18/135 Kit lens

I am impressed with how good the 18/135 kit lens is. I have 3 L lens and I am amazed at how the 18/135 performs.
Canon 7D 18/135 at 60mm:

For $80? Absolutely. Welcome to SLR, things won't be that cheap again! I've got filters that cost more than that.
The 55-250 isn't terrific, but it's better quality than the 18-55 IMHO. I actually still use mine (on my 400D) as I upgraded a bunch of ultra-wide, wide, macro, and prime lenses and never pulled the trigger on the 70-200. It's slow, it won't win any sharpness awards, but it's infinately better than nothing. At $80 it's kind of a no brainer.
Edit: the main difference between the 18-135 and the 55-250 is the focal length. I can't comment on the IQ, never been much a test charts kinda guy, but I'd suspect in the real world that performace will be along the same lines. But 250 is significant reach over 135.

Similar Messages

FS7 Not communicating with kit lens anymore? No HDMI at 1080?

Got the FS7 in today and was teching it for a shoot. I upgraded to Firmware 2.0, but I coudn't get any HDMI signal out at 1080. I've also swapped lenses with the Metabones Ultra to take a look at how wide the Canons would get. After swapping the lenses and putting the 28-135 kit lens back on, it's not talking to the lens at all. No focus. No zoom. Nothing. Tried switching it to full auto and back to manual. I've cycled the power and pulled the brick. Nothing seems to solve the issue. Any ideas? -B

I had the same 'stuck pin' problem. It was (i presume) causing the lens to freeze and even the camera itself to lock up, needing the battery to be removed and re-seated to get it to respond. Plus my SDI ports stopped working - although the HDMI continued to work. What's more concerning it the scoring to the lens contacts: something is digging into the contacts and the surrounding plastic. This is a stock sony 28-135 kit lens, s/n5101330.i frequently swap between this and a Metabones SB ultra. The SB is also showing the same scoring to it's contacts, suggesting it's something camera-end that's doing it. I'm already having to half-twist the lens off and on again during shoots because it will randomly lockup and become unusable. is this likely to get worse? I don't want to have to send the camera in to Sony unless i really have to as it's now my A-cam that's earning me my main income. A second opinion would be welcome, thanks. (is there any way to upload photos to show what i mean?)

Canon the 18-55 kit lens cope with fast moving subjects?

Hi everyone, I'm new here.
I was doing a shoot the other day involving very quick subjects that changed direction a lot (dogs). Got some good shots but the vast majority were badly out of focus which was a real shame. I want to know if this is the lens, the body or my technique that is failing me.
I'm relatively new to photography so it might just be that my settings are wrong or my technique is bad. I'm using the lens wide open, not in live view, with AF servo on on a 600D body. Generally when I focus I just pan the camera round to follow the subject, occasionally squeezing down when I want to shoot.
I am considering upgrading to the 17-55 f2.8 because it's sharp wide open and has a constant and fast aperture and USM and full time manual focus with a proper focusing ring.
Thanks.
Solved!
Go to Solution.

