Canon EF-S 10-22mm f3.5-4.5 USM lens

15/03/09

As with all Canon's EF-S lenses, the 10-22mm is designed to only fit Canon's 1.6x crop sensor cameras such as the 40D or 450D. It is not suitable for Canon's full frame or 1 series bodies. The 10-22mm focal length equates to 16-35mm on a full frame camera and is the only lens made by Canon for such a wide angle view on a crop body.

The lens seems pretty well built and nicely balanced. The zoom ring is positioned towards the front of the lens with a narrower focus ring nearer to the camera. I often pair this lens with a 24-105 L lens as a reasonable weight walkaround outfit. Annoyingly, on the 'professional' L range zooms Canon have the zoom and focus rings positioned the other way round and at first this can be frustrating. Canon do at least keep the set up the same within each of their three distinct price ranges - budget, mid-range and professional. Canon's lens hood (EW-83E) will cost you extra. This is common practice with Canon (except for their L range lenses) but personally I think it doesn't reflect well on them as a manufacturer, especially when some of their competitors include lens hoods as standard.

Image quality is very good indeed. Some say this lens is equal to 'L' quality and I tend to agree in respect to the actual performance. The L lenses are better built but the 10-22 certainly delivers the goods. The maximum aperture could be better but is fine for most applications. A lens with such a wide perspective does require careful use but the results can be stunning.

Recommended? Certainly.

Overall Rating: 4.5/5
Ease of use: 4/5
Value for money: 4/5
Build quality: 4/5
Sharpness: 5/5
Autofocus: 5/5