Canon EF zoom lens - 18 mm - 55 mm
$227.99
Mfg # 2042B002
CDW # 1436371
| UNSPSC 45121600
Quick tech specs
- Zoom lens
- 55 mm
- Canon EF/EF-S
- 40
- 50
- 7D
- Kiss X2
- Rebel T1i
- Rebel XSi
- 18 mm
- f/3.5-5.6 IS
- for EOS 1000
- 450
- 500
- Kiss F
- Kiss X3
- Rebel XS
Know your gear
In response to demands of photographers, this standard zoom lens is designed with Canon's Optical Image Stabilizer technology while retaining the compactness and lightness of previous models. Its stabilization allows sharp hand-held shots at shutter speeds up to four stops slower than otherwise possible. It consists of 11 elements in 9 groups and uses an aspherical lens element to correct aberration for excellent image quality throughout the zoom range and a circular aperture for exquisite rendering of out-of-focus backgrounds. Without a lot of size, weight or cost, this lens expands picture-taking possibilities any time slow shutter speeds are needed.
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Canon EF zoom lens - 18 mm - 55 mm is rated
3.80 out of
5 by
45.
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Gil from
exp EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS II
I gave the kit lens 1 star simply because I had little use for this lens. This is the kit lens: EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS II. This would be better: Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Camera Lens + this hood: Zeikos ZE-LH52 52mm Soft Rubber Lens Hood (Black). Yes, BOTH are cheap lenses but it is more useful than the kit lens, for me. I shoot more kids, family, portraits, etc. & the bokeh is great, This is just my 2 cents. I had more use from the nifty fifty & T2i in 2 weeks than 2 months with the kit lens. Please give us a choice Canon.
Gil
Date published: 2012-09-09T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
CindyH from
Love My Lens!
After years of loving my Canon SLR 35mm camera and the quality of my pics, but increasingly finding it difficult to buy the film and processing I wanted, I took the plunge into DSLR. I love my camera and lens. They aren't heavy to cart around, and I can switch lens in a flash. Have only had it one one trip, but can't wait for the fall colors to explore even more!!
Date published: 2012-10-05T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Logical from
Cheap average lens
This lens feels cheap and basic, and noticeably lower quality compared to any camera body that it comes with. I thought mine came with sand in it, which really dampened the ownership experience for a while, but it turns out the circular flap that keeps particles out creates some friction with the moving front element, so there is some scratchy noise when zooming in and out.
The pictures it takes have decent sharpness, but not comparable to more expensive lenses. The focusing speed is decent with bright and high-contrast subjects, but sometimes struggles in lower light. Manual focus is only possible with the AF is off, unlike some other lenses. There is no distance scale. The minimum focal distance is also good enough for some basic macro.
The Image Stabilization is the saving grace for this lens, and is actually quite good at affording it some reasonable low light ability. But in my opinion the Image Stabilization should be inside the camera body like with many competitor models. I think this lens is fine for a beginner, or some casual outdoor photography. In the end the build quality might be bothersome, but the performance is good for its price.
Date published: 2009-07-15T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
scottso from
good but not great
had this lens for over a year and cycled about 5000 shots. the stabialization broke after about 3000 clicks a cheap lens relatively speaking.I will say this lens was not babied many shots on a monopod and in back pack in the desert south west so it may feel cheap and even though it is plastic it held up and thats what counts
the biggest pain in the patoot is the rotating barrel it makes using polorizer and graduated neutral density filters a time consuming pain to use and those filters are essential and commonly used or should be by all serious photogs.
the image quality is very good.
Date published: 2009-12-23T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
cl from
Lense noise with auto focus
nice lense, however don't like the noise on auto focus when video taping. Very loud. The kit should of came with the better lense with less noise. Other then that great lense
Date published: 2012-10-25T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Photografur from
Good Flexible Basic Lens
For most shooting, this lens is ideal, it may not do everything but it can do a lot.
Date published: 2010-01-04T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
rkf from
Great standard zoom for Entry Level DSLR
I purchased this lens in October, 2007 as an replacement for the non-IS version of the kit lens of my EOS Digital Rebel XTi. Now, after one year of experience, I must admit that I'm very satisfied. The IS works as advertised, 0.5 seconds w/18mm and 1/6 seconds w/55mm are no problem. When I was in London last year, I was able to shot a bunch of free-hand panorama photos at the River Thames bank, which I merged into one panorama which decorates my office now.
