Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS UD Standard Zoom Lens for Canon Digital SLR Cameras

Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS UD Standard Zoom Lens for Canon Digital SLR Cameras is ready and available for fast and secure delivery. Buy Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS UD Standard Zoom Lens for Canon Digital SLR Cameras and various similar items like it today, here at our reliable and affordable website.

Product Description

From the Manufacturer
Covering a range from 29mm-216mm in 35mm format, Canon's new EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS offers a winning combination of size, range and features and is a perfect complement to APS-C cameras. With high-quality optics, dedicated image stabilization and more, this new lens promises to be a favorite for EOS users.
MTF chartsLens Specifications

• Focal Length ; Maximum Aperture: 18 - 135mm 1:3.5-5.6
• Lens Construction: 16 elements in 12 groups
• UD Glass: 1
• Diagonal Angle of View: 74 degrees 20' to 11 degrees 30'
• Focus System: Inner focusing system
• Closest Focusing Distance: 1.5 ft. / 0.45m
• Filter Size: 67mm
• Max. Diameter x Length: 3.0 x 4.0 in./75.4 x 101mm
• Weight (lens only): 16.0 oz./455g
• Comes with Rear and Lens Caps
• 1 yr limited warranty

Canon's new EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS lens is the perfect Image Stabilized lens for advanced photographers looking for a wide-angle zoom lens with telephoto capabilities. Featuring a compact IS unit with shake correction up to four shutter speed steps, the zoom range of this lens is equivalent to 29-216mm on a full-frame camera.
Price : $319.22
You Save : $480.78 (60%)

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 3 x 3 x 4 inches ; 1 pounds


• Shipping Weight: 7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)


• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.


• ASIN: B002NEGTT2


• Item model number: 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS
  

Price : $319.22
You Save : $480.78 (60%)

Customer Reviews

Week after buying Canon T1i camera I went to Mt St Helens National Park and realized how much I need extra zoom. So I ordered the new Canon 18-135IS. My first impressions are very positive:
- The build quality is pretty decent.
- The lens is relatively light and feels pretty balanced on the T1i body.
- Front of the lens doesn't turn during auto focus which is a plus if you use a polarized filter.
- AF is quick and very accurate - it easily finds focus even in dark conditions.
- Image Stabilizer supports horizontal and vertical panning.
- I think sharpness is comparable with the kit 18-55IS (looks like corners are a bit softer).
- Zoom range is perfect for vacation/outdoor photography.
- There is no zoom creep (so far).
- Very smooth bokeh (background blurring)
Few cons:
- No zoom lock.
- Doesn't have USM/full-time manual focus - this is the feature I'd expect in the $500 lens.
- Distortions on the wide end (18-24mm)
- More CA than 18-55IS.
P.S. I've spent the last couple of weeks reading endless forum posts and reviews. Here are my notes about the similar/competing products:
1. Canon 55-250IS - My friend got this lens - it's sharp but some shots have bad color saturation/contrast. He also told me that he needs to change lenses too often.
2. Canon 28-135 IS USM - sharp, has full-time manual focus, but the lens is quite big and heavy for T1i and has a zoom creep. 28mm is too much for the wide shots on the x1.6 cameras.
3. Sigma 18-125 OS HSM - good zoom range/color/price, relatively sharp. I almost bought this lens but then I noticed that almost every review mentions the constant background noise produced by the image stabilizer. Sometimes I use the camera for short videos so that was a deal breaker for me.
4. Sigma 18-200 - good zoom range/color/price, but too heavy. Sharpness is very inconsistent. Also not much extra zoom comparing to the 135mm.
Overall I think this lens is a good choice for nonpro photographers looking for a multipurpose zoom lens.

Switching from Pentax to Canon, I had to start with no Canon lenses. Therefore, I had to go with the 7D kit. I had wanted the EF 28-135 USM kit but after waiting months on a backorder situation, I went with the 18-135 kit from a local camera store. I knew that the 28-135 was a pretty good "kit lens" whose only consideration was that the 28mm aperture is very restricting for wide angle on a crop-sensor. I had read preliminary reviews of the 18-135 that didn't sound too encouraging (this is in contrast to working with pro-level glass from Pentax for some time). However, after a week of using this lens with the 7D, I found that it's not as bad as I expected. Pictures taken with it are reasonibly sharp, have reasonible contrast and fairly even image quality across the frame - when I follow these guidelines:
1. Avoid 18 - 24mm shots, even at stopped-down apertures due to overall reduced image quality; softness, especially away from center, distortion and fringing.
2. Don't shoot at wide-open aperture for any focal length if given the choice due to increased softness.
The lens is built reasonibly well for a kit lens. It does focus quickly without USM and is not too loud doing so. What I don't like is that there is no distance scale. I will often take candid shots, either with flash or without, where I first guess the distance to the subject and set that manually on the lens, and then take a surprise photo without any focus delays or focus-assist lighting from the flash to warn the subject that a picture is about to be taken. Can't do that with this lens.
While the 18-135 is generally a reasonible kit lens, it is not the right lens to do the capabilities of the advanced 7D justice, however. Don't know why Canon packaged this lens with the 7D (kinda of like "putting a Fiat motor in a Ferrari?"). Based on reviews and comparisons, I believe the 28-135, on the other hand, would be the better inexpensive choice for this camera. The funny thing is that the 18-135 kit costs $100 more than the 28-135. For that extra $100 I gain some usability between 24 and 28mm but lose some image quality overall. While the 18-135 is convenient to have for now, I look forward to the 17-40 and 70-200 f4L lenses as possible upgrades. I'll provide an update after more time using this lens in order to make sure I give it a fair chance to prove itself.
Update (11/20/09): After many more photographs with this lens, I have to admit that it deserves a bit more recognition than I originally gave it. The guidelines I mentioned for best results still hold true: avoid 18-24mm when possible and stop-down all other focal lengths to about f7 - f8 for the best images. Comparing this lens on the 7D to the Tamron 18-250 on a Pentax K20 and the Canon lens is clearly better - sharper center, sharper boarders and far less CA. It actually looks to be comparible to the Tamron 28-75 with both at f8. Stopped-down, the 18-135 is surprisingly sharp across the frame for a kit lens. I would increase the ranking from three to four stars if it wasn't for the really poor performance between 18-24mm. I also just purchased the Canon 70-200 f4L and the image quality of the 70-200 is certainly in an entirely different league. However, you can still get pretty decent pictures with the 18-135 when you work around its weaknesses.