Your problems are probably due to a combination of factors. IMO, auto focus performance is determined by three things....
1. Camera AF capabilities. Your 600D has a 9-point AF system. Only one of those points - the center one - is the "better" cross type that's more responsive and tracks movement better. When shooting moving subjects with your camera, it would help to limit yourself to using only the center point. (Note: other Canon cameras have more advanced AF systems. The T4i, T5i, 60D, 50D and 40D all have 9-point AF that looks similar, but all nine points are the "better" cross type sesnors. The 7D and 70D have 19-point AF, with all nineteen cross type. 1DX and 5DIII have 61-point AF, with up to 41 cross type, depending upon the lens used.)
Some cameras are also optimized for focus performance. For example, the 1D series models and 7D have a separate chip driving AF.... while most (maybe all?) other models share AF duties through the same processor that's handling images.
2. Lens auto focus capabilities: Yes, a "USM" (Ultrasonic Motor) drive lens such as the EF-S 17-55/2.8 would be an improvement over your kit lens. It's faster, hunts less and is quieter than a "micro motor" drive such as is used in the less expensive kit lens. (Note: there is a slightly more expensive version of the 18-55mm with "STM" or "Stepper Motor" focus drive, which is better than the micro motor version, but still not as fast as USM. STM lenses are quiet operating and particularly well matched for video.)
A larger aperture lens, such as the 17-55/2.8 (as opposed to your 18-55/3.5-5.6), also delivers more light to the camera's AF sensors, to allow for faster focus and better tracking.
No, forget about the EF 50/1.8.... Sure it's got a larger aperture, but it uses a micro motor and is widely known to be slower focusing, less accurate and liable to hunt more than a USM lens. If you wanted a fast and sure focusing short to moderate telephoto, look at the EF 50/1.4, 85/1.8, 100/2 or 135/2L lenses. These all use USM drive and are much faster and more accurate than the EF 50/1.8. They also have one to two stop larger max aperture than even the 17-55/2.8 (or any other zoom lens), so provide more light for the camera to work with. Using a lens f2.8 or "faster" will give optimal performance on your camera, with that center AF point.
Some lenses simply are not designed to be fast focusing, even though they have larger apertures and USM focus. Macro lenses, for example, have to move their focus group a long, long way to go from infinity to 1:1 magnification so tend to be slower. Also, very large aperture lenses such as the 85/1.2L typically are slower.... by design. Both macro and very large aperture lenses emphasize precision, to deal with shallow depth of field effects, rather than speed.
Other lenses are designed for very fast focus. All the 70-200s, the 100-400, and all the prime lenses 300mm and longer are quite fast focusing. Extreme telephotos such as 500 and 600mm can be hard to get and keep on target, though.
Some third party lenses also make use of focus drive similar to Canon's USM, to help with focus performance. Sigma's HSM and Tamron's USD lenses are examples.
3. User skill is the third key factor effecting focus perfromance.... i.e., your technique.
You mention using "AF Servo"... Just to clarify, yourcamera has three focus modes: One Shot, AI Focus and AI Servo... there is no "AF Servo". The correct mode to use with moving subjects is AI Servo. Maybe that's what you are doing already. At any rate, One Shot is pretty much only usable with stationary subjects (there are "pre-focus" techniques where it can be used with moving subjects, but those are fairly uncommonly used). AI Focus isn't really a foucs mode at all... It's supposed to decide for you whether or not the subject is moving, then switch to use the correct mode. I haven't tested this on any recent model, but older ones where I tried it I found a slight delay that causes a lot of missed focus shots. It also simply chose the wrong mode sometimes. It might be worth noticing that the more pro-oriented Canon models don't even have AI Focus... they only offer One Shot or AI Servo.
So, just be sure you are using AI Servo for the best performance when shooting moving subjects.
You also are using way too slow a shutter speed. I would bump up the ISO and try to use 1/500 or faster shutter speeds. 1/320 or 1/400 is very marginal, trying to stop subject movement with something as quick as dogs in action. In fact, the closer you are to the subject, the faster shutter speed you will need to truly freeze movement.
Canon also has noted that the 18MP models are somewhat prone to camera shake blur - probably due to the high density of pixel sites on the sensor - and recommends keeping shutter speeds up to be sure to get a sharp shot, even with IS lenses. There was a white paper about this, on Canon's website. I don't know if it's still available online.
You should be able to get quite nice, clean images at ISO 1600... a full two stop higher and allowing you to use much faster shutter speed. Even so, if shooting indoors there might be areas that aren't as well lit and are hard to get a sharp shot.
You may want to shoot RAW files, so that you can more fully control noise reduction and exposure factors in post-processing when using high ISOs.
A popular technique among sports/action photographers is Back Button Focusing. See this article online, about it: http://www.learn.usa.canon.com/resources/articles/2011/backbutton_af_article.shtml
BBF separates the focusing function from the shutter release button. You instead use your thumb on one of the camera's rear buttons to start and stop focusing. Many users feel this allows more sure acquistion and tracking with moving subjects. You may want to set up your camera to do BBF and give it a try. While it's particularly possible for action/sports/AI Servo shooting, it's actually usable with One Shot, too... I have used it pretty exclusively for some years now.
Using BBF, I start AF well before I want to take the shot, then concentrate on keeping the AF point on the subject right where I want the lens to focus while continuing to track and maintain focus... then take shots along the way. I use the center AF point alone, much of the time. This does lead to overly centered images, so I try to frame a little loosely some of the time, allowing for some cropping to make images less centered. I do sometimes use other than the center AF point... but wouldn't recommend that with action shooting on a camera that doesn't have cross type sensors at the peripheral points, such as your 600D.
I use a pair of 7Ds and a number of fast focusing USM lenses to shoot a lot of sports. With some years of practice under my belt, on avearage I nail focus on 95 to 98 out of 100 shots using this gear with the above techniques. I shot 4000 images at a recent event and marked just over 30 of those as "rejected" for missed focus problems (and I bet at least half of those are my fault... not the gear's). There may be a few more that are marginally acceptible (i.e., can make a nice 8x10 print, but won't look good any larger than that). Still, even if there are 80 or 120 missed focus, that's only 2 or 3%... a lot better than only 10% in focus.
I would say that lens performance qualities and user techniques generally count more than the camera though, or at least can largely make up for any camera short-comings. I got nearly as good results with 50D, and with 30D before that (which have similar AF system to your 600D), and even with 10D earlier than that (a "lesser" AF system than yours).Though I've gotten a few, I haven't had as good luck shooting moving subjects using 5D Mark II (I mostly just use it for stationary subjects).. the 5D Mark III has a much improved AF system and tracks movement far better.
Hope this helps!
Alan Myers
San Jose, Calif., USA
"Walk softly and carry a big lens."
GEAR: 5DII, 7D(x2), 50D(x3), some other cameras, various lenses & accessories
FLICKR & PRINTROOM

