Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS SLR Lens by Canon
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Digital camera reviews of Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS SLR Lens
Digital camera Review: Excellent lens - Sharp pics, great value. Highly recommended!
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this lens to replace the kit lens that came with my Rebel XTi and I am thoroughly impressed by its performance. The kit lens simply pales in comparison. The image stabilizer does its job very well, and the image quality is excellent.
There are many people and reviewers who compare this lens unfavorably with Canon's acclaimed L-Series lenses. I think those folks are way too picky - one can't expect a $200 lens to perform as well as a $1,000 lens. That's like comparing a little Honda Civic to perform as well as BMW M3. Not gonna happen, but for the price the Civic is an excellent little car. Likewise, this lens is a worthwhile investment towards getting excellent pictures. Pay no heed to the people who rate this lens poorly because it doesn't zoom as far (you should have bought a longer lens) or those who claim its build quality is not as solid (you should have spent a lot more money).
I've read the tech reviews containing information about vignetting, barrel distortion, bokeh, etc. The reality is, I am not a professional photographer (i.e., I don't put food on my family's table by taking pictures) so those things don't matter so much. All I care about is that the pictures come out crisp and the colors accurate. I take pics of my wife and baby, often in low light conditions without a flash. I shoot in JPEG high compression to save disk space and to make it easier to email the photos to our parents and extended family. If this is what you'll be doing, then buy this lens right away; you won't be disappointed.
Perhaps someday I will want to buy a camera with a longer zoom (which is why I got a DSLR camera) or I'll buy a faster computer so I can switch to shooting in RAW (thus necessitating an L series lens). Until then, I expect this lens will be on my XTi for a long, long time.
Digital camera Review: Fantastic kit lens - IS is definitely not marketing hype
Summary: 5 Stars
I purchased this lens with the 500D/T1i body and have been really impressed with the image quality. I've primarily shot with the 50mm 1.4 prime, which is an incredible lens in its own right, but found in low light situations a lot of photos were not coming out as sharp as I'd like. While not possessing the heft or optics of the 50/1.4, this IS lens has essentially made blurry available-light photos a thing of the past. And paired with the 430EXII speedlight you can get some outstanding shots even if all you ever use is the full auto/ETTL mode. My only regret is I just wish this lens had made it into my rotation sooner!Digital camera Review: Fantastic lens
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a great lens. I use it for pretty much everything other than birds (I use a Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4.0-5.6 IS Telephoto Zoom Lens for Canon Digital SLR Cameras for that). The only time I had trouble with it was at an aquarium, where the low light meant slow shutter speeds (moving fish + slow shutter speeds = blurry fish). For things that aren't moving much, in low light I think this lens is better than the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Camera Lens. I find that f/3.5-f/5.6 with image stabilization is usually superior to f/1.8 without it.
The zoom range (18mm-55mm) is very practical. 18mm is wide enough for landscapes or crowds at concerts, and 55mm is usually long enough.
Although the specifications look similar to the non-IS version that comes with the Rebel XT/XTi, this lens is quite a bit better..
I've also done a lot of macro photography by mounting this lens to the camera body backwards (with an adapter I bought for <$15 from another site) and the results are impressive. It's difficult to use since that isn't the intended use, but the pictures are incredible (when your field of view is 1/4th of an inch wide, you can see the individual eyes of a fly, or the hairs on a small spider's leg).
Digital camera Review: Fantastic standard zoom for the money.
Summary: 5 Stars
This lens is the best kit lens on the market right now, and likely best standard zoom under $300. It has no obvious flaws, takes sharp pictures, and has fantastic image stabilization. I can take 1/10 shutter speed and even the occasional 1/4 with sharp results. Build quality is not like a $500 lens, but this was designed for the Rebel series. It seems to have a similar quality and finish to my Rebel XS and I don't think it feels "cheap". There are more detailed reviews and tests elsewhere on the internet, so I won't spout off for 2 pages. But, the bottom line is that this is a great lens, especially for the money, and will serve you well for general photography. If you need a longer zoom too, I would recommend the canon 55-250 IS to mate with this lens.Digital camera Review: Far Better than the Kit Lens
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought my Canon XTi Rebel with that horrible Kit Lens 18-55mm and regret it deeply. However, I decided to buy this new lens 18-55mm IS to see if there was any improvement and I am very much pleased with it. It is a cheap lens that will give the beginner a very good start in photography. It is stabilized and this feature worths every penny payed. It also delivers good image quality that a beginner would expect from a US$ 200.00 lens. If you are about to buy your first DSLR camera Rebel XTi, I recommend you to buy it with the Canon 18-55mm IS lens as a first kit lens. Please, forget the old 18-55mm NON IS lens what is a piece of ^&*#@ (you know what I mean, right?).