Reviewed by
John Q. Camera , Casual

Price Paid
$575.00 at B & H Photo

Photography Experience
6-10 years , Outdoor

Summary
A really good all-around lens. If I had to take only one lens on vacation, this would be it. The combination of wide angle and zoom make it very versatile.

Some reviewers have complained of lens creep - the model I received had a manual lock that prevented creep, but you have to unlock it every time you want to use the zoom.

I do a lot of photography in Av (aperture priority) mode and noticed that a lot of images I took in bright daylight in Av mode wound up looking overexposed/blown out. Just a word to the wise that you probably won't want to be using this mode in bright daylight and this lens.

Strengths
The IS function works good as long as you're not over-caffeinated, I imagine a system built into the camera body works better though. Decent focusing speed and low-light performance. Great zoom and wide angle. Decent focus quality, but there were some photos that didn't turn out so great - don't know if it was the lens or something I did, though.

Weaknesses
Heavy. Obvious vignetting. Obvious spherical aberration.

Power consumption is high with the IS switched on, and ***the IS does not seem to shut off when you turn the camera off!*** I have to shut off the IS independently. of the camera power. I figured this out by leaving the IS on with the camera off overnight and had a dead battery the next morning. Unless I am taking pictures, my camera is always off - literally on-snap-off - to conserve power, unless I'm expecting action shots. Shutting the IS off results in a battery life that lasts much much longer. I bought a second stock battery from B & H when I bought this lens with the expectation that battery consumption would be higher - so I'd recommend having a spare battery handy if you plan on using a lot of IS in your photography.

Customer Service
B & H was just fine. The items I ordered arrived well packaged and on-time.

Reviewed by
Doug Almy , Intermediate

Price Paid
$650.00 at Murphy's Camera, Lou

Photography Experience
11-20 years , Outdoor

Summary
I have always used Canon products. I bought this lens to replace my Canon 28-135 that I had used for 5 years. Even though the 18-200 does not have USM auto focus, this new lens seems to focus faster than the 28-135. The IS also seems to be stronger. It has worked very well in low light, such as photographing kittens under a Christmas tree and outside neon lighting. The front of the lens does not have the side to side "play" in it that the Canon 28-135 and the Canon 28-200 have. It feels and appears to be more solidly built then the those 2 lenses just mentioned.

Strengths
I bought this lens on the first full day of a vacation without being able to read any reviews because the lens brand new. I bought it based on Canon's reputation. Took several hundred pictures and have been very happy with the performance. With the wide zoom range I will not have to change lenses as often and that means less chance of getting dirt on the sensor.

Weaknesses
The 18-200 will not work well for macro work if you have to point the lens down because the barrel will creep out if it is not already zoomed out to 200mm. If it did not have that problem, I would have rated the lens a"5"

Similar Products Used
Started with Canon 35-135, then 28-200, 28-135, and now the 18-200. Also currently use the Canon 10-22 and the 100-400 and the Close up 500D diopter for macro work. I use Canon XTi and XSi camera bodies.

Customer Service
None yet.