Lens correction profile for the Canon 18-135 STM lens in Lightroom 5 ?

How or where can I get the lens correction profile for the Canon 18-135 STM lens in Lightroom 5 ? In effect he is not available in my list of correction lens so my lightroom is up to date apparently :/
Thanks in advance for answer.

There are two types of Lens profiles - raw and JPEG. It looks like you are trying to process a JPEG image and Adobe has only provided a raw lens profile for the 18-135mm IS STM lens.
You have four options:
1) Check for available lens profile using the Adobe Lens Profile Downloader. I checked and a JPEG lens profile is NOT available for the 18-135mm lens.
2) Follow the procedure outlined by Steve Sprengel in this post:
http://feedback.photoshop.com/photoshop_family/topics/lr_5_lens_profile_not_applied_for_jp g_captures_only_for_raw_captures
More detailed instructions here for a Pentax lens example:
http://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/post-processing-articles/176761-creating-adobe-lens-cor rection-profiles-jpgs-raw-ones.html
This allows using the available raw lens profile with JPEG images. To my knowledge Canon DSLR cameras do not apply distortion correction to JPEG images, so the raw profile should work well. You can check this by shooting raw+JPEG and comparing the two images inside LR
3) Create you own lens profile using the Adobe Lens Profile Creator. (A complicated process, but it can be done!).
4) Start shooting in raw mode or raw + JPEG mode, which will allow you to extract the most benefit from LR's processing controls.

Replacing my stock 18-55mm kit lens for video. Would love some expertise!

Whats up guys! I'm really trying to retire my stock 18-55 kit lens. 90% of the work I do is video production/commercial/music videos all filmed on my cropped sensored T3I Rebel.. I'm one of the people who believes it's no about the equipment, but who's behind it.. Well, to a certain extent lol.. But I currently own a 50mm-1.8 prime as well as a 35mm-2.0 prime and I've been really happy with the quality those produce, however, I can't use those lens's effectivly when I'm on a track,crane or flycam since what you can see in the shot is so limited.
I've really been considering the 17-40mm F4 L lens. Can anyone back this lens up? Will it suit me well for video production and pull super sharp images? I'm not so concerned about how far it can zoom since I have my prime 35mm and 50mm which basically act like a 60//80 on my cropped sensors. So I really need something like my stock 18 but much nicer quality.. Does this lens still let in good light with it being a zoom & F4?

