yeung w.
Update after 4 months of use: I didnt realize the magnification factor of this lens is 0.31 until today. Very handy when I just want to snap a close-up picture of a flower or a butterfly (see my pictures). Not even 24-105L could do this. I did a quick check. It appears that only 100-400L ii has 0.31 magnification. This lens honestly isnt very contrasty like my L lenses. But its size and range is just darn convenient. I think M5 + 18-150 is the most convenient setup for travel. But for anything serious I wouldnt use it. ********************************************************* Update after 1 month of use: The more I use it the more Im impressed. It doesnt have the pop and high contrast of my 24-70L ii. Thats not my expectation either. To my eyes, the image quality of the 18-150mm is on par with 24-105L. To me this is plenty good enough. This lens is less than half the weight and size of the 24-105L, and more importantly the focal range is even wider (28-240mm equivalent). F6.3 at the long end is quite slow but sharp so theres no need to stop down more. Ive used efs 18-135 and i really think that this efm 18-150 is far superior. At 18mm there is a good amount of distortion but 24-105L does not fare any better. This is not a cheap lens but Im beginning to feel that its worth the cost. And Im very excited that I can now travel with a very compact system. And I dont have to change lens as frequently as I used to. ************************************************** My expectation before getting the lens: Hopefully itd match 18-55 but wouldnt expect it to be the same level as the 11-22 My impressions after having owned it for a few hours: First thing noticeable is the lack of chromatic aberration. I had a few shots of buildings against bright sky. Surprisingly I dont see any obvious CA. This beats 18-55. Sharpness is on par with 11-22. I was expecting the extreme ends (18 and 150mm) to be poor but Im wrong. Looking at 100% in LR the extreme ends dont look bad at all. Image stabilization is incredibly effective. I can get some keepers at 1/8s at 150mm. Like the 18-55 (as opposed to the 11-22), theres no lock. I like it this way. Just grab and zoom. Balance on the M5 is perfect. Cons: The mount is plastic. No hood. No soft pouch. A bit expensive.