What a value!
I only got this lens, vowing to only do "L" glass since using my 50mm f/1.2, because it got a sizzling review in PopPhoto. It's clarity was just under a $2,000 Nikon lens reviewed on the same page.
I opened the box, and got just what I expected for under $200-a small, cheap feeling lens. It is the first EF-S I've owned, and the white mark for aligning it to mount matched up on my Canon 40D, instead of the red mark I usually use.
I haven't had time to put it through the paces, but I will say that I am really impressed with the clarity of the pictures. I have a crappy Canon 28-135mm that is just pitiful in the clarity department-and that set me back $400! I put a shot of one of my dogs up for this product in the customer images. It's the one shot portrait of just her head (German Shepherd). Handheld this thing is as clear as my 50mm f/1.2-I swear!
Another thing I didn't realize is that you can get close to your subject with this lens. No, I mean REALLY close. I can open it up to 17mm and be 4" from my subject!
As a portrait photographer, I am really thankful to have a killer IS lens to let me play with wide shots of buildings, scenery, and maybe some fun people/pet portraits that differ from my more "sensible" lenses to date.
Great lens, especially for the very low price
* Low Chroma. I read a test ([...]) that found higher than normal amounts of CA in this lens at some apertures, but I don't see it. My standard test is to shoot bare tree limbs on bright sunny days & look for purple fringing, especially at the edges. I'm not seeing anywhere near the level of fringing shown in some of their test shots.If anything, I'd call it "low" I read elsewhere that one of Canon's goals in adding the aspherical element to this lens was to reduce CA, so I'm thinking maybe the lens tested in photozon.de was just a bad apple.
* Image Shake control works. I can't attest to how often it provides a full 4 stops worth of shake reduction, but I can see a very clear result when using it.
* Compact, light weight & unobtrusive. Not much bigger than a normal lens.
CONS
* Barrel Distortion at 18mm (28mm) While not exsessive for an inexpensive lens, this is one area where you will see benefit from spending hundreds of dollars for a much more expensive Canon "IS" or "L," or buying a fixed focal length lens. In most real world situations, it wasn't all that noticeable. I could usually correct for it in Photoshop, but this is not a lens for critical architectural work etc. I have taken hundreds of photos with this lens and barrel distortion has only called attention to itself a few times. I suspect this is one price paid for the very compact design.
* Not very fast. Another area where an "L" has an edge. At F3.5 28mm equivalent and F5.6 85mm this lens is relatively slow compared to a pro lens. This effects stopping the action in low light. OTH, you will have to spend hundreds more to get a usable top speed of F 2.8 and that is *only* one stop faster at 28mm equiv. I think both this lens' sharpness and the IS system mitigate this "Con." It took me a while to learn that I could shoot wide open at all focal lengths without having the outer third of the image turn to mush.That's pretty amazing for a zoom at this price. You don't have a stop or two you almost never use because it is too soft. And the IS system works well in low light, though that doesn't figure in in stopping the action.
* Does not have that red stripe. Sad to say, some will never buy this sharp, handy little lens because in is not an "L" and/or doesn't cost $[...]. Yes, it does does look a little "plasticy," probably doesn't have the build quality for heavy, everyday use by a real working pro, and does not look massive mounted on your camera body, like a "fast" pro lens that's squeezing out that last F stop. But IMO, it looks very similar to Canon's newer IS lenses, so there is no scarlet letter immediately identifying you as "cheap." In other words, "Get over it."
So, why did Canon produce such a good lens at such a bargain price? I'd say that it's because Nikon announced their intention to do the same a little while ago. Also, Canon's old non IS 18-55mm lens had the rep of being something of a dog. Finally, several competing cameras now have IS built into the body. Canon had to respond with a sharp IS lens that they could put on the Rebels & the 40D. In terms of sales, the low end of the DSLR market is both hot and very competitive. We're the beneficiaries