JLRoyal42,
We're glad to assist you with a new lens for shooting your video productions and commercial, music videos. The EF 17-40mm f/4L USM lens would be a good choice for this type of work.
Another great lens would be the EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM lens. This lens lets even more light into the camera if this is a primary concern. Both being 'L' series lenses, they are made with the highest exacting standards. They work well as zooms for video too because they maintain their aperture across the focal range.
I hope this helps you make a decision as to which lens you pick!
Did this answer your question? Please click the Accept as Solution button so that others may find the answer as well.

Mirrorless Camera Selection - Kit Lens only?

Bestbuy should carry these cameras with the option of buying the body only, w/ prime lens or kit lens. I really do not see the reason for buying a pocket size camera and only using a huge kit lens .
Most people will never buy another lens so the kit lens will be a popular choice. Still some of us already have the kit lens or replace their pocket camera with a mirrorless+prime lens.

Hi msocor,
I completely hear where you are coming from on this, and if I was ever to purchase a compact system camera I would be purchasing it as a more portable option to my DSLR. I have forwarded your idea onto the appropriate team here at our corporate headquarters.
Thanks for posting,
Allan|Senior Social Media Specialist | Best Buy® Corporate
Private Message

Parfocal-ness of the Sony 28-135 G Lens

The lens is of course not parfocal, not optically / mechanically. The camera (or lens itself) constantly corrects the lens groups arrangement to make it "parfocal". In other words, without electronics the lens is not parfocal. This is also the reason why this lens can get by with no back focus adjustement mechanism. Something is off in the way the camera corrects it.

I noticed some focus issues with my 28-135 zoom lens as well on my FS7. I did some tests with the Canon 70-200mm L-series lens (which is definitely parfocal) and it performed just fine, so I know it isn't the camera. I sent in the 28-135 to have it repaired and Sony replaced the lens entirely. Took the brand new lens right out of the box today and it had the same issues of losing focus as you zoom out. The best way to see the shift is if you turn peaking on and line up a few objects on the z-axis. The focus should move to the closer objects as you zoom out (as long as they are not within minimum focus distance). Here's the wacky thing though - I double-checked to make sure I wasn't in auto-focus mode by switching to auto and playing around with focus there. When I switched back to manual, the lens fuctioned just fine (no shift in the focal plane when zooming). There seems to be some kind of calibration that takes place when you switch to AF, grab some focus with the push auto feature, and switch back. Or maybe I'm wrong. But as of right now, the lack of parfocal-ness no longer exists.

EF-S 18-55mm kit lens fogs up.

I was at the beach last week and took my camera up to the ocean to take some shots. The camera and lens were in AC (in the car driving down to the beach, 6 hour trip) and when I got to my parents’ house I took it out and started snapping pictures with the EF-S18-55mm kit lens. After about 5 minutes I noticed the outer lens was fogging over. It wasn’t a “hot” day, about 82 but as always it’s humid at the beach. I used my cleaning cloth and once the lens warmed up it stopped. After that the inner lens fogged over and of course I couldn't clean it. It never did “unfog” while I was walking around for about an hour.Question - did the moisture damage the lens in any way? I used it again later and it was working just fine. I have an EF 75-300mm zoom and this did not happen to it (Internal fog, the outer lens did fog but went away as described above). Why would one lens fog internally and another not? Also, how do you professionals keep this from occurring?ThanksJohn

My bad. I just saw the other fog topic. I'll follow that one. ThanksJohn

LR 4.2 RC Canon 40mm and 18-135 STM Lens Profiles Not Installed

I have installed LR 4.2 RC but when I check Lens Profiles these lenses are not listed although ACR 7.2 is supposed to be supporting them. Can anyone tell me where I can get the profiles for these lenses and what is the proper procedure to install them?

I just figured out what I was doing wrong. All I had to do was open my CR2 RAW file in the development module and select the Lens Corrections Tab and checkmark the Enable Profile Corrections box and my Canon 18-135 STM lens profile was activated. Thanks for the replies.

