Along with the new EOS 7D announced last night, Canon is introducing three new lenses, the EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM with Hybrid IS Technology, EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM, and the EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS. The two zooms are nice additions to Canon’s EF-S lens line, designed for APS-C sensor digital SLRs like the EOS 50D, the T1i/500D, and the new EOS 7D. They offer new flexibility for crop sensor Canon DSLR owners, increasing the zoom range on both the wide and telephoto ends of the spectrum.
A few years ago, Nikon introduced a very nice 100mm f/2.8 macro lens with their VR image stabilization. It’s taken Canon a while to answer that lens, but the new EF 100 f/2.8L Macro IS USM appears to be a very worthy reply. It incorporates Canon’s new Hybrid IS Technology, which adds “shift” compensation to the standard “angular” camera shake compensation (see illustration, below). Anyone who has tried to shoot handheld close-ups knows how hard it is to compose when you can’t hold the camera still. The EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS lens is supposed to make it easier to compose those shots without a tripod.
Angle camera shake (left) vs. shift camera shake (right).
The new Canon EF-S zooms give APS-C Canon DSLR owners new all-purpose image-stabilized lens options. Until now, the basic choices have been the entry-level EF-S 18-55mm kit lens, the very dated 28-135mm IS lens, the 17-55mm IS, 17-85mm IS and last year’s 18-200mm IS lens. The new EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM and EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS lenses give photographers a wider and a longer option, without getting too long and requiring too many optical compromises. The 15-85mm, in particular, looks like a really nice travel lens. Offering a 35mm focal length equivalent of 24-136mm with three aspherical elements and one UD glass element, the 15-85mm IS lens should deliver excellent image quality in a very compact package.
The new Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM and EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS will hit the stores with the EOS 7D DSLR at the end of September. The 100mm macro will sell for $1049.99 US and the 18-135mm zoom will sell for $499.99 US. The EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM will be available toward the end of October for $799.99 US.
Official Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM, EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM, and EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lenses Press Release
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