Canon Announces the 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 EF-S IS STM Lens

Canon has added another STM (stepping motor) lens to their lineup for those of you who are already fans of the 70D and Rebel T5i (though the T5i does not take advantage of the STM technology nearly to the degree the 70D Dual Pixel Sensor does). The 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 EF-S IS STM LENS has just been announced, and though it's not what many of us desire in a lens, being the unpleasant combination of variable aperture and slow, it does come in at a very enticing price point.

The 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 EF-S IS STM LENS will retail for a very low $299, not much more than what the Canon 40mm pancake debuted at a couple years ago. That's a darn good price, even with the aforementioned downsides. If you're wondering why such a wide lens would need image stabilization, it's likely because this is designed to be a video lens and used in tandem with the 70D and Rebel T5i. That said, I'm not anticipating anything out of this to be particularly sharp in the stills department.

Created to be a great companion lens for the Canon EOS 70D, EOS Rebel T5i, EOS Rebel SL1 and other EOS Digital SLR cameras with APS-C size image sensors, the EF-S 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 IS STM lens expands Canon's line of Stepping Motor (STM) lenses. For entry-level users, this affordable wide-angle lens offers the ability to shoot creative, high-quality images and video in tight indoor locations such as a cozy corner table in a restaurant or unique vacation photos where the subject is close up, yet the surrounding area can still fill the frame.

The EF-S 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 IS STM ultra wide-angle zoom lens features a compact and lightweight design with an Optical Image Stabilizer for shake correction up to four shutter speed stepsiii, enabling handheld shooting in low light. The lens' stepping motor and newly designed focus mechanism are ideal for Canon EOS Movie Servo AF (available on EOS 70D, EOS Rebel T5i and EOS Rebel SL1 cameras) to provide smooth, quiet and continuous autofocusing during video shooting, as well as when taking photos.

The EF-S 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 IS STM ultra-wide zoom lens features one UD lens element to help reduce chromatic aberration throughout the zoom range for excellent image quality with high resolution and contrast. It also features enhanced multi-layer lens coatings to help ensure superb color balance while minimizing ghosting and flare, while a seven-blade circular aperture creates beautiful, soft backgrounds.

Compared to the EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM wide-angle lens, the EF-S 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 IS STM ultra wide-angle zoom lens is nearly 20% smaller and 38% lighter. When combined with a compact digital SLR, such as the Canon EOS Rebel SL1 camera, the smaller size makes it very convenient to carry with the camera when traveling. The compact four-group zoom optical system provides a maximum magnification of 0.15x at the telephoto end. The wide-angle zoom range of the new EF-S 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 IS STM is a perfect complement to the currently available EF-S 18-55mm IS and EF-S 55-250mm IS STM zoom lenses.

The lens is expected to be available in June.