Sharpening with Elements on a Nikon D70 (w/ kit lens)

As much as I love this camera, I can't help but feel that I should be getting sharper images from it. I realize that much is left up to me as far as post-processing, and that's okay, that's why I bought Elements in the first place (I'm using version 3 for Mac).
Initially, all I shot was in the JPEG format, but now that I have version 3, I've moved to RAW. I like the way I can change exposure, white balance, and the like using the RAW plug-in, but I still don't see a signifigant difference when it comes to sharpening. My suspicion is that it's something to do with my workflow; maybe I should forego Camera RAW sharpening and just stick to USM? Or maybe I'm just missing the whole point when it comes down to sharpening an image. This seems to be the one major "hurdle" I have right now (well, that and just getting the hang of RAW, which is STILL Greek to me).
I would REALLY like to hear from you Nikon users who may have some tips. I know that this camera is capable of much more than I'm currently getting out of it. Thanks for your time.
Tony

Shooting RAW will not provide an initially sharper image, but will provide much better dynamic range and bypass all in-camera processing. This gives you more latitude in what you can do with your post processing and also eliminates the degradation of continually saving changes in JPEG, which compresses each time you save. I normally save in TIFF or PDF before I create a final JPEG image. Still, using USM as a first and last step, or just a last step, is the easiest way I've found of sharpening your image. My Canon Rebel XT uses stronger AA filters in the camera resulting in even softer images than your Nikon. This is done to avoid moire in the images. I almost always use USM to correct for this.
With many DSLR cameras, the out of camera images are much softer than you'd get out of a point and shoot. Generally, less processing is done in the camera as you get into the "prosumer" level of cameras. You are expected to sharpen out of the camera. The Canon, and to a lesser degree Nikon, message boards are filled with new users complaining about the softness of their images. Remember that less in-camera processing creates fewer artifacts that you'll have to deal with later. Another point is that the lens on a DSLR is critical in how sharp your image can be. Depth of field and camera shake are other factors that you must take into account. There's a lot going on here.
USM itself can be used to accentuate contrast by applying low amount/high radius/low threshold, or any range of sharpening through higher amount/low radius and 0 or higher threshold depending on how soft you want the subject to appear.
With all this, I frequently still shoot in JPEG when I expect to do little processing because of the subject and/or conditions. Also, if I'm shooting a lot of pictures, I do tend to get lazy and want to minimize my workflow. Shame on me. ;-)

Magnification question - EF-S 18-135 STM lens with Canon 25mm Extension Tube II

If the minimum focus distance with this lense is 15.4 inches and I were to add the 25mm extension tube, does that mean that I can go closer to the subject, or is the 15.4 inches still minimum but the extension tube simply makes the subject look larger? And, how much larger?
I've read some guidelines but I'm still not getting it
I'm looking to use one lens for nature photography and would love to add a lightweight macro option (using a T5 camera).
Thanks

jrhoffman75 wrote:
http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/macro-extension-tubes-closeup.htm
I saw that calculator earlier, but I didn't understand how they could show the new MFD (or in this case, CFD) without knowing the previous, based on which lens you use. Is the CFD the same for all (non) lenses? I guess I always assumed that the MFD for any specific lens depended on the internal elements of the lens.

Lens correction profile for the Canon 18-135 STM lens?

How or where can I get the lens correction profile for the new Canon STM lenses?

I see that lens listed in the release notes for the final Lightroom 4.2 update that just came out a few hours ago, so it looks like the answer is to download the update.
http://blogs.adobe.com/lightroomjournal/2012/10/lightroom-4-2-now-available.html

I have a canon EOS 600D with 18-55mm IS kit lens. I want to buy another lens for travel photography.

What lens would be a best choice?

It's a tough question to answer as there is no best choice. Too many variables, what may be best for you wouldn't be for me.
Some people want one single lens to do everything, the so called Super Zooms. Sigma makes a 18-250 which would qualify. But the image quality and speed will never be that of more traditional ranged lenses. My personal recommendation to these people is, if you never plan on changing lenses then just get a point and shoot. The Canon SX50 fits this bill well. But if that's what you're looking for there's the sigma, or you can get the 18-200 from Canon.
As far as traditional ranged lenses, it depends on what you like to shoot. Some people love ultra wide angle for travel if they're look at old archetecture or panoramas. The Canon 10-22 is a great lens. A standard issue lens would be the 18-85 - decent quality, decent range. Others hold image quality and speed paramount and would use an L lens, like the 24-105L.

