Canon RF-S 10-18mm IS STM
World's Smallest and Lightest Ultrawide Zoom
Collapsible, Ultralight & Ultrasharp APS-C
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R3 R5 R5C R6 II R6 R R8 RP R7 R10 R50 R100
Bodies Compared RF Lenses EF Lenses Flash
Canon RF-S 10-18mm f/4.5-6.3 IS STM (49mm filters, 5.1 oz. (144g), 0.46'/0.14m close focus, 0.23×/0.5× AF/MF macro ratio, $329). bigger. I got mine at B&H. I'd also get it at Adorama, at Amazon or at Crutchfield, or used at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.
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February 2024 Better Pictures Canon Reviews RF Lenses EF Lenses Flash All Reviews
Sample Images top
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Compatibility & Format Specs Accessories
Performance User's Guide Recommendations
More samples throughout this review at Bokeh, Falloff, Macro and Sunstars.
These are just snapshots; my real work is in my Gallery.
These are all shot hand-held as NORMAL (▟ stairstep icon) JPGs; no tripods, FINE (quarter circle) JPGs or RAW CR3 files were used or needed.
Crystal Pier, San Diego, California, 2:20 PM, Tuesday, 13 February 2024. Canon EOS R10, Canon RF-S 10-18mm IS STM at 13mm at f/11, 1/320 at Auto ISO 100 (LV 15.4), Radiant Photo software. bigger or camera-original © JPG file (24 MP, 7 MB).
Tom's Welding, Route 66, Barstow, California, 4:31 PM, Friday, 26 January 2024. Canon EOS R10, Canon RF-S 10-18mm IS STM at 16mm at f/8, 1/125 at Auto ISO 100, -0.7 stops exposure compensation (LV 13.0), Radiant Photo and Skylum Luminar Neo software. bigger.
Skylum Luminar Neo made it easy to lighten the bottom AUTO STORE area, which was otherwise pretty black. Neo let me make this photo the way I wanted it, and all it took was moving the ENHANCE slider to taste.
Ventura Circus, Route 66, Barstow, California, 5:40 PM, Friday, 26 January 2024. Canon EOS R10, Canon RF-S 10-18mm IS STM at 12mm at f/5.6, handheld at 1/4 second at Auto ISO 2,000 (LV 2.7), Radiant Photo. bigger.
I held my R10 upside down, as you can see in my shadow with my left hand pressing the shutter release up!!! I did this to raise the lens a few more inches so I could hold the camera more level for less distortion.
I cropped this to the powerful 6×6 cm square format of HASSELBLAD, in this case roughly equivalent to the ZEISS DISTAGON T✻ 40mm f/4.
Detour Ahead, Route 66, Barstow, California, 2:57 PM, Friday, 09 February 2024. Canon EOS R10, Canon RF-S 10-18mm IS STM at 18mm at f/14 at 1/320 at Auto ISO 100, -0.7 stops exposure compensation (LV 16.0), Radiant Photo and Skylum Luminar Neo software. bigger.
I cropped this to the powerful 6×6 cm square format of HASSELBLAD, in this case equivalent to the ZEISS DISTAGON T✻ 40mm f/4.
Peggy Sue's Diner, Route 66, Yermo, California, 7:41 PM, Saturday, 10 February 2024. Canon EOS R10, Canon RF-S 10-18mm IS STM at 11mm wide open at f/5, handheld at a half-second at Auto ISO 500 (LV 3.3), Radiant Photo software. bigger.
I cropped this to the powerful 6×6 cm square format of HASSELBLAD, in this case equivalent to the ZEISS DISTAGON T✻ 40mm f/4.
Casa del Desierto, Route 66, Barstow, California, 7:53 AM, Sunday, 11 February 2024. Canon EOS R10 in square-crop mode, Canon RF-S 10-18mm IS STM at 10mm at f/22, handheld at 1/25 at Auto ISO 100, -0.3 stops exposure compensation (LV 13.6), split-toned print. bigger.
I deliberately had the sun shine directly into the lens and used Av exposure mode to select f/22 for the huge sunstar.
This is the same as the powerful 6×6 cm square format of HASSELBLAD, in this case equivalent to the ZEISS DISTAGON T✻ 40mm f/4.
Casa del Desierto, Route 66, Barstow, California, 7:59 AM, Sunday, 11 February 2024. Canon EOS R10 in square-crop mode, Canon RF-S 10-18mm IS STM at 18mm at f/10 at 1/160 at Auto ISO 100 (LV 14.0), Radiant Photo and Skylum Luminar Neo software, split-toned print. bigger.
