like me? Do you have a limited budget? Do you enjoy being creative to extract the maximum performance from your gear to get around some weaknesses? If so, then buy this lens - chances are you'll be very happy with it. I know I am. Enjoy!

Came w/ a 7D kit. I was reluctant since it was my first EF-S and lens w/o USM, but I was pleasantly surprised at the responsiveness and image quality of this lens. The IS is great and so far no problems. Great lens to just stick on the camera and keep there for probably 80% of your shots in the city and even out in the country. Good general purpose lens and would make a good starter lens for new DSLR buyers. On the downside, no USM vs the EF 28-135, but the 18-135 makes it worth it if you want just a tad more wide shot.