Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 Image Stabilization USM Lens (Black)

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I am now officially spoiled... Canons new nanoUSM technology is a total marvel and they need to start advertising their lenses accordingly so we know which is USM and which is nanoUSM because I only want to use nanoUSM now that this lens has spoiled me. Now Im not a mechanical engineer or anything but I want to try to explain the differences the best I can so you can understand what makes the focusing technology in this lens so great compared to even other high quality Canon lenses. The lowest quality auto-focusing system would be found in like the cheapy kit lenses, like the EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS II lens. In that, its a basic motor and gear. The end result is an auto-focus that is both noisy any slow. Being slow is negative for obvious reasons, being noisy is both annoying and if used while shooting a movie can drown out the audio of the subject of your video. The next step up (no pun intended) is the STM otherwise known as a stepping motor. With this, the focusing is still slow, but this time its very quiet. These lenses were designed to allow for auto-focusing during videos without the sound being distracting during the video. But the problem is that its still slow. A step up from there is the USM otherwise known as the ultrasonic motor. Now heres the confusing thing, there is now 3 types of focusing mechanisms that are all labeled with "USM." This is why I said I wish Canon would advertise their lenses accordingly to the type since not all USM lenses are created equally. Before there was the Micro type and the Ring type. The desired one then was the Ring type. But basically the advantages of USM lenses is that they focused very quickly, and more quietly than the cheap motor one but still a little more noisy than the STM (in videos youd hear like a chirping sound) but since its fast and the focusing occurs quickly it shouldnt distract that much. The difference between the Micro-USM and Ring-USM is the Ring allows for full-time manual focusing even while youre in auto focus mode. SOME Micro-USM allowed for it but not all. But now theres a third type, and this is the newest one, one I think, and wish, Canon will make all of their new USM lenses with this technology. They call it "nanoUSM." Basically nanoUSM combines the advantage of the STM lenses of being quiet, with the advantages of the Ring-USM lenses of being very quick to focus and allowing for full-time manual focus. Basically its the best of all worlds, lol. Now that we got that out of the way, this EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 Image Stabilization USM Lens is the third type, the best type, the nanoUSM. So far Im in love with the focusing mechanism and the lens itself is a very well-built lens. The optical lens doesnt rotate with focusing or zooming like the cheap ones do, so you can attach a lens hood or a polarizing filter without needing to constantly adjust it as the camera changes focus or zoom. But thats expected from anything but the cheapy kit lenses. Just figure I mention it, not claiming this to be some revolutionary feature or anything. The image quality has been really great so far. I dont notice any obvious signs of vignetting or chromatic aberration with this lens. Not saying it doesnt have it, my "tests" havent really been scientific, Im just looking at the photos I happen to have taken with the lens and looking at them at 100% especially around the edges of the photos and so far not really noticing anything. Zooming with the lens is a LITTLE on the rough side compared to the 70-300mm IS II USM lens, not sure if its like that with all of them or just with mine, but its not a big deal to be honest, I only mention it to make this review as detailed as I can to help with peoples purchase decision. While using it you likely wouldnt really notice it and it doesnt keep me from getting to the focal lengths I need to quickly and precisely. Overall this is a typical high quality Canon lens with the amazing new nanoUSM focusing technology. I see some cameras like the T7i and T6i come in kits that come with the STM version lens with the same focal range, I highly recommend for you guys who want this range, to skip that kit and buy just the body and then get this version lens separately. Itll definitely end up costing more, unless you find someone selling theirs brand new at used prices (like I did), then it might end up being the same cost to you in the end (shout-out to seller linhphoto, the lenses hes selling is off a kit from a higher-end camera, and is listed as used but is as far as I can tell after buying two from him, brand new).

