This Post is Canon EF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens Review – Click below If you’re looking for:

My Overall Rating : ★★★★½

Canon EF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Standard Zoom Lens for Canon DSLR Cameras Review

The EF-S 18-200mm F3.5-5.6 IS is Canon’s latest zoom lens for APS-C format DSLRs, introduced as a companion to the EOS 50D. Its announcement in August this year came as no great surprise, as wide focal length range ’superzooms’ are clearly popular amongst photographers seeking an all-in-one lens for travel and everyday shooting. The most obvious example of this is the runaway success of Nikon’s AF-S 18-200mm F3.5-5.6G VR, and a Canon equivalent has almost certainly been the most-requested lens on our forums.

With its 11x zoom range, the 18-200mm becomes Canon’s most ambitious consumer-level zoom to date; the company has previously shied away from producing relatively inexpensive superzooms, with its only previous foray into this sector being the 28-200mm F3.5-5.6 (USM) for 35mm SLRs from late 2000. And while it’s this older lens that the 18-200mm most strongly resembles, Canon has managed to squeeze plenty more into the design in the intervening eight years. The zoom ratio has been stretched to a 35mm-equivalent range of 29-320mm, and the new lens incorporates Canon’s latest compact image stabilization unit (as seen on the EF-S 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 IS and the EF-S 55-250mm F4.5-5.6 IS), which offers automatic panning detection and (according to the company) four stops of stabilization. All this has been achieved using a suitably complex optical design of 16 elements in 12 groups, including two UD glass elements and two aspherical elements which are designed to minimize chromatic aberration and ensure crisp corner-to-corner detail across the zoom range. Rounding off the specification is a minimum focus distance of 45cm/1.5ft at all focal lengths.

One design decision may however cause a degree of dismay; the lens uses a relatively unsophisticated micro motor system for autofocus, as opposed to the ring-type USM design more commonly seen on mid-range lenses such as the EF-S 17-85mm F4-5.6 IS USM. Consequently, potential buyers may struggle to find any obvious advantage over Tamron’s recently announced 18-270mm F3.5-6.3Di II VC LD Aspherical (IF) Macro, which sports a longer zoom range and Tamron’s own optical stabilization system. Aside from this, Canon have produced a lens which is clearly designed to counter the undeniable buyer appeal of Nikon’s popular 18-200mm VR head-on; so how does it match up to the challenge?

Let’s take a look at all of the Canon EF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens features/specification:

  • Standard zoom lens; 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6
  • Canon’s Optical Image Stabilizer technology allows sharp hand-held shots at shutter speeds up to four stops slower than otherwise possible
  • 11 elements in 9 groups; aspherical lens element to correct aberration
  • For EOS 50D, 40D, 30D, 20D, 20Da, Rebel XSi/XS, Digital Rebel XTi/XT and Digital Rebel cameras

If you want to buy Canon EF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens, you can get it cheap online through Amazon.com here. They offer special discount price and reliable shipping service.

Let me show you what current owners have to say about it:

“…I recently purchased the Canon 18-200mm 3.5-5.6 IS lens to replace my 18-55mm kit lens. I found that I often needed a longer focal length than 55mm, but was too lazy to keep changing to my 75-300mm lens. Another great lens for the price by the way! Although I have been very happy with the lens, I’ve never really been able to compare it to something in the “same” class (similar focal lengths). Well this weekend changed that as I got the chance to borrow a friend’s 70-200mm F4 L IS lens. It’s a beautiful lens which has received extremely good reviews. How will the 18-200 hold up against this pro lens?

Firstly, the results were remarkably similar at all zoom ranges. Aperture wise, at around F7 – F9 the 70-200 is sharper, but at F5.6 and F11 the 18-200 is sharper. Focal length wise, at 70mm and 200mm the 18-200 appears to be slightly sharper, especially at the edges. The centres are virtually identical, but at 135mm the 70-200 has a slight advantage. This advantage is really marginal in bright sunlight, but is a bit more pronounced in lower light like shade or indoors.

