December 7, 2004
Canon 18-55mm f4.5-5.6 EF-S lens review
So I didn't really buy this lens. It sort of 'came' with the Canon 20D kit I bought. I originally wasn't planning on even unwrapping it and trying it out since I already had a Tokina 19-35mm f3.5-4.5 wide angle lens. I thought that the Canon wouldn't probably be better. Besides, the Canon was EF-S so I couldn't use it on a film body.
But..I did a comparison just for fun and..
Construction wise, it looks and feels plasticky. It is also incredibly light. But I consider it an advantage after lugging heavy lenses around.
Anyway, here's the comparison first. Note that all pics were shot using the 20D. No processing was done. The images look worse because of the compression than they do in real life.
Widangle (18mm @ f3.5)
My first surprise here. The Canon is much sharper than than the Tokina. This is the better wide angle lens when wide open.
Widangle (18mm @ f8)
At f8 the differences are pretty difficult to discern.
MidRange (35mm @ f4.5)
Wide open, the Canon once again shines here. It is much better than the Tokina which appears to exibit some kind of ghosting.Pretty much unusable.
MidRange (35mm @ f8)
Now the performance is very similar with the canon slightly better.
Tele End (50mm @ f5.6)
Since the Tokina only goes upto 35mm, obviously I couldn't the compare the Canon with it. But I do have a Canon 50mm f1.4 prime. So just for fun I did a comparison. Its not really fair, but then it just serves to indicate the quality of the lens.
No contest really. The Canon prime blows the EF-S lens out of the water!! What else did you expect?
Summary
The Canon EF-S performs surprisingly well at the wide end and wide open. It is also small and since it has a 58 filter diameter, is easy to find accessories unlike my 77mm Tokina. At the tele end, the results get worse.
This is a good wide angle lens for the money but I would recommend that this lens be used only at the wide end.
Comments:
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Having gotten a 20D, digital SLRs mystify me. The 18-55 is a remarkably good lense. I'd say that is it much better than the average consumer lens that I have used in the past. For sure, it is not great wide open, that is a given. Stopped down some, it is better than average. THe extreme corners are not great, but nothing blurring like those prosumer digital cameras. One thing I did notice on my version is that in night photos, I CONSITENTLY get lens flare (or some weird rainbow halo) at every very bright streetlamp. I emailed Canon and they said to bring it in. So, I will. But I have SEVERAL, reprodueable pics with that halo- sometime subtle, often distracting. It is definitely due to the lense because I also have a 50mm prime (superb, but a little cold) and a 70-200L (superdooper). THe latter lenses are superb, reaching the pinnacles of performance for any testing purposes and are a pleasure to use. Still, if not for the weird halos at night, I have gotten some of the best shots I've taken recently on the 18-55. I could not justify a 17-40L just for build quality. Still, a great lens in my opinion- the colors are great, sharpness is high, contrast is average, no ablility to super blur (wide aperature), and thus bokeh is not great. Good nuff for 90% of the ppl- admit it!
I, too, consistently experience the annoying "rainbow halos" around bright objects. See http://www.utahskies.org/image_library/shallowsky/conjunctions/donbrown/20051007/moonSetOverRockport_1200x800_filtered.jpg for an example. I'd say, given your experience, that is is a result of the lens geometry and coatings...I think I want one of those 50mm primes!!!
If you are in the market for a 50mm prime, consider the 50mm 1.8 Super sharp and super cheap! Highly recommended.
Several months later I did finally move to the 17-40mm F4 L lens and this is fantastic too. I have some comparisons between this and the 18-55mm. I will post them sometime.
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Several months later I did finally move to the 17-40mm F4 L lens and this is fantastic too. I have some comparisons between this and the 18-55mm. I will post them sometime.
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