Canon EF-S 18 135mm F 3 5 5 6 IS USM Review | 54 Data compared

The Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM lens is a versatile, lightweight APS-C zoom featuring a groundbreaking Nano USM motor that combines fast stills AF with smooth, silent video tracking. Key advantages include its wide 7.5x focal range, highly effective image stabilization, and optional PZ-E1 Power Zoom Adapter compatibility, making it an excellent, cost-effective choice for general-purpose, travel, and video use. Conversely, the lens exhibits compromises common to super-zooms, including reduced sharpness at the long end and visible distortion, vignetting, and chromatic aberration. Its variable maximum aperture limits low-light performance and bokeh capabilities, while the build lacks weather sealing and is restricted to APS-C cameras.

The Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM represents a stealthy, matte-black design departure for Canon’s budget glass, looking akin to a "stealth bomber" with low-profile switches and a soft-touch texture. The crowning achievement of this lens is its innovative Nano USM focus motor, which delivers nearly silent, exceptionally fast, and highly accurate autofocus tracking that easily outperforms older STM technology. It features a highly versatile 7.5x zoom ratio (28.8-216mm full-frame equivalent), an incredibly quiet four-stop image stabilizer, a dynamic IS mode for video, and physical compatibility with the PZ-E1 power zoom accessory. Furthermore, it turns in a strong maximum magnification figure of 0.28x at a minimum focus distance of 15.4 inches. However, the lens makes significant compromises, particularly because its optical performance is merely a lateral move that shows no image quality improvements over the previous generation. While the center and mid-frame resolution remain strong, the extreme corners are noticeably soft, less contrasty, and plagued by visible green and purple chromatic aberrations. It also exhibits strong barrel distortion on the wide end, mild vignetting at 18mm, and ghosting when pointed...

The ePHOTOzine review highlights the Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM as a versatile, travel-friendly lens for APS-C cameras, featuring fast Nano USM autofocus and effective image stabilization. It produces bright, sharp images, with excellent correction of chromatic aberrations and compatibility with the Power Zoom Adapter PZ-E1 for enhanced video functionality. Drawbacks include the exclusion of a lens hood, noticeable soft corners and barrel distortion at 18mm, and a variable aperture that limits low-light performance. Overall, it is highly recommended as a competent, all-in-one zoom option.

The Photo Review Australia assessment highlights the Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM lens as a versatile, high-performance step-up from standard kit lenses, specifically praising its rapid, near-silent Nano USM autofocus and effective image stabilization for both stills and movie recording. The lens delivers good sharpness and color, with added, optimized functionality when paired with the optional PZ-E1 Power Zoom Adapter. Conversely, the review notes significant barrel distortion at the 18mm setting, minor corner softness at wider apertures, and a high susceptibility to flare, which is exacerbated by Canon's omission of a lens hood, which must be purchased separately. Despite these optical and packaging drawbacks, the lens is considered an excellent, high-value choice for APS-C users, particularly when purchased as a kit.

The Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM is a sharp, highly versatile zoom lens for APS-C DSLRs, offering a 7.5x (29-216mm equivalent) range and exceptional, lightning-fast autofocus thanks to its Nano USM technology. It features effective image stabilization and supports an optional power zoom adapter, making it an excellent choice for videographers, say PCMag. However, as a superzoom, it exhibits significant barrel and pincushion distortion at various focal lengths, along with noticeable vignetting at maximum apertures. Furthermore, its variable f/3.5-5.6 aperture provides no advantage in low-light performance or depth-of-field control over standard kit lenses.

Ken Rockwell calls the Canon EF-S 18-135mm IS USM a top-pick, "do-everything" zoom lens for APS-C cameras, highlighting its revolutionary Nano USM for instantaneous, silent autofocus. The lens offers impressive handling, effective Image Stabilization (IS), and close focusing capability, with support for the optional PZ-E1 Power Zoom Adapter for video. However, the lens is designed exclusively for APS-C cameras and will not fit full-frame or film bodies. Limitations include an electronically controlled focus that requires the camera to be on, a lack of mechanical focus stops, and a plastic filter thread.

The Canon EF-S 18-135 mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM is a highly versatile documentary and kit lens designed for APS-C bodies like the EOS 80D. Serving as a significant upgrade from its predecessors, it introduces a hybrid Nano USM autofocus system that combines a ring USM motor with a stepper motor. This technology delivers an incredibly fast focus time of roughly 200 milliseconds in daylight, alongside smooth, virtually silent operation that is excellent for video capturing. Optically, the lens offers an impressive 7.5x zoom range (equivalent to 28-216 mm in 35-mm format) and features a built-in image stabilizer providing up to 4 stops of correction. Physically, it remains compact at 96 mm long, utilizes internal focusing so the front element stays stationary for filter usage, and integrates an electronically driven 7-blade aperture for quieter exposure transitions. The review highlights several key pros and cons for prospective buyers. On the positive side, the lens boasts outstanding center sharpness—peaking at f/5.6—and negligible chromatic aberration or vignetting when utilizing in-camera JPEG corrections or RAW lens profiles. Its robust build, extensive zoom capabilities, and compatibility...

The Digital Camera World review highlights the Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM as a versatile all-rounder lens designed exclusively for Canon's APS-C format DSLRs, ranging from Rebel entry-level bodies up to the EOS 7D Mark II. Sitting comfortably between a standard kit lens and a massive superzoom, it excels primarily due to its updated Nano USM autofocus actuator, which provides super-fast performance that rapidly snaps onto subjects for stills, alongside smooth, silent transitions during video recording. Optically, the lens delivers strong image stabilization and manages aberrations incredibly well, keeping color fringing heavily restricted while exhibiting less severe barrel and pincushion distortion than most competing DSLR superzooms. However, the lens does come with notable limitations regarding its physical build, compatibility, and focal coverage. Because it is an EF-S lens, it cannot be used on full-frame camera bodies. Reviewers point out that its outright zoom range is relatively meager compared to true superzooms, falling short at a full-frame equivalent telephoto end of 216mm, while failing to offer any notable advantages in weight or compactness over those longer-reaching alternatives. Furthermore, while sharpness...

The Photozone / OpticalLimits review highlights the Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 USM IS as a highly versatile mid-spec travel zoom that improves mechanically upon its predecessors. A major pro highlighted in the review is the introduction of Nano USM technology, which utilizes ultrasonic vibrations for quick, silent linear movement, combining the speed required for action stills with the smoothness needed for video tracking. Additionally, the build quality is significantly upgraded to feel more high-grade, offering smooth zoom and focus rings, a lack of barrel wobble when fully extended, a built-in transport lock, and a functional 4-stop dynamic image stabilizer. Videographers also benefit from its compatibility with the optional motorized Power Zoom Adapter PZ-E1. However, the review points out several clear cons, most notably that the optical design remains completely identical to the older, cheaper STM variant. This structural recycling means users still experience heavy wide-open vignetting at 18mm and high image distortions typical of long-range standard zooms. Another drawback is the significantly increased price tag—at $600 USD/EUR, it is roughly 50% more expensive than its predecessors. The reviewer concludes that...