Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM Lens Review

Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM Handling and features

Just like the previous version of this lens, which has been supplied as a kit with many Canon cameras to date, this lens is constructed from high quality plastics, complimentd by a metal lens mount. As it is an EF-S lens, it can only be mounted on E-FS compatible Canon cameras, like the Canon EOS 650D used for testing. The lens balances well with this camera, being just about the right weight for good handling with a relatively compact SLR body.

Autofocus is very swift and precise and virtually silent. Unlike many of Canon's USM lenses, full time manual focus override is not possible and manual focusing is performed by the focusing motor. Manual adjustments can be made in single focus mode once the lens has locked onto a target though. The manual focusing ring is quite light to operate, but well enough damped to prevent the focus ring rotating freely. A small switch on the side of the lens allows switching between manual and autofocus quickly.
Focusing is performed internally, so the 67mm filter thread doesn't rotate, making this lens ideal for use with polarising and graduated filters.

Sharp hand held images are possible around half the time at an impressive 1/20sec, which is roughly four stops slower than the usual rule of thumb for sharp images would allow.

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