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Canon EF-S lenses

introduction

  • the Canon EF-S lenses are designed for the Canon EOS APS-C cropped sensor dSLRs with 1.6x crop factor and thus have a smaller image circle which prevents these lenses being usable on Canon 1D or full frame dSLRs
  • the early versions of the standard zooms were particularly poor that they were an embarassment, thankfully version II were significantly better but still not great
  • unlike the Olympus Four Thirds dSLR system lenses, none of these are pro quality, none are weatherproofed, none have an aperture wider than f/2.8, and would struggle to beat even the consumer range of Olympus Four Thirds dSLR system or Micro Four Thirds system lenses in terms of optical quality across the frame.
  • do yourself a favor, look at the better Canon EF lenses if you must have a Canon cropped sensor dSLR, or reconsider whether you really need a dSLR and could do with a more usable, compact and better optical image quality system - Micro Four Thirds system
  • Canon do not make a fisheye lens for their cropped sensor dSLRs, unlike Nikon, Olympus and Panasonic, so if you want fisheye in a Canon, you have to get a third party lens or buy a full frame dSLR.

wide angle zooms

Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5

  • if you want the widest Canon branded zoom lens for a APS-C camera then this is it
  • gives 16-35mm angle of view in 35mm full frame terms
  • no IS
  • minimum focus 0.24m
  • 385g
  • 84 x 90mm
  • 77mm filter thread
  • internal focus and zoom
  • not weatherproofed
  • ~$US850, $A1069

Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6

11x kit zoom

Canon EF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS

  • a handy all purpose image stabilised kit lens
  • not the sharpest kid on the block, particularly away from the centre of the frame
  • pronounced barrel distortion at wideangle, and pincushion distortion around 50mm
  • high levels of chromatic aberration at either end of the zoom range
  • 29-320mm field of view
  • unlike the Micro Four Thirds equivalents, it is not optimised for HD video
  • minimum focus 0.45m
  • micromotor AF
  • not full time manual focus
  • not weatherproofed
  • internal focus
  • non-rotating front element
  • 72mm filter
  • build quality better than the twin kit lens kit but optically not much better
  • 595g
  • 79 x 102mm
  • ~$US700, $A849
  • compare the sharpness tests with the better built, smaller, video optimised Panasonic 10x zoom

standard kit zoom

Canon EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM

  • 24-136mm in 35mm format
  • 2009 higher end model
  • “4 stop” IS
  • minimum focus 0.35m
  • USM AF
  • full time manual focus
  • not weatherproofed
  • internal focus
  • non-rotating front element
  • 72mm filter
  • 575g
  • 82 x 88mm

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS II

  • the current standard zoom introduced in 2011 but still not worth having optically, and because of its very annoying rotating front element
  • a cheap lens to make new buyers think that the dSLR kit is affordable
  • “4 stop” IS
  • minimum focus 0.25m
  • micromotor AF
  • not full time manual focus
  • not weatherproofed
  • extending front focus
  • rotating front element
  • 72mm filter
  • 200g
  • 69 x 70mm
  • $A229
  • dpreview.com

Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM

  • 27-136mm in 35mm format
  • 2004 higher end model
  • poor performance at wideangle, with marked barrel distortion, high levels of light falloff, and intense green/magenta chromatic aberration1)
  • “3 stop” IS
  • minimum focus 0.35m
  • USM AF
  • full time manual focus
  • not weatherproofed
  • internal focus
  • non-rotating front element
  • 67mm filter
  • 475g
  • 79 x 92mm
  • $A779

Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS

  • 29-216mm in 35mm format
  • 2009 extended range model
  • “4 stop” IS
  • minimum focus 0.45m
  • micromotor AF
  • no full time manual focus
  • not weatherproofed
  • internal focus
  • non-rotating front element
  • 67mm filter
  • 455g
  • 75 x 101mm
  • $A699

wide aperture standard zoom

Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM

  • 27-88mm in 35mm format
  • 2006 higher end model
  • “3 stop” IS
  • minimum focus 0.35m
  • USM AF
  • full time manual focus
  • not weatherproofed
  • internal focus
  • non-rotating front element
  • 72mm filter
  • 645g
  • 84 x 111mm
  • $A1529

telephoto zoom lens

Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS II

  • 88-400mm in 35mm format
  • 2011 cheap twin kit lens model
  • “4 stop” IS
  • minimum focus 1.1m
  • micromotor AF
  • no full time manual focus
  • not weatherproofed
  • extending front focus
  • rotating front element??
  • 58mm filter
  • 390g
  • 70 x 108mm
  • $A199

macro lens

Canon EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro USM

  • 96mm in 35mm format
  • 2005 consumer level macro lens model
  • no IS
  • minimum focus 0.20m for 1:1 macro
  • USM AF
  • full time manual focus
  • not weatherproofed
  • internal focus
  • non-rotating front element??
  • 52mm filter
  • 335g
  • 73 x 70mm
  • $A615
  • no match optically for the similarly priced Olympus 50mm f/2.0 macro which is 1 stop faster
photo/canonefslenses.txt · Last modified: 2011/12/21 23:23 by gary

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