Price. It's cheap. If you can get a good copy that's been unboxed, like I did, It's very good value for money.

Image quality. Let's face it, as a do-it-all lens for beginners it's going to have flaws, but it has everything you generally need and does it to a pretty good standard.

Macro. Well, technically close-up, but 0.34x magnification is not to be sniffed at for a lens of this type.

Image Stabilisation. Silent, Works relatively well, you can see it working at longer focal lengths. Not really much you can say.

Build Quality. I feel it is too light in my hands. But, in saying this, it balances well with my Canon EOS 500D.

Plastic lens mount. Yes, i know it comes under build quality, but I had to mention this seperately. This lens mount seems weaker than other plastic mount lenses I have. i'm not sure why, as each one has been used about the same, though I expect that the fact mine has been unboxed may have something to do with it. Either way, i'd check the mount before buying one.

Autofocus. It's fast. It's also quite loud and intrusive, as least you know it is working, I suppose.

(Price Paid is in GBP, not USD).

I bought this lens in conjunction with my Canon EOS 500D. And for the price, I haven't been disappointed.

My Family (both close and relatively distant) use Canon SLRs (and now DSLRs), therefore I had relatively good access to previous lenses, so my review is from quite a few years experience of working with lenses (though I have only been practicing photography since September 2008).

In terms of balance and ability to pair with my 500D body, it is excellent. The lens is not too weighty (though, that's what you expect from an all plastic exterior construction) but has enough weight to make you realise that it is there. It is not too large either. While the actually quality of the lens is not the best, compared to cheaper (hard to actually find cheaper lenses) lenses, it is quite a step up. The roughness of the engineering plastic used makes it feel better in my hand than if it was made from smooth plastic.

The plastic lens mount doesn't give me much confidence, and I feel that due to my frequent change of lenses, I am going to wear it out very quickly (in fact, after having it for just 7 months, the rear lens cap will not fit properly, fitting loosely and in such a way that picking it up incorrectly releases it. This obviously is not good. Though the lens obviously isn't supposed to be permanent, the idea is that you upgrade your lenses to better versions as you get used to them.

One very nice surprise is the IS noise, rather, the lack of IS noise. When you have IS engaged, you can generally hear it whirring away, and feel vibrations. With this lens, you can barely hear it (it would have to be completely silent for you to notice it) and vibrations are almost non existant. While this is good in terms of not being distracting, it has a vice. I like being able to hear it working, because if i can hear it, then I know if it's working or not. I should make a comment about the image stabilisation being pretty much useless except at the longer end (45-55mm roughly), but, I don't feel this to be too much of a problem, since it's handy to have anyway.

Autofocus is generally good, though like most lenses, it gets thrown off by bright subjects and subjects which are too dark (this is not helped by the relatively narrow aperture at all focal lengths). Like the other cheaper lenses, this lens does not utilise USM focusing, so it makes a rather loud noise when attempting to focus. The fact that the miniature focusing ring is right at the end of the lens does not help Manual Focusing. Unlike other lenses I have used, this lens does not seem to have any sort of resistance, thus the barrel can easily be moved (I find this more of a problem than a benefit, but each to his own). In Manual focus (and even in Autofocus, though I really do not recommend it when in Autofocus mode) when zoomed you can physically push the barrel of the lens back towards the camera, which is a problem for me (Though, you cannot pull it out towards you, so zoom creeping isn't really a problem). As doing this is not recommended as it can damage the gearing, the fact that it can happen very easily is slightly disconcerting.

Over the previous models of this kit lens, I feel that the image quality has improved. While it's not the best, it's very good for a zoom lens, especially a kit lens. It is sharpest at 35mm, and drops off equally when going down to 18mm, or up to 55mm. So not really a surprise there. What I am surprised about is the 'macro' capabilities of this lens. While it's not a true macro mode, it has a magnification of .34x, so over a third of 1:1. This is easily close enough to get decent close-ups of flowers for instance. As a do-it-all lens it scores quite well here, for me anyway.

Vignetting and flare are quite well controlled. The narrow apertures at all focal lengths reduce the effects of vignetting to make it insignificant. Flare is quite well controlled. Not the best, but I didn't have much reason to fault it.

Customer Service

Not Applicable.

Similar Products Used:

Canon EF-S 18-55mm II

Great value for money.
A sure Canon winner.

Looks cheap, plasticky and fragile.
(if you break it, just buy another one...)

The newest 18-55mm lens by Canon with the IS (Image Stabilizer) just turned ALL other 18-55mm into crap. If you are thinking of getting lowest priced zoom lens with the MOST value for money, this lens with the IS feature is IT!
Don't bother getting other variants of this lens, just get the IS, as they are priced almost the same. MVFM (most value for money).
Don't buy anything without the IS as any other variant will be old and obsolete.

Customer Service

Not needed

Similar Products Used:

Canons and Nikons

IQ and lightweight.

I wouldn't want to drop it on a concrete floor.

I just received this lens yesterday and put it through a couple quick tests. I was shocked, when considering the price, that the sharpness was consistent throughout, no vignetting and I had to enlarge twice the size of my PC screen to be able to pixel peep a couple teeny spots of chromatic aberration.

Customer Service

Hopefully, won't need it.

Similar Products Used:

Not similar, but still a Canon zoom - the 100-400L.

Sharp edge to egde and across the focal length.
Fast USM
Quiet.
Fit for purpose- ie travelling etc

Plastic - But who cares if it can deliver excellent result.

Just bought it 2 days ago. This lense is a winner, excellent performance and personally I like it very much compares to my other lenses. After testing it and comparing the image with my old Canon 100mm f2.8 macro, the result shows a similar degree of sharpness, more or less bokeh and importantly, very little drop off around the edge. This surprise me a lot, if compared to the old 18-55 non IS. Some people have posted similar result in Dpreview. Even though some reviews are not recommending this lense, But for intermideate users I m recommending it. Go and enjoy the shoot.

Customer Service

Not yet experience.

Similar Products Used:

Tokina Pro 28-90 mm 2.6-2.8
Tamron 24-135mm
Canon 100mm f2.8
Canon 50 f1.4
Canon 18-55mm Kit ( old one)