Canon EF 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 is STM Review

The Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM is the kit lens that comes with most entry-level Canon DSLRs. It's a lightweight, all-purpose zoom that tries to do a bit of everything. For the price, it's a solid starting point that covers a useful range from wide-angle to short telephoto.

Its performance is a mixed bag, but that's expected for a kit lens. The autofocus is quiet and smooth, landing in the 96th percentile, which is great for video. Image stabilization is also strong, giving you about four stops of shake correction. But the optical quality is just okay, sitting in the 34th percentile, and the variable aperture gets pretty slow at the long end. Don't expect amazing background blur or sharpness in low light.

At around $187, it's a decent value if you're getting it bundled with a camera. Buying it separately is harder to recommend. You're paying for the convenience of a zoom and good stabilization, but you're sacrificing optical quality and low-light performance. For a similar price, you could get a prime lens that's much sharper.

This lens is all about convenience versus quality. Compared to a prime like the Viltrox 35mm f/1.7, you lose the sharpness and fast aperture but gain a zoom range and stabilization. Against the Meike 55mm f/1.8, you're giving up portrait and low-light capability for versatility. If you need one lens to start with and shoot in daylight, this works. If you care about image quality or shooting indoors, a fast prime is a better buy.

Buy this if you're a beginner who just got a Canon DSLR and need a single, do-everything lens for travel and everyday shots in good light. Skip it if you're buying a lens separately, if you shoot a lot of portraits, or if you want the best image quality from the start. Look at a fast prime instead.