Date published: 2008-10-30T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Betsy from
Great Camera
I love the camera, so far. I do wish I could take far awy pictures better. I wish is came with a strong zoom lens. they are very expensive. I was able to clear some distance pictures with the program that came with it. The pictures so far are beautiful but the camers is made for close-ups.
Date published: 2012-09-13T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
kelkel from
Nice lense
I'm still learning how to use this lens but I'm very pleased with it.
Date published: 2014-11-07T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Ron from
It's suprisingly good
Sharpness:
This lens is very sharp, even on the edges, 18-28mm. Starting at 35mm, sharpness starts to fall becoming least sharp at 55mm.
I've compared this lens to 17-55mm and 24-105mm L. On my comparison, I saw slightly better performance of the 18-55 over the 17-55 @18 (@17 mm. I saw no major sharpness advantage for the 24-105mm. At 55mm the 17-55mm is much better.
Focus:
It is fast with low noise. Manual focus is not feasible for the most part. No full time focus. The focus is *sometimes* inaccurate (could be a camera issue too).
Macro:
18-55mm can be used at 25cm distance from subject, for a 1:3 magnification. Which is significantly better than the 1:6 of the 17-55mm.
Distortions:
CA is not a major problem, but worse than 17-55mm, especially on the edges.
Barrel/pincushion distortion @18mm worse than 17-55mm but better for rest of the zoom range.
Vignetting is not a problem >= f/5.6.
Other features:
Very useful and silent IS
Lens is light and very compact
All plastic
Delicate focus mechanism
Date published: 2009-08-01T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
dran_reb from
Good for landscapes, buildings
Good all-around general purpose lens, versatile enough for many situations. Relatively light weight. Good for a walk in the woods because it can capture a decent wide-angle landscape shot, yet still take a great close-up photo of an object along the trail, such as a flower. Limited zoom means it cannot get a close-up of distant wildlife, so if that's your target, you will need to consider a different lens. This lens works great for fitting buildings into the frame when standing close. I have taken some beautiful night shots of cityscapes with this lens using a tripod and long exposure.
Date published: 2014-08-19T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Love from
Excellent Purchase
This is the second time I have Purchased this lens. I first bought it as a kit lens wit Canon 300D a few years ago. I have many fond memories of taking many fine photos encompassing portraits, landscapes, animals and birds. Right now with several L series lenses and some others I did not need this lens but it is very handy for walks with my dog. Excellent purchase for a very small price. photos come out very sharp.
Date published: 2012-09-12T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Woody from
Very Good Lens
This is a very good everyday lens. Great for touring through vacation sites and general picture taking. Light weight, not bulky, doesn't attract a lot of attention, and takes great pictures.
Date published: 2009-12-26T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
saboken from
Throw away lens I should have waited
The lens was included with a kit and is no longer included with the T4i kits with good reason! If I knew how poorly it was built and noisy it was (useless shooting video unless you use a external mic) yes it's loud might as well shoot video next to a passing freight train, as for the build I have never seen anything made by Canon built so cheap! I though it was a counterfeit lens at first until I read others reviews if I knew canon was going to remove it from the kit and replace it with a STM version I would have waited! I had to buy a new STM lens to shoot video, I don't know what Canon was thinking when they included this piece of plastic pretending to be a Lens.
Date published: 2014-11-19T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Jweavercma from
Ok for Beginners
I received this lens with my Canon T2i as a birthday present. In the beginning, I couldn't really tell the difference between this and any other lens. As I gained experience, I found out exactly how limited this lens can be. I found out that it absolutely hates anything but the most perfect lighting conditions. If your subject is slightly too bright or slightly too dark it refuses to focus, leaving you to focus manually which can be a bother under certain circumstances. Even when the auto-focus works it is inaccurate, leaving you with blurry images.
Overall- It is a decent enough lens for rank beginners who treat their DSLR camera more like an expensive point and shoot. If you are one of these brand new DSLR users, I would recommend an upgrade as soon as you gain some experience and develop your shooting style.
Date published: 2011-06-04T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
rawj7 from
came with camra
I purchesed the EOS Rebel T2i for Christmas 2010. It came with this lense. I took it to an Auto show and the Pictures were kindof fisheyed. It's fast and good build but the pictures were as great as I expected becuase of the fisheye effect.
Date published: 2011-01-14T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
asjs from
Okay lens
This lens came with the camera I bought. I found it to be easy to work with when adjusting the basic settings such as auto/manual focus and turning the stabilizer on and off. I found that when shooting, a lot of pictures did not come out as expected due to the slow lens. I'd suggest this lense for beginner portraits, but nothing moving. The focus is easily broken, and it is extremely slow on auto focus.
