Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM Lens Review

2008-06-17T13:50:00.004-04:00

The Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM lens is currently Canon's widest lens in its entire EF/EF-S lens line up. And we do mean WIDE. 10mm when used on a APS-C format sensor camera yields the same apparent field of view as would a 16mm lens on a full-frame or film SLR. The 10-22 is in fact the crop camera equivalent (at least in respect to apparent field of view) of a 16-33 lens.

Technical Specs:
Focal Length: 10-22mm (16-35mm equivalent)
Filter Size: 77mm
Length: 89.8mm (3.5inches)
Diameter: 83.5mm (3.3inches)
Weight: 385g (13.6oz)
Lens Arraignment: 13 elements in 10 groups, super UD glass elements with 3 aspherical elements.
Closest focusing distance: .24m
Maximum Aperture @ 10mm: f/3.5
Maximum Aperture @ 22mm: f/4.5
Minimum Aperture: f/27
Aperture Blades: 6 (circular)

Right out of the box, you notice this particular lens is very well put together. It does not have the plastic feel that sometimes plagues some of Canon’s other non-L lenses. The controls feel smooth and not tight. The lens focuses very quickly and quietly thanks to its ring USM motor. The lens mount is thankfully made of metal and not plastic. You will also notice that the lens barrel does not extend or rotate during focusing, so you can use a circular polarizer. Just be warned that you may see some additional vignetting if you do not use a slim polarizer, although you probably will not have any real issues.

Wide-angel lenses are very useful in several photographic specialties. They truly shine in landscape photography. Nothing captures the grand vistas of the great outdoors better. You can really see from horizon to horizon. No other group of lenses allows you to capture so much. They are also widely used (sorry) in architectural photography where they excel in capturing both exterior and interior details. Real estate agents love being able to show entire interiors in one photo. They also can be quite useful in bringing out the creative side in most everyone. The natural distortion created by the wide field of view created some most unusual perspective on everyday objects.

I was pleasantly surprised with the image quality this lens is able to deliver. Imagers are crisp and clean throughout the most of the focal length range. There is only the slightest hint of blur at about 11mm, with it becoming more noticeable once you reach 10mm. Still you really have to look for it. There just isn’t much difference in center sharpness when shooting wide open or stopped down a step or two, although there is a small amount of loss of sharpness in the corners throughout the focal range.

I was also expecting distortion to be an issue, but on this particular wide-angle lens, it just really is not that noticeable. There is just the smallest amount of barrel distortion at 10mm and even less pincushion distortion once you reach 22mm. Everything from about 12mm-20mm is virtually distortion free, something almost unheard of in a wide angle lens. Also surprising was the little amount of chromatic aberration present. Actually, there was an apparent total lack of CA at 22mm. At 10mm the amount is very acceptable and can easily be removed in post-production.

On most wide-angle lenses, flare can be an issue just due to the physical nature of the lens. When you are shooting outside with a field of view that spans 107 degree at 10mm, you are more than likely to have some degree of flare. The 10-22 does a fairly good job in controlling lens flare, but for best results, you might want to spend the extra cash and get the EW-83E hood. Too bad Canon does not include lens hoods on all but their “L” glass.

Overall, this is an impressive lens. Optically, the EF-S 10-22mm would match up with most of Canon’s higher end professional glass. Then only apparent drawbacks I can see are a lack of weather sealing and also the unfortunate lack of an included hood and case. Even though it does not come with the highly coveted “L” designation, in all truthfulness, it should. Not to mention this is one of the most fun lenses out there to shoot with. I would highly recommend the Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM Ultra-Wide Angle Lens to anyone wanting to live life on the “wide side”.

Canon EOS Lenses

2008-06-16T09:35:00.008-04:00

Canon manufactures a wide variety of lenses in its EOS Camera System that are specifically designed for its line of EOS film SLR and DSLR cameras. Currently Canon includes over 65 lenses in its catalog, that range from the inexpensive Canon f/1.8 50mm prime to the ultimate f/5.6 1200mm zoom monster of a lens. And of course there is a lens to fill all the spots in between.

Canon lenses can be categorized in several different manners: by focal length, by "quality" or by function. For my purposes, I'll attempt to break them down by function, then focal length then quality.

A word about terminology.
As with any technical area, photography and in particular photographic equipment has its own "language". Here is a short glossary of terms:
DO: Diffractive Optical. Results in a smaller lens.
EF / EF-S: Lens series. EF lenses fit all Canon EOS Cameras. EF-S lenses only fit certain APS-C format sensors.
f/xx: F-stop of a lens. Measure of a lens maximum aperture. Lower number allows shooting in lower light situations.
IS: Image Stabilization.
Macro Lenses: Lenses specifically designed for close-up photography.
Tilt-Shift Lenses: Lenses specifically designed for architectural photography. Allows you to adjust the lenses to eliminate the trapezoidal effect that occurs when taking pictures of tall subjects.
USM: Ultra-sonic Motor or Ultra-sonic Mount. Canon's term for its high-speed lens drive motors.

Canon Prime Lenses.
A prime lens is any lens that has a constant focal length. There is no zoom. If you wish to fill more of the frame, you must physically move closer to your subject. The opposite is true if you wish to include more of your surrounds in a shot; you must move farther away from your subject.

