Ultrasonic Zoom Interesting Tip

May 28, 2011 lenses No comments

I bought this lens as a replacement for my EFS 18-50 kit lens.

For APS-C SLRs there are plenty of options in this focal range (EFS 18-50, EFS 18-50IS, EFS 17-85IS, EFS 17-55IS, EFS 15-85IS, Tamron 17-50, Tamron 17-50 VC, Tokina 16-50, Sigma 18-50 ……. ). I was not originally considering this lens and was leaning towards the EFS 17-85IS or Tamron 17-50 (the EFS 15-85IS and Tamron 17-50 VC did not exist at the time). However after trying it at a store, I just had to have one!

It has a certain feel to it that is indescribable. Its a pleasure to use. Mounted on my Rebel Xti, it is well balanced. It feels substantial but not overly heavy (less than my EF 70-300IS). It balances the camera well when a flash is mounted in the hotshoe (which can be an issue with lighter lenses). Its very solid. Resting on my hand its very easy to manually focus with my thumb and forefinger; and zoom with my pinky (or thumb), without shaking the camera. Both zoom and focus rings are very smooth. Auto-focusing is so fast and silent, that I often wonder if it actually focused!

It focuses quite close. Its a good close up lens for objects that are as small as a child’s hand.

Image quality seems fine to me. I can’t say its any better or worse than my EF 70-300IS which I have no complaints about. I do think the colors are better on the EF 17-40 (but that could be my imagination).

I do not find the focal range limiting, but this is not an all-in one zoom! Its a wide to normal. If you need more telephoto you will need to carry another lens (like the excellent 70-300IS or 70-200 F4). If you want an all in one lens go with something else. You have lots of choices!

The constant F4 aperture is great for general purpose outdoor/daytime use. Indoors or at night you will typically need a flash, to keep the shutter speed up high enough.

For its focal range I do not find a lack of image stabilization an issue. Daytime outdoors I can hold the camera steady enough, and indoors I use a flash.

I would recommend this lens to anyone looking for a general purpose wide to normal zoom on an APS-C DSLR.

Help answer the question about Ultrasonic Zoom
Canon lens recommendations?
I currently have a Canon EF 28-105mm lens ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canon_EF_28-105mm_lens ). Some of the highlights:-Zoom (28-105mm) (obviously)-Ultrasonic motor-f/3.5-4.5-AutofocusOne thing Ultrasonic Zoom this lens is lacking is image stabilization. I'm planning on getting either a Rebel XSi or a T1i to mount a lens on. The other disadvantage of this lens is the fact that the autofocus is slow, which is problematic for action/sports shots. So the question: should I use this lens, or buy another one? If you say I should buy one, what lens?It is true that the autofocus may be slow because of the fairly old camera it's mounted on (Canon EOS A2).