Canon EF-S 18-55mm Lens - Similar Lenses

Similar Lenses

The EF–S 18–55mm is the lowest end Canon general purpose zoom, but its low cost (as part of a kit) makes it a good value.

The three other general purpose EF-S zooms are:

• The Canon EF-S 17-85mm lens:
  • Better build quality, larger zoom ratio. Image quality, however, is only roughly equal to that of the considerably cheaper 18–55 IS, and in some aspects (specifically light fall-off and geometric distortion) is worse.
• The Canon EF-S 15-85mm lens:
  • Redesigned version of the 17–85, wider (15mm), and arguably the best image quality of all Canon general-purpose zooms for cropped bodies, but higher price.
• The Canon EF-S 17-55mm lens:
  • Better build quality, faster, constant maximum aperture of f/2.8. Image quality, compared to the 18–55 IS, is better with regard to corner sharpness and distortion, but light fall-off is more noticeable at large apertures. Considerably higher price.

The now-discontinued Canon EF 28-90mm lens is the corresponding EF lens. No EF lens currently in production directly compares to the EF-S 18–55 in equivalent focal length. The closest current EF equivalents are:

• The Canon EF 24-105mm lens:
  • A slightly wider and longer L lens with considerably better build quality, a constant maximum aperture of f/4, and considerably higher price. Image quality on cropped bodies is superior to that of most EF-S lenses when wide open, but most differences disappear once stopped down to f/8.
• The Canon EF 28-135mm lens:
  • Essentially the same wide end, but longer telephoto end. Build quality roughly comparable to the 17–85 and 17–55 f/2.8. More expensive than the 18–55 and slightly less expensive than the 17–85.

Extending the telephoto range, the Canon EF-S 55-250mm lens is a telephoto zoom that picks up at 55mm (88mm equivalent), and together these cover the 18–250mm range (28.8–400mm equivalent). The newer Canon EF-S 18-200mm lens is a superzoom that covers much of this range (28.8–320mm equivalent).