Wide-angle Canon Prime Lenses:
These are lenses that range in focal length from a 14mm to about 35mm.
Canon EF 14mm f/2.8L II USM
Canon EF 14mm f/2.8L USM
Canon EF 15mm f/2.8 Fisheye
Canon EF 20mm f/2.8 USM
Canon EF 24mm f/1.4L USM
Canon EF 24mm f/2.8
Canon EF 28mm f/1.8 USM
Canon EF 28mm f/2.8
Canon EF 35mm f1.4L USM
Canon EF 35mm f/2.0

The Canon EF 14mm f/2.8L II USM, Canon EF 14mm f/2.8L USM, Canon EF 24mm f/1.4L USM and Canon EF 35mm f1.4L USM are considered high end "Luxury" lenses by Canon and receive the "L" designation in their names. These are professional level lenses and are usually quite expensive when compared with Canon's standard lens offerings.

Standard/Medium Telephoto Canon Prime Lenses:
These lenses range in focal length from 50mm to about 100mm.
Canon EF 50mm f/1.2L USM
Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM
Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II
Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM
Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM
Canon EF 100mm f/2.0 USM

The Canon EF 50mm f/1.2L USM and the Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM receive the "L" designation from this group of lenses, although most will agree that as far as image quality, the Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM comes very close.

Telephoto Canon Prime Lenses:
This group of lenses contains lenses with a focal length of 135mm through 300mm.
Canon EF 135mm f/2.0L USM
Canon EF 135mm f/2.8 with Softfocus
Canon EF 200mm f/2.0L IS USM
Canon EF 200mm f/2.8L II USM
Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS USM
Canon EF 300mm f/4.0L IS USM

All but the Canon EF 135mm f/2.8 with Softfocus are "L" lenses.

Super Telephoto Canon Prime Lenses:
This group contains lenses that range from 400mm to 1200mm.
Canon EF 400mm f/2.8L IS USM
Canon EF 400mm f/4.0 DO IS USM
Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L USM
Canon EF 500mm f/4.0L IS USM
Canon EF 600mm f/4.0L IS USM
Canon EF 800mm f/5.6L IS USM
Canon EF 1200mm f/5.6L (Special order only)

All but the Canon EF 400mm f/4.0 DO IS USM are "L" lenses in this group.

Canon Zoom Lenses.
Zoom lenses are those lenses that allow you to adjust the focal length over a given range of values. There two main varieties within zoom lenses: constant aperture lenses and variable aperture lenses. With constant aperture lenses, the lens aperture remains fixed through the focal length adjustment range. In variable aperture lenses, the aperture can change from one focal length to another. Constant aperture lenses are usually considered better lenses.

Canon Ultra-Wide Angle Zoom Lenses:
This group includes lenses that range from a minimum focal length of 10mm through 17mm.
Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM
Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM
Canon EF 17-40mm f/4.0L USM
Canon EF 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM
Canon EF 17-85mm f/4.0-5..6 IS USM

The Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM is a EF-S series lens and will only fit certain APS-C format Canon EOS Cameras. The other lenses are "L" lenses. Because of the "crop factor" involved with using lenses on APS-C format DSLR cameras, the 10-22 has the same effective focal length as the 16-35 when used on a full-frame camera.

Canon Standard Zoom Lenses:
This group contains lenses with a minimum focal length ranging from 18mm through 35mm.
Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM
Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM
Canon EF 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5 USM
Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS USM
Canon EF 28-80mm f/3.5-5.6 II
Canon EF 28-90mm f/4.0-5.6 II
Canon EF 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5 II USM
Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM
Canon EF 28-200mm f/3.5-5.6 USM
Canon EF 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6L USM

The Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4.0-5.6 IS USM only fits certain APS-C Canon EOS Cameras.

Canon Telephoto Zoom Lenses:
This group contains lenses with a minimum focal length ranging from 55mm through 100mm.
Canon EF 55-200mm f/4.5-5.6 II USM
Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4.0-5.6 IS
Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM
Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L USM
Canon EF 70-200mm f/4.0L IS USM
Canon EF 70-200mm f/4.0L USM
Canon EF 70-300mm f/4.0-5.6 IS USM
Canon EF 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 DO IS USM
Canon EF 75-300mm f/4.0-5.6 III USM
Canon EF 75-300mm f/4.5-5.6 USM
Canon EF 80-200mm f/4.5-5.6 II
Canon EF 100-300mm f/4.5-5.6 USM
Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM

The Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4.0-5.6 IS only fits certain APS-C Canon EOS Cameras.

Canon Macro Lenses:
These lenses are specifically designed for close-up or macro photography.
Canon EF 50mm f/2.5 Compact Macro
Canon EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro USM
Canon MP-E 65mm f/2.8 1-5x Macro Photo
Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM
Canon EF 185mm f/3.5L Macro

The Canon EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro USM only fits certain APS-C Canon EOS Cameras.

Canon Tilt-Shift Lenses:
These lenses help correct any trapezoidal distortion found in architectural photography.
Canon TS-E 24mm f/3.5L
Canon TS-E 45mm f/2.8
Canon TS-E 90mm f.2.8

As you can see, Canon has a very extensive line of lenses in a wide range of focal lengths and quality, making the Canon Lens line-up the most extensive in photography.

Canon Lenses

Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM Lens Review

Canon EOS Lenses