Trading the 18-55 for an 18-135?

[lukechad]

Has anyone here done the above? I'm looking into a new lens and considering the above to give my a bit more "reach" as well as having the 18mm end?

I cant see a review for the 18-135 on dpreview so wondered if anyone here uses it? I know canon do a 18-200 but in the past I've heard not brilliant things about its performance at the long end?

All input gratefully received, if someone could point me in the direction of a comprehensive review of the 18-135 I'd appreciate it!

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The only sticking point for me is the fact it will live its whole life on my 550D, wheras something like the 24-105 L will fit that and my 5D.

 

[Razor-BladE]

Not sure how much you're looking to spend but the Canon 15-85mm IS is supposed to be a fantastic lens. I think it's around £400 second hand.

 

[D.P.]

Not sure how much you're looking to spend but the Canon 15-85mm IS is supposed to be a fantastic lens. I think it's around £400 second hand.

I go along with this. 85mm feels sufficiently longer than 55mm, 15mm is way wider than 18mm, the lens is going to be much sharper, better built with Better AF than the 18-135mm.
As to the 85mm vs 135mm, the difference is not that huge in reality. You have to look at the angle of view, not the focal length in mm. In real world usage if you find 85mm too short then 135mm tends not to be long enough either and something like a 70-300 becomes desirable. Put it this way, you won't be photographing birds at 135mm but you can just about with a 300mm lens (or another way, 135mm will be too short for deer, 300mm will be perfect)

 

[lukechad]

Ok guys I will have a look at the 15-85!

I see your point, I have a 70-200L anyway I just liked the idea of a lens for my crop body camera having more reach than the kit lens.

Thanks for the input

 

[Phal]

I bought my 650d with the 18-135mm STM kit option because I wanted a little more range if I could have it. I don't regret paying the extra for the lens but it's definitely not a huge upgrade from the standard kit lens.

 

[Genoma]

There is a big price difference between the two lenses. I owned the 18-135 as my first lens and really had fun with it, but I chose it as my first kit lens. The 15-85 is £200 more in UK street prices which is quite a bit of money.

You could consider saving a little more and go for the 17-55 f/2.8 which is in L class in image quality terms unless you really want the extra reach.

Review of the 18-135 here

If you check my Flickr, majority of my shots were taken with the 18-135.

 

[lukechad]

Thanks!

The extra reach was what I was looking for so the 17-55 really doesn't help me.

I will have a flick through your flickr later!