Looking to find more information regarding the Canon EF-S 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 IS STM? Read our latest review to learn more about the Canon EF-S 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 IS STM, its specifications, and if it’s a good camera lens for you.
Canon EF-S 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 IS STM Overview
The Canon EF-S 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 IS STM is a strong lens for travelling photographers at a low cost entry point.
For many photographers it’s considered a “must-have” lens in this price range, offering great IQ, little distortion, and image stabilization.
This is a solid ultra wide lens for crop cameras, with the only drawback being easy lens flare, requiring a lens hood to effectively use this camera in high-exposure conditions.
Canon EF-S 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 IS STM Specifications
The Canon EF-S 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 IS STM was first announced on 05/13/2014 with a Canon EF-S mount type. Below is a summary of this lens’s specifications:
Indicative Price: $299
Focal Range: 10-18
Aperture: F/ 4.5-5.6
Filter Diameter (millimeters): 67
Maximum Diameter (millimeters): 72
Number Of Lenses: 14
Length (millimeters): 74.6
AF Motor: Canon EF-S
Stabilization: Yes
Zoom Type: Ring
Tripod Mount: None Available
Colors Available: Black Only
Manual Focus: Yes
Weight (grams): 240
How Does Canon EF-S 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 IS STM Score?
Below are the lens metric scores we’ve measured for this specific lens:
Sharpness: 1.8/10
We’ve already encountered it with the Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM… Even at this price range, Canon has a great deal of expertise when it comes to designing sharp lenses. The MTF results are incredible in every way.
Some of you may be perplexed that the lens’ maximum aperture is optimal. This seems strange, but bear in mind that APS-C lenses perform best at f/4 (full format: f/5.6) and diffraction has an impact as soon as you stop down.
The center quality is typically wonderful until f/8, when it begins to degrade. The edges and corners are particularly good. Diffraction has already made an impact at f/11 in most cases. We don’t usually include a reading for f/16 since it’s irrelevant, but we included it here just to show that APS-C cameras
Vignetting: 5.6/10
The distortion characteristic is excellent, but the vignetting is not. The light falloff at 10mm at f/4.5 is significant (for an APS-C lens) (for an APS-C lens). Vignetting of 2.2EV (f-stops) is far beyond our usual APS-C baseline.
Chromatic Aberration: 6.0/10
An average pixel width of around 1px is maintained at the image borders, and there’s a smooth transition to the color scheme. There’s a jump in the image corners to about 1.5px (not shown below), which is still adequate for an ultra-wide lens.
Distortion: 6.3/10
The disadvantages of a kit-grade zoom lens are numerous. The most significant is that they have a significant distortion at the wide end, which isn’t true for any other zoom lens I’ve seen. The Canon lens, on the other hand, is an almost pleasant surprise in this regard. It generates moderate barrel distortion at 10mm.
Canon EF-S 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 IS STM Performance
The focus is very accurate, but the AF motor is slow. The Canon EF-S 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 IS STM focuses very accurately in good light conditions. It’s significantly slower than the latest generation of Canon lenses, though, so you can’t use it for moving objects in low light conditions.
The lens and the AF speed is no doubt one of the primary reasons why Canon has introduced the new EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM, with an improved motor and better AF performance, so it’s worth considering the upgrade.
Something to keep in mind is the bokeh quality of this lens, which is not the best. However, it’s not bad either, so if you need a compact lens with an ultra-wide focal range, this is probably your only option.
The Canon EF-S 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 IS STM delivers consistently good results across its entire focal length and aperture rage.
Another area to note is the ergonomics of the lens. It’s never been a strong point of Canon’s EF-S lenses, and the lens isn’t different from any of its predecessors. The front element is so big that the focusing ring sticks out and gets in the way at times.
Canon EF-S 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 IS STM Pros and Cons
Below are some of the pros and cons regarding this lens.
Pros:
- Cheap for the specs that are provided with this lens
- Small and lightweight
- Solid sharpness and good color contrast
- Okay IS
Cons:
- Slow aperture
- AF accuracy is lacking
- Wide open vignette
- Lens flare
- Manual focus by wire
Our Verdict
At least in terms of low-cost lenses, the mirrorless gang may be stealing all of the limelight right now. However, Canon once again demonstrated that even and especially with low-cost lenses, DSLR systems retain their quality crown. The Canon EF-S 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 IS STM
The Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM performs quite well, in fact it’s about on par with the Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM… at half the price! The degree of lateral CAs is reasonably controlled.
The lens is not full-metal, but the build quality is still quite good despite the high use of plastics. In terms of objectively viewing things, there’s really nothing to complain about here. The new STM AF is both quiet and quick.