Date published: 2014-02-17T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
charlieflatbed from
Great Lens
I bought this lens with a camera as a kit,have been looking at this brand for several year's finely bit the bullit and i'am so happy I did this camera and the two lens that came with it are amazing I have another brand SLR and will never use it again.
Date published: 2016-06-16T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Tek from
Average
Average lens. Details are not covered properly. Not properly sharpen landscapes.
Date published: 2017-11-22T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
RoMo from
EF-S 18-55mm
I bought this lens because mine wasn't working properly. Basically I replaced the old one for this one. It works fine.
Date published: 2020-04-02T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Dave N from
Replaced lens after 15 years of service!
Lens arrived in good condition and is performing as well expected.
Date published: 2019-10-02T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Kristiana from
Great for beginners
I’m personally pretty attached to this lens as it’s my first lens I’ve ever had. As most others have said, I received it in a beginner level kit and I think for beginners, it’s a very versatile lens. The focal length range is good for a number of different subjects from people to landscapes. Of course don’t expect professional level quality from this lens, but we all have to start somewhere. Zoom lenses are also nifty, though they tend to sacrifice clarity for this feature.
It is a little noisy when focusing and I have trouble shooting in semi-dark areas like neon-lit rooms or dusky beaches. While nice and versatile, it is pretty average. I almost always find myself using Photoshop and Lightroom to adjust for a beginner-quality lens in post production.
Overall, I highly recommend this lens for beginners and those first learning how to shoot in manual mode. However, I recommend getting a prime lens for intermediate level photographers or those looking for a general lens upgrade.
Date published: 2018-10-10T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
D.T. from
null
Great kit lens. Slow auto-focus misses in anything less than perfect lighting. The images are good quality, but not as sharp as I'd like, even under pretty decent lighting.
BUT, it's easy to use and to learn with. For the price, the images are great. It can be used in most situations, and I will probably keep it on hand because of that.
Date published: 2012-12-09T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Bizziebill from
Great Lens
I used this lens & the 70-300 when I went to China. Took some good pictures. I am still new with this product, but I have to say I truly like both of them. The 18-55 was great for most my indoor shots, where as the 300 came in handy for the long shots I was taking.
For even better shots when not using my tripod, I would turn the AF off, much better for the indoor shots of friends.
Date published: 2012-03-21T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
rdrago34 from
Ok for snapshots
This is often the standard lens that comes with many of the DSLR's. At first glance, it's great that it's lightweight and has good focal length range.
It's ok for everyday snapshots but ends there.
Has terrible end distortion, especially at lower focal lengths(wide angle, which makes it an issue for landscapes, group pics, etc.
If you're at all concerned about image quality, you'll want to buy a replacement for this lens sooner than later.
Date published: 2018-02-08T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
lyddaddy69 from
This lens is great...for 6 months
this lens is awesome of you're a beginner and are just getting the hang of things. BUT since it's very cheaply made it will not last you very long, it's frustrating! this lens is not worth the $200. Save up and buy one that actually works.
Date published: 2020-01-17T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Tats Me Not from
Highly Recommendable Lens
I have a 28-135 mm IS USM lens that came with my 50D as a kit lens. The widest angle of this lens proved to be not wide enough to capture most of the images I want included in my landscaping shots or capture all subjects in a small room when there is no backing up space. Although my kit lens serve me well for telephoto purposes and in auditorium settings when flash photography is not allowed or in low light conditions.
I decided to get a wide angle lens that will not break the bank, I got this 18-55 mm IS. To my surprise, it turned out to be the mainstay lens attached to my camera as its range met most of my day to day photo needs. It also has IS for good handheld shots and as extras, it produced surprisingly good quality pictures. The pictures I took where razor sharp, with good color resolution, and no aberrations. I now have it attached as my primary walk-around lens. My original kit lens has been relegated to sit in my camera bag. I also like the fact that this lens is light in weight, with a short focal length that makes it convenient to lug around when travelling. I highly recommend this lens. I was not dissappointed with it and I believe, so will it be with most of its users.
Date published: 2010-07-21T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
era1953 from
Great buy
First off, I get a little annoyed at reviews that don't tell you what system the product was used on. With some of the previous reviews I feel that the users that were complaining about the performance really don't know how to handle a DSLR or what to expect. Auto focus systems need a "contrasting image" to focus on so if you try to focus on an area that is blank it will have a hard time focusing and "hunt" for an image. The 18-55mm was a kit lens with a Canon T3i that I purchased as a second camera.
