Week after buying Canon T1i camera I went to Mt St Helens National Park and realized how much I need extra zoom. So I ordered the new Canon 18-135IS. My first impressions are very positive:
The build quality is pretty decent.
The lens is relatively light and feels pretty balanced on the T1i body.
Front of the lens doesn't turn during auto focus which is a plus if you use a polarized filter.
AF is quick and very accurate it easily finds focus even in dark conditions.
Image Stabilizer supports horizontal and vertical panning.
I think sharpness is comparable with the kit 18-55IS (looks like corners are a bit softer).
Zoom range is perfect for vacation/outdoor photography.
There is no zoom creep (so far).
Very smooth bokeh (background blurring)
Few cons:
No zoom lock.
Doesn't have USM/full-time manual focus this is the feature I'd expect in the $500 lens.
Distortions on the wide end (18-24mm)
More CA than 18-55IS.
P.S. I've spent the last couple of weeks reading endless forum posts and reviews. Here are my notes about the similar/competing products:
1. Canon 55-250IS My friend got this lens it's sharp but some shots have bad color saturation/contrast. He also told me that he needs to change lenses too often.
2. Canon 28-135 IS USM sharp, has full-time manual focus, but the lens is quite big and heavy for T1i and has a zoom creep. 28mm is too much for the wide shots on the x1.6 cameras.
3. Sigma 18-125 OS HSM good zoom range/color/price, relatively sharp. I almost bought this lens but then I noticed that almost every review mentions the constant background noise produced by the image stabilizer. Sometimes I use the camera for short videos so that was a deal breaker for me.
4. Sigma 18-200 good zoom range/color/price, but too heavy. Sharpness is very inconsistent. Also not much extra zoom comparing to the 135mm.
Overall I think this lens is a good choice for nonpro photographers looking for a multipurpose zoom lens.
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