Maker Canon Focus drive Stepping motor Focal length (35mm equiv.) 16-29 mm | Type Zoom Focal length 10-18 mm Crop factor 1.6 | |
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The Canon EF-S 10–18mm f/4.5–5.6 IS STM lens is a wide to ultra-wide angle zoom lens for Canon digital single-lens reflex cameras that support the Canon EF-S lens mount. It was announced on May 13, 2014. though it began shipping to retailers by the end of May. It was Canon's 2nd ultra-wide lens with image stabilization to ship to retailers, the first being the EF-M 11-22mm STM. Canon announced a 16–35mm lens with IS on the same day as the 10–18, the 16–35 was not available at retail until after the 10–18.
Reception
According to noted photography blogger Ken Rockwell, the 10–18, which was introduced with a suggested retail price of US$300, "is the world's first reasonably priced ultrawide lens." He added,
"There is no sharper ultrawide lens for APS-C cameras, and it's much better than Canon's 10-year-old EF-S 10-22mm that costs over twice as much! The 10-18mm is the best Canon ultrawide I've used. It's the sharpest, smallest, lightest and least expensive. . . . This lens has no competition. Every other ultrawide lens for Canon's APS-C cameras is optically inferior, can't focus as close, has no IS, and costs at least twice as much."
In reviewing the lens, British photographer and blogger Keith Cooper concluded that
"At appreciably less cost than the EF-S 10-22, the 10-18mm surprised me with its build quality and optical performance. The image stabilisation adds to its general purpose usefulness and partly makes up for its relatively restricted aperture.... Distortions are well under control, and when suitable correction profiles arrive, the lens will be more than adequate for serious use if you were looking to photograph property for example..."
The lens does suffer from poorer performance in lower light conditions when handheld, even with the assistance of IS, however produces very high quality results in mid to full light conditions.