The lens preforms beautifully giving crisp, sharp photos. Auto focus is fast and precise. I.S. is flawless. All together a great buy for a standard zoom
Date published: 2012-04-08T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Shooter from
Good starter lens!
I actually like this lens. But it's not my favorite. I've used if for about a year now. And have impressed myself at some of the shots I've taken. I've had the chance to try our a couple L lenses and the only thing that I think I have missed is the build quality, and the better apertures. I like the fact that it at least has IS. It helps in low light, but is not excellent. I find myself raising the ISO frequently to compenste for the small apertures even with the IS. I think the range is great for general purpose, although, it wouldn't hurt to extend it to 70 or 85mm. Basically, I'm glad that this lens is included in the kit, but if you are serious about taking good pictures, you will want to upgrade if you have the means.
Date published: 2011-02-17T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
wondersueak from
Great, At First
I got this lens with my Canon Rebel XS for Christmas last year, and at first it was great, the images were very crisp and the auto-focus worked like a charm. Over time, the auto-focus started to get slower and the images weren't very crisp anymore, and even though I had never taken the lens off the camera body since I got it, somehow a bunch of hairs and dust accumulated on the sensor in my camera so I had to use a can of compressed air to clean it. The auto-focus barely works now and is slow and inaccurate, though it is a good value for its price and the fact it came with my camera, I just wouldn't get it again.
Date published: 2011-11-13T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
mohammad from
best satisfaction
this is a wide angle lens that I recommend to any amateur photographer . it is a good lens for indoor and macro and outdoor photography.the only bad points of this lens are : lack of usm motor and small aperture of lens. and the quality is so good.
Date published: 2010-03-08T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
merlexie from
Great Kit Lens + for Learning DSLR
This is the kit lens that came with my Rebel T3i. Overall, I think it serves its purpose well. The T3i is an entry-level DSLR, and this lens pairs well with it as a learning lens while newbies to DSLR figure out what exactly they're doing. The lens + camera combo is a huge step up from my Canon Powershot ELPH 300; the image quality is excellent, and it's much more versatile.
So, the pros about this lens: it gives you enough zoom to experiment with both wide-angle/landscape shots as well as portraits and other close-ups. People get into DSLR for different reasons, so it's reasonable that Canon would pick a kit lens with versatility rather than confining people to a one-trick wonder. The IS does wonders, especially in low light.
Now, the cons--and not all of them are really cons. The build quality does, admittedly, seem to be on the cheap side. But come on, it's a kit lens, and its retail price-point is at the very low end of the range for all Canon lens. So this shouldn't come as any surprise, and isn't worth causing a fuss over. More critical, however, is the autofocus: it's very finicky, and frequently has to hunt (which is slow and time consuming, especially in low light or low contrast situations. Honestly, I've found it easier just to focus manually; but I think that's more a reflection of me being too impatient to learn how to tell my T3i where I want it to focus (it's rather tedious to change zones) than anything else. I'm also not generally looking to capture the big action shot, so a fast autofocus is less critical to me.
All in all, I've taken some amazing photos with this lens and am very pleased with it. Is it the greatest lens? No. Will I be upgrading it soon? Absolutely. But that's probably part of the idea behind most kit lens: give you something that's good--even very good--at many things but not the greatest at anything so that consumers are tempted into purchasing upgrades.
Recommended as a kit lens (on the assumption you don't own any other lenses of higher quality), but not as a separate purchase (since Canon makes better quality lenses that are more tailored to your individual needs at prices comparable to this or that aren't all that much more).
Date published: 2013-03-10T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
BT from
Nice Walk Around Lens
I got this w/ the T3i. I actually have no complaints about this lens at all. It delivers sharp images almost throughout. It is very versatile, and can shoot Macro shots, okay portraits, and ok zoom shots.
I personally do alot of outdoor photography, and this does pretty good, but doesnt zoom enough for Birds, deer, etc without getting pretty close. But for Macro shots, I have been enjoying this lens alot and was suprised that it could do so well!
I have already bought the 50mm 1.8 prime lens, which is perfect for portraits, and shows better colors and Bokeh in images. But my next purchase will be a better quality telephoto zoom lens to get a little more distance on my shots for further away subjects. Overall a Nice Walk-around/all-purpose lens. No complaints and love the IS!