I did some handheld indoor shooting. The 70-200 beat the 18-200 hands down, but probably only due to it being a faster lens when zoomed in. At 70mm the 18-200 was possibly sharper, but at 135mm and 200mm, the 70-200 was fantastically sharp even though it was handheld. Settings at 200mm were F5 and 1/13s for the 18-200 and F4 and 1/40s for the 70-200. Although the shutter speed was so ridiculously low on both lenses, the shots came out very usable indeed. The IS works an absolute charm on both lenses! On the 70-200, you can actually feel the IS working. It gives off a slight vibration in the lens which lasts for about 5 seconds after taking the shot. The 18-200 gives no indication that the IS is in use.

One big plus point for the 18-200 was the colour saturation gain over the 70-200. Virtually all shots were richer and more vibrant with the 18-200 and felt slightly washed out with the 70-200. Nothing that can’t be sorted out post-processing, but still, I didn’t expect that. The bokeh award however, undeniably goes to the 70-200. Creamy smooth bokeh at all focal lengths. Not that the 18-200 is bad, but when compared, the 70-200 is definitely better.

Overall, I found the 18-200 to hold up extremely well against the 70-200. I honestly thought I was going to be depressed in the knowledge that I needed to cough up around $1200 for a 70-200 as well, but I am very pleased to say, that won’t be the case. Although the 70-200 is indeed a fine piece of work and marginally better than the 18-200 in low light, in bright sunshine the 18-200 is right there with it. Don’t think that the 18-200 is bad indoors – not at all. It’s surprisingly sharp at F3.5, but this stops down quickly as you turn the zoom dial, decreasing your shutter speed significantly and introducing blur when hand held.

At wider focal lengths like 18mm and 35mm, the 18-200 is plenty sharp. I took some test shots of a brick wall during a very cloudy day at F3.5, F5.6 and F10 at 18mm and F4, F6.3 and F11 at 35mm, and was greatly impressed at how sharp the images were. There was a very slight hint of vignetting at 18mm F3.5, with a noticeable amount of CA at all F-stops at 18mm. This was only significant however when the image was fully maximized on the screen, and only on certain very high contrasty vertical and horizontal lines. Mostly horizontal though.

My biggest gripe with the 18-200 however, is the fact that it is not a true 200mm zoom. In fact, when standing at the exact same spot with both lenses, and zoomed exactly the same on both, the 70-200 was consistently more zoomed in than the 18-200. Only slightly, but noticeable. The biggest difference comes in at 200mm. The 18-200 basically stops zooming at 170mm. It is in fact a 18-170mm lens. With today’s high pixel count and excellent image sensors, that’s not too big an issue as you can just crop the image as you need afterwards. But it is a little frustrating when the 70-200 gets in that much closer considering it’s supposed to be the same focal length.

Would I recommend this lens – ABSOLUTELY!! This isn’t the kit lens for the excellent 50D for nothing…”

If you want more info on this Canon EF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens, I suggest you take a look at the Canon EF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens reviews on Amazon here. A lot of consumer positive response to this Canon EF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens here.

Here is why Canon EF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens is worth buying:

Canon EF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Standard Zoom Lens for Canon DSLR Cameras : Pro

  • Zoom range, excellent IS, accurate AF (not USM, but still fairly quick and quiet)
  • Fast auto-focus, Superior build quality, Super-sharp images

Canon EF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Standard Zoom Lens for Canon DSLR Cameras : Con

  • Corner performance is a bit weak unless stopped down. Lots of barrel distortion at the wide end. Vignetting at the long end is noticeable in open sky shots, etc. unless stopped down.

Conclusion

Excellent lens for everyday purposes. Only lens I took on a recent trip-great versatility, excellent close-ups and great landscapes. Many compliments on photos.

This Canon EF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens can be ordered directly from Amazon.com today. CLICK HERE for the best price and get your Canon EF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens today! They are 100% secure site so you can be rest assured that your details are protected when ordering.

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