Wide lenses

It gives a ‘film equivalent’ zoom range of ~16mm to ~29mm

16mm is very wide if you were previously using a lens like the standard 18-55 kit zoom, and is a good step up from the EF-S 15-85 that I use as a general purpose zoom on the 100D.

Please note that the pictures in this article are shown to illustrate lens capabilities, rather than as great pictures in themselves (great pictures help sell lenses, but that’s not my aim here ;-)

The review is very much my first impressions of the lens, so I’ll update links to further high res images on my G+ page, and some links to some downloadable RAW files.

Our lens was supplied by Park Cameras in the UK – where we buy our new Canon kit.

Back in the days I used 35mm film, I’d have considered 24mm as a fairly wide lens. With my 2004 Canon 1Ds (11MP full frame) I moved to the EF16-35 2.8L, and these days it’s the EF14mm and TS-E17mm (tilt/shift) that offer my widest rectilinear views.

This lens has a smaller aperture than I’d normally use, however it’s vastly lighter than for example, my old EF16-35, or even the upcoming new 16-35 f/4L IS.

I don’t have the older Canon EF-S 10-22mm or any of the third party APS-C (crop) wide zooms available to compare, but you can rest assured that such reviews will appear once the lens is more widely available.



We make a specific point of not selling hardware, but if you found the review of help please consider buying the lens, or any other items at all , via

In the USA: B&H |

Buying the EF-S 10-18mm F4.5-5.6 IS STM lensWe make a specific point of not selling hardware, but if you found the review of help please consider buying the lens,, via our links . It won’t cost more, but we do get a small contribution towards running the site (thanks!).In the USA: Amazon Adorama

In the UK : Amazon UK

Park Cameras – where Keith gets his new Canon kit in the UK.

This is not a ‘lens review’ full of charts and measurements, but more a feel for what the lens was like to use, and the kinds of results you can expect.

Images are from RAW files. All have had some small amount of sharpening applied, except the 100% rollover images across the street from my house. These and the macro shots are also the only ones taken using a tripod.

If the level of precision is not enough, you’ll have to wait for reviews from the more quantitative reviewers, since I don’t have the patience or equipment to measure lens performance under lab conditions. I ‘ll be honest and add that I also regard it as largely irrelevant for the market this lens is aimed at – I’m curious about the precise details for my £2000 lenses, less so around £300.

Given that the images have been reduced in size for web display, please don’t try and read too much into their exact look here (there are 2 RAW files you can download).

Images are uncropped and pretty much straight out of the camera – many could be ‘improved’ through cropping and much more agressive processing, but this article is about using the lens, not a Photoshop tutorial…

The Canon EF-S 10-18mm F4.5-5.6 IS STM Lens

The lens is supplied with one of Canon’s ‘pinch’ style lens caps, but no bag or lens hood.

That manual is mostly made up of numerous foreign language options, but one thing I did note was that being a fully electronic lens, it can go to sleep, so the manual focus ring may appear to do nothing, until you’ve touched the shutter button.

There is also a warning to ensure that camera firmware is up to date if you use a 700D/T5i (1.1.3 or later).

I’m used to fairly hefty lenses, many of which are manual focus, however the focus ring at the front continuously rotates and drives focus electronically – this took a bit of getting used to, but that probably says more about my lens collection ;-)

Some specifications

Principal specifications Lens type Zoom lens Max Format size APS-C / DX Focal length 10–18 mm Image stabilisation Yes Lens mount Canon EF/EF-S Aperture Maximum aperture F4.5 – F5.6 Number of diaphragm blades 7 Optics Elements 14 Groups 11 Special elements / coatings UD lens element and enhanced lens coatings Focus Minimum focus 0.22 m (8.66″) Autofocus Yes Motor type Stepper motor Full time manual Yes Physical Weight 240 g (0.53 lb.) Diameter 75 mm (2.94″) Length 72 mm (2.83″) Sealing No Filter thread 67 mm Hood product code EW-73C

MTF charts

Maximum aperture varies with focal length

10mm: f/4.5

11mm: f/5.0

15mm: f/5.6

18mm: f/5.6

First impressions

The lens feels very light, but robustly built – nothing like the appalling finish of some of Canon’s 18-55 kit zoom lenses of the past.

The STM focusing is indeed quiet. In my brief testing of video, the internal microphone picked up no focusing noise at all.

The image stabiliser made a few faint noises, that I could only detect by putting my ear against the lens – that counts as effectively silent for me…

It’s not a small lens, as you can see below.

It’s next to the EF-S 15-85 – it is much lighter than the 15-85 though.

Unlike the 15-85, the front only extends a couple of millimetres.

It’s around 2mm at 18mm and perhaps 5mm at 10mm, with minimum length around 14-15mm.

If you look carefully at the construction diagram to the right, you can see th slight changes.

The rear mount of the lens is plastic, including the protruding part that marks out some EF-S lenses (it does not detach).

Lens coatings do a good job of cutting down internal reflections, whilst the relatively flat front element does mean that people who like to use filters will be able to.

You will need good quality filters (low profile) and if you’ve never used filters before at very wide angles of view, expect some interesting results (I rarely use them, but then again, many of my lenses such as the 8-15, 14 and TS-E17 are really not suited to filters).

The distance settings…

There are none. There is no display of focus distance.

It’s been pointed out that the electronic focus makes setting the lens to infinity for star photos a bit of an issue, so expect a bit of pfaffing around with magnified liveview if you want to try it out.

Using the lens

I’ve a series of shots taken at 10mm to 18mm and two apertures. The initial view shows the widest aperture at that focal length, and you can mouse over the image to see the change at f/8.

The most obvious difference is in vignetting, which is very obvious wide open.

10mm