In summary
For this lens we could find little to complain about in terms of image sharpness, colour quality, stabilisation and autofocusing speed and accuracy. It was also quiet enough to use when shooting movie clips.
The new, faster and quieter autofocusing make this lens better suited for movie recording than the STM version. Video enthusiasts should consider the optional PZ-E1 Power Zoom Adapter, which provides smoother, silent and camcorder-like zooming control when recording video.
For still image capture, this lens is compact and light enough to be useful for travellers. Internal focusing and zooming let users fit polarisers and graduated filters and use them without having to re-adjust the lens when focal length or focus changes.
Photographers purchasing a new camera should consider the new lens, particularly if it’s bundled with the camera, where it represents excellent value for money.
Full review
The EF-S18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM lens, which has been released as the standard kit lens for the new Canon EOS 80D camera, updates the previous EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM lens, which we reviewed in July 2012. Once again, the autofocusing motor has been revised, with the introduction of a new Nano USM drive that combines the benefits of a ring USM (ultrasonic motor) for high-speed AF while shooting stills with a lead-screw type STM (stepping motor) for smooth and quiet movie AF. Canon claims is delivers AF speeds up to 4.3x (Tele) and 2.5x (Wide) faster than the previous model.
The EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM lens. (Source: Canon.)
The optical design is basically identical to the STM lens, consisting of 16 elements in 12 groups. One Ultra-Low Dispersion (UD) element and one PMo (precision moulded) aspherical element are included to address chromatic and spherical aberrations and distortions for optimal clarity and sharpness.
As in the STM lens, integrated Optical Image Stabilisation provides up to four stops of shake compensation. Dynamic Image Stabilisation in Movie Mode reduces the effect of camera movement when shooting video while moving.
Who’s it For?
Canon has updated this lens to improve its usability for multimedia image-makers who shoot movie clips as much as they take still photos. Like the STM lens, this lens is essentially a general purpose lens for everyday shooting.
However, the new, faster and quieter autofocusing make this lens better suited for movie recording than the STM version. Video enthusiasts should consider the optional PZ-E1 Power Zoom Adapter, which provides smoother, silent and camcorder-like zooming control when recording video
For still image capture, this lens is compact and light enough to be useful for travellers. Internal focusing and zooming let users fit polarisers and graduated filters and use them without having to re-adjust the lens when focal length or focus changes.
Build and Ergonomics
Build quality is similar to the EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM, although the new USM lens is slightly thicker around the girth and 35 grams heavier. The exterior of the barrel has a smooth satin finish that provides a secure grip.
The overall lengths of both lenses are identical and both have stainless steel mounting plates that ensure a secure fit on the camera body long term. The new lens feels just as solid as its predecessor.
The inner barrel extends by roughly 55 mm when the lens is zoomed in to the 135mm focal length but it doesn’t rotate and internal focusing allows the use of angle-critical attachments like polarisers and graduated filters.
The focusing ring is a 14 mm wide band approximately 10 mm behind the leading edge of the outer barrel. It has a finely-ridged rubber coating that provides a secure grip. The new lens lacks a distance scale but, unlike the earlier lens, manual focus over-ride is available in AF mode.
A black ring separates the focusing ring from the zoom ring, which is a 42 mm wide zoom ring that has a 30 mm wide, thickly ridged rubber collar. The trailing edge of this ring is engraved with focal length markings for 18mm, 24mm, 35mm, 50mm, 85mm and 135mm positions.
Two slider switches are located on the left hand side of the 18 mm wide section of the barrel behind these engravings. The top one selects between AF/MF and the lower one switches the stabiliser on and off. A little further around is a zoom lock, another feature missing on the previous lens.
The EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM lens was a comfortable fit on the EOS 80D body we used for our tests. Both focusing and zoom rings moved smoothly and positively with no slack.
The zoom ring rotates through approximately 45 degrees as you span the focal length range and we found the markings on the lens barrel to be accurate for the indicated focal length settings.
In the process, the maximum and minimum apertures change with focal length as follows:
|
Focal length |
Max. aperture |
Min. aperture |
|
18mm |
f/3.5 |
f/22 |
|
24mm |
f/4.0 |
f/25 |
|
35mm |
f/4.5 |
f/29 |
|
50mm |
f/5.0 |
f/32 |
|
85mm |
f/5.6 |
f/36 |
|
135mm |
f/5.6 |
f/36 |
All operations of this lens ““ from the focus lens drive used during zooming, to focus ring movement detection and control/drive ““ are operated electronically. The lens draws power from the camera body and power will switch off when it’s not operated for a certain time. After deactivation, it can require up to one second to power-up again.
Accessories
Regardless of whether you buy this lens with a camera body or on its own, the only bundled accessories are the E-67 II 67mm lens cap and the rear dust cap. No lens hood is provided, although a hood (EW-73D) is available, we couldn’t find any online resellers that stocked it locally and it’s not listed in Canon Australia’s online store.