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The EF-S 18-135 3.5-5.6 IS USM covers a zoom range of moderately wide to telephoto, making it ideal for general use, e.g., travel, landscapes and portraits. It’s Canon’s first Nano USM design and combines the smooth focus of STM with the speed of USM, making it equally at home with video and still shooting. CONSTRUCTION: excellent fit and finish, sturdy plastics and metal mount. Cosmetics are striped down, almost Gothic, losing the chrome and gold rings of similar prior designs. While not a small lens, it’s reasonably light and compact considering the wide zoom range. The underside sports a barrel lock (to prevent zoom drift) and interface for the Power Zoom Adapter PZ-E1. FOCUS: A Nano USM Motor drives an internal lens group and the front element doesnt rotate or extend during focusing. I must say Nano USM lives up to the hype: smooth as silk for pulls and movie servo but but nearly as fast as Ring USM for stills. In fact, AF speed and accuracy compares favorably with my EF-s 15-85 3.5-5.6 IS USM. Manual focus (MF) is possible without switching out of AF mode: simply grip and turn. However MF is wholly electronic so the shutter button must be half depressed for manual focus to work. The focus ring is wider than the prior 18-135 STM and easy to grab for pulls. ZOOM: The zoom ring is large, covered with ribbed rubber, well damped and does not creep. A nested barrel extends considerably—adding about 2 inches in length--when racked out to 135mm. OPTICAL QUALITY: Initially this lens was slightly soft with the 45-point AF system of my 80D. The dual-pixel AF (contrast focus) in LiveView was tack sharp so I figured an AFMA (Autofocus Microadjustment) session was in order. The wide end needed +6 while the telephoto side needed +4 to render tack sharp photos from close focus to infinity. The bottom line is, after AFMA, this lens is very sharp. Blazing Hawaiian sunsets result in little or no ghosting and flare, and typical high contrast night scenes with street lights or interior lamps are normally immune from flare. Chromatic aberration is well controlled as well, with only slight magenta fringing visible on high contrast edges. Mild light falloff is evident wide open at 18mm but disappears when stopped down. IMAGE STABILIZATION: I almost always get a sharp picture, even three stops below my normal hand held shutter speed. I can’t squeeze out four stops unless I brace myself against something. There isn’t a panning switch for IS but it seems to auto-detect panning and compensate accordingly. LENS HOOD: Use a hood to protect this lens from stray light, doggie noses and raindrops. A hood is not included but the Canon EW-73D Lens Hood is available at a cringe worthy 35 shekels. Knockoffs of the EW-73D will eventually appear at a fraction of OEM. Incidentally, I own two other EW-73 series hoods—EW-73C for the 10-18 STM and EW-73B for the EF-s 17-85 IS USM—and they don’t fit the EF-s 18-135 3.5-5.6 IS USM. FINAL BLURB: This is a very good general use APS-C zoom: I love the petite size, zoom range, AF speed/smoothness and sharpness of this lens. Coupled with the 80D, it makes a wonderfully versatile, nimble and lightweight travel combo. I feel confident to shoot in most situations and bring back sharp images and videos.

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What a lens from wide angle to telephoto. We used this lens in Europe for 90% of our 3500 photos, and it is great. From wide angle to telephoto, and even movies this is one great all-purpose lens. The new USM (Ultrasonic Motor) with Ring-USM variant, is like no other! Canons first Nano-USM AF motor implementation, provides silence, smoothness and unbelievable speed. Great for photos and movies. Hard to beat for a general purpose walk-around lens!

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This in my NEW favorite lens. After searching for the right lens for my Canon 80D, Ive found it. I have a full frame camera that I use for business. This will be used for personal. Stills and especially videos. I tried several Canon and Sigma lenses. I decided on this because of the new Nano USM technology. My videos taken with my Shure shotgun Mic. shows this lens to be silent. I also love the new 24mm pancake lens by Canon.

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This thing is lightning fast! I could not be more happy with this lens. Ive had problems in the past with lenses that "hunt" for focus. This lens will focus almost immediately. Plus its exceptionally good when using it for video. I could not be more stoked on my purchase. I bought this used but Im pretty sure it was refurbished. Its also compatible with Canons soon-to-be-released PZ-E1 power zoom adapter which gives you the power to zoom on a DSLR with the touch of a button ( A first for DSLR if Im not mistaken). I definitely recommend it.

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This is a fabulous lens. Using with a Canon 40D, so cannot take advantage of all the new features the lens offers. But this lens appears to be amazingly sharp, well balanced with the camera body, and exceptionally quiet focus. Though the 40D is a bit dated, it performs well, and this lens only makes it a better still camera. Really nice depth of field capability. The 4-stop image stabilization makes shooting in low light much easier.

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Wonderful and versatile lens. Using for a new Canon EOS 80D. I had a first edition of this IS lens for my old venerable Canon Digital Rebel XT, which got a broken edge after a trip down on the pavement (but still continues to work to this day!), but this new lens is even smoother and better. Focus is very sharp and easy, zoom is smooth and quiet. The weight and balance of this lens is good with the EOS 80D body. So far Ive easily captured handheld beautiful sky and sunset photos, portraits, dogs in action, and also close-up flower and knitting project detail shots. Love this lens. Very pleased.

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I like this lens but my wife uses it much more. I bought it for her and she is a casual amateur photographer. I notice some significant barrel distortion at 18mm but it goes away if you zoom to 20mm. A good travel or walking around lens. I was able to get some nice portrait, landscape, and architectural shots with this lens when we were in Germany. If you are looking for a consumer level lens that offers good image stabilization along with a fast autofocus motor, this may be the one for you.

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I was shooting video of a ballet group with my 80D. That’s a lot of moving around and my lens kept going out of focus, screeching as it turned. So I tried manual focus. That meant one more thing to worry about. Plus what looks in focus on a tiny screen isn’t necessarily so. This lens solved the problem. No grinding. No moving of lens. For the most part it is just in focus.. As for stabilization, I took still at fifth of second, no problem. Nice if it was a bit faster but I have other lenses for that.

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An excellent zoom lens that has served me well by being in my collection. It’s not too heavy and the new focusing motor is quiet like everyone else says. Since it can zoom I can get a wide range of shots without having to reach into my camera bag and switch lenses.

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