GROUP TEST
Are newer Canon lenses always better? We pit some of the most popular Canon EF and RF lenses against each other in head-to-head tests to find out
T here has been so much hype over mirrorless cameras over the past few years, it’s easy to lose sight of just how great Canon DSLR and their companion EF and EF-S lenses have been for the past couple of decades. In short, Canon’s conventional EOS kit has been setting the standard for many years. But then everything went mirrorless.
If you’ve got a perfectly good EOS DLSR and collection of lenses, you need a very good reason to trade it all in for R System replacements. We tend to think that camera bodies come and go, while quality lenses potentially last a lifetime. Changing lenses is even more of a tricky decision, as EF-mount lenses work perfectly well on EOS R System bodies via an EF-EOS R mount adaptor. So are there any compelling reasons to jump ship?
Taking the reflex mirror assembly out of the equation, the EOS R System enables the proximity of the rear element of a lens to be much closer to the image sensor, and there’s also a growth in the diameter of mounting flange, both of which offer the potential for superior image quality. And then there’s the data transfer speed between the camera body and the lens, for improving performance factors like autofocus speed, tracking and image stabilisation. One Canon boffin described it like this: if the data speed of original EOS film cameras and lenses was walking speed, the latest DSLRs and EF lenses are like a moped, whereas the EOS R System and new RF lenses are like a bullet train! So how do the rivals compare in practice?
Canon EF-S 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 IS STM
£249/$299
The RF-S wide-angle zoom for APS-C format R-system cameras takes downsizing to a whole new level
C arrying around additional lenses is no fun when they’re big, heavy and cumbersome. This offering from Canon for APS-C cameras is refreshingly small for a wide-angle zoom and tips the scales at less than half the weight of many competing lenses.
Its 67mm filter thread is also a lot smaller than usual, so filters are relatively inexpensive to buy.
One weight-saving feature of the lens is that it has a plastic mounting plate, but build quality feels reasonably robust. Typical of many recent Canon lenses, it features an STM (Stepping Motor) autofocus system which is fast for stills, smooth for video capture and virtually silent. The electronically-coupled focus ring enables manual override of autofocus but there’s no focus distance scale.
Less than half the price of Canon’s ancient EF-S 10-22mm wide zoom, also for APS-C cameras, this lens adds the bonus of image stabilisation. As normal with non L-series Canon lenses, you need to buy the lens hood separately, the genuine EW-73C costing around £20/$40.
Performance