The Canon Power Zoom Adapter PZ-E1 wasn’t available for our tests. Designed specifically for the EF-S18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM lens, it clips onto the base of the lens and interfaces via an array of eight electronic contact points. It is powered by four AAA batteries and weighs approximately 120 grams.
The EF-S18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM lens on the PZ-E1 Power Zoom Adapter. (Source: Canon.)
It can adjusted incrementally to 10 different levels of zoom speed for silent and smooth zooming. It can also be controlled remotely using the Canon Camera Connect app. The PZ-E1 is listed in Canon’s US online store at US$149.99. We could only find one Australian listing, with a price of AU$249 and shipping promised in June.
Performance
Imatest showed resolution to be even more variable than the STM lens and at no point was JPEG resolution able to meet the levels we expected from the 80D’s 24-megapixel sensor. The highest overall resolution was at f/6.3 with the 24mm focal length, as shown in the graph of out Imatest results below.
Edge and corner softening were greater than we found with the STM lens at most focal lengths and apertures. Diffraction kicked in sharply at around f/11, significantly reducing resolution at all focal lengths.
Lateral chromatic aberration was mostly in the ‘low’ band, dipping into the ‘negligible’ band in the middle apertures for the 35mm and the middle part of the 18mm focal lengths. No coloured fringing was evident in test shots when the in-camera correction was enabled (the default setting). In the graph below, the red line marks the border between ‘negligible’ and ‘low’ CA with the green line separating ‘low’ and ‘moderate’ CA.
Rectilinear distortion is also corrected in the camera by default for JPEG files. However, we found obvious barrel distortion in raw files (which aren’t corrected) with the 18mm focal length but very little distortion at the 35mm and 50mm focal lengths. Very slight pincushioning could be found at 135mm but it was barely noticeable and wouldn’t be significant to most users of the lens.
Slight vignetting (edge and corner darkening) could be seen in open-aperture shots at all focal length settings. It was most noticeable at 135mm but had been fully resolved at all focal lengths once the lens was stopped down by between one and two f-stops.
Backlit subjects were handled very well, with very little loss of contrast due to veiling flare. Bokeh was also quite attractive in close-up shots at maximum aperture ““ although not outstandingly beautiful.
Conclusion
There’s not much difference between the new EF-S18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM lens and the previous EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM model so if you already own the latter, there’s no need to upgrade. Anyone who wants a simple camera+lens solution will find this lens more versatile and convenient to use than a shorter zoom lens. It’s a good match for the EOS 80D but would be equally suitable for entry-level cameras.
We could find little to complain about in terms of image sharpness, colour quality, stabilisation and autofocusing speed and accuracy. It was also quiet enough to use when shooting movie clips.
Photographers purchasing a new camera, should consider the new lens, particularly if it’s bundled with the camera, where it represents excellent value for money. Happily, prices in Australia are generally less than you would pay to buy the camera+lens off-shore.
SPECS
Picture angle: 64 degrees 30 minutes to 9 degrees 30 minutes
Minimum aperture: f/22-f/38
Lens construction: 16 elements in 12 groups (including one UD and one aspherical lens element)
Lens mounts: Canon EF-S
Diaphragm Blades: 7 (circular aperture)
Focus drive: Ultrasonic motor using Nano USM technology
Stabilisation: Built-in optical, 4 stops compensation
Minimum focus: 39 cm across the entire zoom range
Maximum magnification: 0.28x
Filter size: 67 mm
Dimensions (Diameter x L): 77.4 x 96 mm
Weight: 515 grams
Standard Accessories: Lens front and end caps, EW-73D lens hood
TESTS
Based on JPEG files taken with the EOS 80D camera.
SAMPLES
Vignetting at 18mm f/3.5.
Vignetting at 35mm f/4.5.
Vignetting at 50mm f/5.
Vignetting at 135mm f/5.6.
Rectilinear distortion at 18mm.
Rectilinear distortion at 35mm.
Rectilinear distortion at 50mm.
Rectilinear distortion at 135mm.
18mm focal length, ISO 100, 1/200 second at f/14.
135mm focal length, ISO 200, 1/640 second at f/9.
18mm focal length, ISO 200, 1/320 second at f/11.
135mm focal length, ISO 200, 1/400 second at f/7.1.
Strong backlighting; 18mm focal length, ISO 200, 1/200 second at f/11.
Close-up; 135mm focal length, ISO 320, 1/200 second at f/5.6.
Stabilisation test; 57mm focal length, ISO 320, 1/10 second at f/5.6.
18mm focal length, ISO 100, 1/160 second at f/10.
Crop from the above image at 100% magnification showing the absence of coloured fringing.
42mm focal length, ISO 200, 1/200 second at f/7.1.
72mm focal length, ISO 400, 1/500 second at f/8.
Additional image samples can be found with our review of the EOS 80D.
Rating
RRP: AU$900; US$599
- Build: 8.5
- Handling: 8.7
- Autofocusing: 8.9
- Image quality: 8.4
- Versatility: 8.8