Date published: 2012-12-31T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Reaelise from
So Happy I did
Just by others reviews alone sold me on this camera. I have No regrets!! Takes Beautiful pictures. Having a Lot of Fun with this camera
Date published: 2014-11-08T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
FIJI M from
2ND TIME AROUND MUCH BETTER.
VERY VERY LIGHTWEIGHT LENS FOR KIT BAG.
GREAT IMAGE STABILIZATION SYSTEM.
VERY VERY GOOD IMAGE QUALITY.
FAST AUTO FOCUS WITH GOOD LIGHTING.
BUILD QUALITY SEMI-DECENT.
INEXPENSIVE EF-S WIDE ANGLE LENS FOR SHOOTING.
DESIGNED ONLY FOR USE ON ALL EOS DIGITAL REBELS, 20D, 30D, 40D, 50D, 60D AND 7D DIGITAL EOS CAMERAS.
THIS LENS IS VERY SHARP AT 18mm, BUT DROPS OFF QUITE A BIT AT 55mm.
Date published: 2012-08-30T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
ClassroomDoctor from
NO WAY...YES WAY!!!
T3i purchased after long consideration given to cost and options...Best choice in a camera for this 45 year plus career photographer among the last four digital purchased.
Date published: 2014-12-25T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
RA from
Decent Start
Though not great, this lens is a decent start into the SLR world. Unfortunately, you'll quickly realize why it's only so-so useful when you get another lens with a better aperture, especially one that zooms in & out like this does. Even outdoors with good light, that 5.6 aperture at 55mm does a number on your shutter speed and I'm guessing that's why IS is built into it. Indoors, unless you have a tripod, really good lighting or have a very steady form, you will notice some blur, even with IS on. If you buy this with a body, it's good to help you test and experiment, but if you get a body with no lens, don't bother getting this as your first. Still, if you're new and get this with a body, use it to help you understand aspects of photography & lens technology.
Date published: 2010-09-10T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Ron from
Disappointed
Very disappointed with the quality of photos that comes with the use of this lens,should have just purchased the body of the canon t-3i and purchased the 17-55 lens.
Date published: 2012-01-07T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Canon lover from
Good at first
Men when I got my first camera the kit lens was nice.but after a year It broke the AutoFocus stop working .so now I'm using my other lens,the image quality was great but the built quality not so much
Date published: 2012-01-23T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Skippii from
Upgrading Soon
I purchased this lens as part of the kit with my T2i. Overall, I like the product as a entry level tool. However, after only three months of use, as I learn about the exposure triangle and the ins and outs of my camera, I now see a need to upgrade to a prime lens which will give me access to bigger apertures for more creativity. The lens is good comparable to price.
Date published: 2011-03-28T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Rider from
Not Bad
I have used this lens for the past year. It is exactly what it is designed to be. A simple light weight lens. I have "L" lenses and other EF lenses but still like to use this one from time to time. Not necessarily the sharpest but does pretty good. Best around f/8 and up.
Date published: 2010-07-01T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
goodlucksdk from
A Good Entry Level Lens
This lens comes with many Rebel camera kits. Given its' price it is very capable and versatile and has also gotten quite a couple of positive reviews for that. I have successfully used it for macro, landscape and portrait photography. It does a decent job in all of these categories and therefore makes it a great learning tool for the beginning photographer. As one advances one may outgrow this lens but possibly with a good idea what one will find important in future purchases.
Date published: 2010-05-09T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
AWESOME LENS!!! from
BEST STARTER LENS EVER!!!
This lens is an AWESOME starter lens! It has a pretty fast autofocus, the build quality is great, the stabilizer is awesome, but the best part is... EXTREMELY AWESOME IMAGE QUALITY!!! This lens has EXTREMELY high quality glass, (even though it's not an L) and I love the fact that it has a circular aperture! The only not-a-big-deal problem is that when you set the focal length to 55mm, it sets the aperture to f/5.6, which is not bad at all. P.S. Canon, you did an awesome job on this lens!!!
Date published: 2011-10-08T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
fundra04 from
Great lens that doesn't disappoint!
great lens. Perfect for landscapes, tight areas, and general use. lightweight, great glass, pin sharp pics!
Date published: 2019-09-29T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Jomaque from
Sharp Pics, Low Price
I had bought this lens for my SLR body, and overall it is a very good lens. The outcome of the photos are very sharp and I enjoy shooting with it. However, I do want to point out that ,under certain conditions, that the autofocus will not work or will go "hunting". But I do recommend this lens as a starter who has just transitioned from P&S cameras to DSLRs
Date published: 2012-06-28T00:00:00-04:00