Canon EF-S 18-200mm lens
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| An excellent general-purpose lens 07/03/2010 I was looking for a lens that could be left on-camera pretty much full-time; one that covered the full range of focal lengths I felt I needed. The 18~200 EF-S is just such a lens, and given its wide zoom range it still manages to be reasonably 'fast' too. The disappointment of it not being a USM ring motor design faded quickly once I discovered how fast focusing is with this lens. Subjects instantly snap into focus. I haven't had the opportunity to try it with other camera bodies, but I doubt it would be sluggish on any other model. The image stabilization is very impressive. It's so cool when you press the shutter-release half way and the jittery viewfinder image solidifies, or at least becomes more treacle-like. It won't make your tripod redundant, but it does improve handheld shooting considerably, especially at the 200mm end. The lens does extend under its own weight, but why would this be a problem to anyone? Adding this lens to your camera does make it a heavy combination, so you'll likely be holding it by the lens as well as the camera anyway. I haven't held the lens up to the rigeur of scientific scrutiny as far as optical performance goes. That's not really my thing. Life's too short. A very slight barrel distortion in my pics of Torremolinos wouldn't cause me any sleepless nights. I've taken lots of pictures with this lens and I'm more than happy with it. By Hunkie Chunks Darlington, Durham United Kingdom | |||||
| A great general purpose lens 19/03/2009 I recenltly purchased the Canon EF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS as a replacment for the EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 kit lens that came with my Canon EOS 450D. The build quality is very good especially compared to kit lens which feels a lot cheaper by comparison. The auto focus speed is reasonable, IS is excellent and the wide focal length zoom range very useful. I see that a lot of people are compaining about the lens self-extending under its own weight. It personally doesn't bother me too much. Holding the zoom ring in place does the job. Plus the zoom lock is handy when the camera isn't being used. All in all, a great general purpose lens for the money considering the wide zoom range available and reasonable optical quality. By Kham Tran London, England | |||||
| Canon 18-200mm 16/11/2008 Canon have at last created a genuine all purpose lens. The image quality is first rate for a lens with this range but there are some misgivings. The lens does extend and retract under its own weight when pointed up or down though this will not be a problem for me and there is a lens lock to stop this happening in transit. The centre image quality is excellent though needs stopping down a little for edge sharpness. I would heartily recommend this lens as a holiday/ General purpose lens but the cost is rather high and it is definitely no L lens. The IS is superb when the light is not too good and though quite fast the USM would have been a welcome addition. All in all good to very good but not stella. By Digidave UK | |||||
| Good lens...does what it should. 14/11/2008 I'm only writing this to correct any mis-representation in previous reviews. Some people only write to complain...and aren't using the product correctly. This is a compromise lens, designed to cover a wide and commonly used focal range. As such it can't be optically 'perfect' but for the majority of peoples needs I believe it does the job superbly. I'm more than impressed with its optical performance. What it does provide is convenience and speed, great for taking those opportunist pictures that all too often seem to vanish whilst fiddling to change to other lenses of different focal length. It will be great for traveling and holidays as a 'one only' lens. The image stabilisation is impressive and also works well with panning. Autofocus is fast although it lacks USM...which would have cost more. The build quality is much better than I expected...it is surprisingly chunky and weighty...and there are no untoward rattles! As stated, the image quality is good. If I had one criticism it's a general Canon one...they never supply a lens hood for the price (unlike Nikon), and the lens specific hoods are always ridiculously over-priced for bits of plastic. Canon take note! 'Zoom creep' as described by another reviwer isn't really an issue, any more than with any other weighty zoom lens...even of 'L' quality. A zoom lock is built into the lens if required. I must say I haven't had to use it. I have already had a photograph on local television with this lens within a couple of days of owning it. I think it's great...and no regrets. By astroflash Scarborough | |||||
| Cano 18-200mm Zoom Lens self-extends under its own weight 05/11/2008 When pointing this lens directly downwards, and if the lens is set to any greater telephoto setting than 24mm, the weight of the lens itself causes it to "fall out" to closer to its maximum telephoto setting. If pointed directly upwards, a similar reaction is triggered at any telephoto setting less than about 140 - it falls in to about 24, all by itself! Anticipating that this was just a one-off faulty lens, I returned it to Jessops, in Birmingham, who had a new replacement Canon 18-200mm lens which they swapped for me. The new replacement displayed exactly the same lack of control over the zoom positioning when the lens is held directly downwards, or upwards. I have reported this to Canon's Technical Department and await their response... By coldwaterjohn Scotland | |||||
