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

Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM Handling and Features

The lens is squat but not unduly bulky, weighing in at 515g. There is a bayonet fitting for a lens hood, but what a pity that said hood is an optional extra and is not included in the package. As we will see, it should be. The usual filter thread is present and it takes 67mm filters and accessories.

As we move towards the camera body we first find the manual focusing ring. This is very smooth and nicely damped so it is not too loose. Manual focusing can be used at any time whilst in AF mode to make final tweaks to the focusing point. This can be especially useful in close-up and macro photography.

Moving onwards, next up is the zoom ring, clearly marked in various focal lengths. The action is very similar in feel to the focusing and just right to give a good feel to using the lens.

Finally, three switches offer AF/MF switching, Stabiliser on/off and a lock to ensure the lens does not extend under its own weight when being carried. This last feature is always a good idea, but certainly when the lens is new there does not seem to be any tendency to extend anyway.

The high-quality metal mount fits securely and looks to be durable. There is an EF-EOS M mount adapter available as an optional purchase that will enable the lens to be used on Canon mirrorless cameras.

Under the skin, the lens uses Nano USM Technology, which results in fast, virtually silent AF. This is very much with video in mind as much as stills photography. The IS (Image Stabilisation) system offer up to 4 stops advantage and is designed to work well when the photographer is walking as well as still. Again, this may well be of advantage to videographers.

The optical construction is 16 elements in 12 groups. The diaphragm has 7 blades, quite modest by today's standards. Focusing is down to a usefully close 0.39m, giving a maximum magnification of 0.28x.

Power Zoom Adapter PZ-E1 – This curious device looks a bit Heath Robinson at first, especially as Pentax had Power Zoom lenses with the technology built in some twenty or more years ago. However, I can see why we have this now and it may well be received eagerly by videographers. It is basically an add-on power zoom device that turns the zoom ring for us. The simple choices are on/off, slow or fast zooming and a slider to move from wide to telephoto and back. The advantage is that when shooting video a smooth zoom can be achieved rather than trying to turn the ring. The slight downside is that when used the available focal length range is reduced to 19-132mm. There is also a Canon smartphone App that enables remote operation with the canon 80D body. To be able to zoom remotely could be quite an advantage.

Canon EF-S 18-135mm with Power Zoom Adapter Showing Tripod Clearance

The device offer two zoom speeds, giving a choice of slow zoom (11.5-15s for full travel) and a fast zoom (4-14.5s). Power is derived from 4x AAA batteries, which are supplied. A slight difficulty may be that with the adapter attached mounting on a tripod may be compromised, needing another optional extra, the Canon TS-E Lens Tripod Adapter. However, there was enough clearance on a Manfrotto 055 so it will not always be necessary.

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