17 to 35 f2.8 Nikkor

I rented this lens this weekend and ran some tests.
It is clearly superior to the optics I now use, the 18 to 135 "kit" lens and the 12 to 24 Tokina, although in comparison to the Tokina, it was better only with respect to distortion, and that was quite minor.
Curiously, the 17 to 35 had a hiccup compared to the others, in that the lower right hand corner at 100% wasn't as sharp as the rest of the area and not even as sharp as the kit lens. I did multiple checks, yesterday and again this morning and that phenomenon persisted. Considering I'm on a DX format, it rattles me a bit. OTOH, it is a rental, but I didn't see any physical problems with the body.
At f8, the kit is quite competitive, but in the area of distortion, the 17 to 35 has no peer.
So, undoubtedly, my lenses will be the first to see upgrades.
This particular optic is only marginally useful to me as the 12 to 24 has significant overlap. So, I'll have to cherry pick carefully. I was in Manzanita OR on the beach for their July 4th celebration, and the kit lens quickly replaced the 17 to 35 as I ran completely out of range to cover the event. But damn, that 2.8 glass was handy when I could use it!
I did a fireworks suite as well, over the Pacific. Amazing, especially with all the camp fires and personal fireworks on the beach itself. I'll post some when I get them edited. I shot over 400 frames!
Edit: It's one heavy mother!

The 17-55 f/2.8 is the DX version of the FX 17-35, Larry. It gives extra reach in a trade-off for not covering full-frame. It is about the same size as the 17-35 and is a good performer, very sharp but on DX format you're bound to notice a bit of light and sharpness falloff in the corners (which is also there on the 17-35 when that lens is used on full format).
The FX 14-24 is supposed to be extraordinarily sharp, but as noted it cannot use filters and it is heavy, weighing a quarter more than the 17-35. 14mm is not ultra-wide for Dx use, either, but from my viewpoint it is ridiculously wide for FX. I prefer to use the 16mm fisheye with Fisheye Hemi software correction - it gives a far more pleasing ultra-wide image than an extreme wide rectilinear lenses do with their stretched out people and circular objects at frame's edge.
As far as weight damping tremble - that is also a function of center of gravity: put the 17-35 onto a D3 and you reduce the amplifying effect of leverage of a heavy lens on a light body as with the D80. By shifting the center of gravity back into the palm of your hand instead of a few inches in front the difference is noticeable.

Low budget lenses for amateurs

Dear Friends
I own a 600 D with 18-135 kit lens.
Recently I was suggested a 50 mm 1.8 in this forum. Big thanks for the tip. Really love this lens.
I want to expand my lens kit without rushing into big spends right now.
Request to recommend 2 more lens that can be really useful for amateur photography.
I have noticed the following
1. Although 50mm 1.8 is good , I find it difficult to us during events like weddings etc where moving closer physically is not an option always.
2. My kit lens 18-135 is good. But with zoom, aperture cant be opened wide. Blurring backgrounds become difficult with this.
3. For outdoor shoot , the kit lens is not good enough as the zoom is too small.
4. Please also recommend for any other occasions that an amateur photographer might need specific lenses and I might not have still figured out.
5. Most important - Want to constrain myself to maximum 2 more additions only to my bag.
6. Budget - Lower the better. A great recommendation eg. was the 50 mm 1.8. Works superb and at extreme low price.
Preferred budget between 150$ to 300 $ for each lens.
*** However, can increase budget if you feel any lens is critical and needs to be added to an amateurs bag.
7. I dont have any particular prefence for canon and open to look at all brands
Hope my query is clear and precise.
thanks in advance for the help
rgds
Suman
Solved!
Go to Solution.

Wide aperture lenses are expensive & in a zoom more expensive yet so I don't think there's any way to fit that budget short of buying a used Tamron 28-75 f2.8. As for longer look at both the Canon 70-300 IS and Tamron 70-300 VC, new or used.
"A skill is developed through constant practice with a passion to improve, not bought."

18/135 Kit lens

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