Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM

Best On-Board Zoom for the Canon EOS Series. Whether you're shooting the family candids, capturing the town festivals, or making memories on vacation, if you have a Canon EOS DSLR and want only ONE lens to keep on-board to suit 95% of your shooting situations, this Canon 18-135 STM zoom lens is the one to have. I'm so pleased I finally sprung for it. When I bought my Canon 70D 18 months ago for $1000, I couldn't believe it would cost me $300 more to upgrade to this zoom for my kit lens, so I took the standard 18-55 STM, a newer version of the Canon 18-55 IS II I got with my trusty old Canon T3 starter DSLR that I still love to use because of its compactness, weight, and excellent picture quality with ease of use. (The newer 18-55 STM is a completely redesigned version of the old 18-55 IS II. The photo quality is about the same in my eyes, but the STM has a quieter step motor that is great if you shoot a lot of video with your DSLR, which I do.) I still don't understand why Canon practically gives away the 55-250mm zoom in their bundles, but the 18-135mm is a premium purchase whether bought with the camera or afterwards. The range on the 18-135mm STM gets as you close as you need to be whether shooting portraits or landscapes for most situations without adding much weight or lens length to your DSLR. And most importantly, its one lens to cover all requirements, cutting down on lugging lenses. FYI: My upgraded 18-55mm STM that came with the Canon 70D is not going to waste, as I now keep it mounted on my old Canon T3. It's better for videos and only added about 1/4 inch to the lens length in my bag. (The original Canon T3 18-55 lens is retired.) My advice is to get a Canon 18-135mm STM upfront with your camera purchase, as once you have it, you'll never take it off and the 18-55mm STM will gather dust, unless you have another Canon EOS or Rebel like me to use it on.Read full review

For me, this is the perfect travel lens. From wide angle to decent telephoto. And it is super lightweight. It was advertises being in use condition, For me, this is the perfect travel lens. From wide angle to decent telephoto. And it is super lightweight. It was advertises being in use condition, but it certainly looked brand new when I got it.

Yes it’s good....but it could be better! The lens hits the mark on so many points, great focal range, bang-for-the-buck, light weight, etc. Since i shoot video with this lens, I do wish the zoom ring was smoother. It kind of sticks making it jump around when adjusting it. The Focus ring is smooth, it just takes twice as long to pull focus. Everything else I’m happy with for a Run-and-Gun shooting scenario with this lens