Canon
EF-S 18-55mm
f/3.5-5.6 IS STM
£214/$106
The best Canon 18-55mm yet
Canon
EF-S 15-85mm
f/3.5-5.6 IS USM
£690/$799
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Digital Camera verdict Digital Camera verdict
4.0 Excellent 4.0 Excellent
Features Build & Performance Value Performance Value
handlingBuild &
handlingImage quality is good
rather than great, but
it’s a big improvement
over its 18-55mm
predecessor from
Canon, with much
better handling and
quieter operation.Build quality is better
than in the Canon
18-55mm, and the
wider coverage and
telephoto reach are
nice, but there’s no
real improvement
in image quality.122 DIGITAL CAMERA^ MARCH 2020 http://www.digitalcameraworld.com4.0Features4.5 4.5 4.5 4.0K i t Z o n e
arginally larger and heavier
than Canon’s previous EF-S
18-55mm IS II kit lens, the
latest IS STM boasts some
key advantages. Previous editions
relied on a basic electric autofocus
motor that was noisy and sluggish.
Worse still, the manual focus ring and
the front element both rotated during
autofocus, impairing handling and
making it tricky to use lens filters.
The stepping motor in this lens
addresses all of these issues and
delivers fast yet virtually silent
autofocus. The STM lens inherits
the four-stop image stabiliser from
its predecessor, while adding two
extra optical elements and a more
well-rounded seven-blade diaphragm.Performance
Centre-sharpness is pretty good on the
whole, but drops off quite noticeably at
the long end of the zoom range, while
corner-sharpness is merely mediocre.his lens offers a wider
maximum viewing angle
than any other Canon
standard zoom for APS-C
SLRs. It also boosts telephoto reach,
compared with the 18-55mm kit lens,
with an effective range of 24-136mm.
The design is comparatively
old-school, which isn’t surprising as
the lens was launched 10 years ago.
Autofocus is driven by a ring-type
ultrasonic autofocus system with
mechanically coupled full-time
override. It’s quick, but not as quiet
as most of the lenses that use
stepping motors. The focus
distance scale is a plus point.Performance
There’s good performance from the
autofocus system and four-stop
stabiliser but sharpness is a little
disappointing. Our review sample
delivered its best sharpness
when shooting wide-open.MT
Sharpness
Levels of sharpness drop off
towards the edges and at the
long end of the zoom range.Sharpness
It’s a little sharper than
the Canon 18-55mm at
the longest zoom setting.Fringing
Short 3.09 Long 1.39
Colour fringing can be
noticeable when uncorrected.Fringing
Short 3.12 Long 2.55
Colour fringing is a little worse
than from the 18-55mm.Distortion
Short -3.03 Long 0.22
Short-zoom barrel distortion
is worse than in the 15-85mm.Distortion
Short -2.58 Long 0.78
There’s more pincushion than
the 18-55mm at the long end.05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,000f/3.5 f/4 f/5.6 f/8 f/11 f/16 f/22
18mm 24mm
35mm 55mm05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,000f/3.5 f/4 f/5.6 f/8 f/11 f/16 f/22
15mm 35mm
50mm 85mmGroup Test ³ɎƏȇƳƏȸƳɿȒȒȅɀ
3.5 3.5 3.5