This is the same as the powerful 6×6 cm square format of HASSELBLAD, in this case equivalent to the ZEISS DISTAGON T✻ 60mm f/3.5.
Santa FE locomotive, Route 66, Barstow, California, 8:30 AM, Sunday, 11 February 2024. Canon EOS R10 in Square-Crop Mode, Canon RF-S 10-18mm IS STM at 15mm at f/10 at 1/200 at Auto ISO 100, -0.7 stops exposure compensation (LV 14¼), Radiant Photo software. bigger.
This is the same as the powerful 6×6 cm square format of HASSELBLAD, in this case equivalent to the ZEISS DISTAGON T✻ 50mm f/4.
123 Crooks Avenue, Barstow, California, 10:14 AM, Sunday, 11 February 2024. Canon EOS R10, Canon RF-S 10-18mm IS STM at 10mm at f/10 at 1/640 at Auto ISO 100 (LV 16.0), Radiant Photo software. bigger.
Elmer's Bottle Tree Farm, Route 66, Oro Grande, California, 12:18 PM, Sunday, 11 February 2024. Canon EOS R10, Canon RF-S 10-18mm IS STM at 10mm at f/10 at 1/250 at Auto ISO 100, Canon 320EX flash, (LV 14.0), Radiant Photo software. bigger.
Introduction top
Sample Images Intro New Good Bad Missing
Compatibility & Format Specs Accessories
Performance User's Guide Recommendations
I buy only from these approved sources. I can't vouch for ads below. |
This tiny, toylike ultrawide is also ultra-sharp and has great optics, ergonomics and stabilization. Even if it cost three times as much, I'd still love this tiny gem!
You've already seen the pictures it makes, and it's so tiny it almost gets lost in my hand:
Canon RF-S 10-18mm IS STM. bigger.
Even mounted on my EOS R10, the combination still fits in my hand:
Canon EOS R10 and RF-S 10-18mm IS STM. bigger.
An Ordinary* Apple and Canon RF-S 10-18mm IS STM. bigger.
* 8.64 oz. (245g), 3" (70mm) tall by 3¼" (82mm) diameter. The 10-18mm is only 5 oz. (145g)!
Canon RF-S 10-18mm IS STM. bigger.
I got my RF-S 10-18mm at B&H. I'd also get it at Adorama, at Amazon or at Crutchfield, or used at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.
New intro top
Canon's first ultrawide for its APS-C mirrorless cameras.
Unlike most Canon RF lenses, the manual focus ring is always active. Even in SERVO (continuous) AF mode, just move the ring for instant manual override and focus lock.
Good intro top
Sharp.
Tiny.
Weightless.
Always-active instant manual-focus override.
No visible distortion as shot (in-camera distortion correction is always active).
Programmable Focus ring.
Optical Image Stabilization.
Image Stabilization rated 4 stops improvement.
100% U.S.A.-based high-quality technical support at (800) OK-CANON.
Bad intro top
No AF/MF switch, but better Canon APS-C cameras like the EOS R7 and R10 have them.
No Stabilizer switch.
Missing intro top
No AF/MF switch, but better Canon APS-C cameras like the EOS R7 and R10 have these switches on the fronts of their bodies by the lens mount.
No Stabilizer switch.
Mounting index dot not raised so it can't be found by feel in the dark.
No case included.
No hood included.
No focus or depth-of-field scales.
No infra-red focus indices.
No focus lock buttons.
Compatibility & Format top
Sample Images Intro New Good Bad Missing
Compatibility & Format Specs Accessories
Performance User's Guide Recommendations
I got my RF-S 10-18mm at B&H. I'd also get it at Adorama, at Amazon or at Crutchfield, or used at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.
Camera Compatibility
Canon EOS R10 and RF-S 10-18mm IS STM. bigger.
This lens only works on Canon's EOS-R series of mirrorless cameras.
You may need to update camera firmware to work best with this new lens, for instance my EOS R10 showed a message suggesting I update when I first tried. No big deal; it shot just fine with the older firmware v1.3.1 even though the warning sounded scary. I didn't notice anything different with newer 1.4.0 firmware, although the warnings went away. Distortion and other lens corrections probably improved, and it is with this newer 1.4.0 firmware I made all the measurements below.
It won't fit on, and cannot be adapted to, any DSLR because a DSLR has too much distance between its sensor and its lens mount flange. Use the EF-S 10-18mm IS STM on APS-C DSLRs.
APS-C versus Full-Frame Formats
This is an APS-C crop-sensor lens. It's tiny and its tiny image only covers the smaller APS-C cropped sensors.
It works fine on full-frame cameras (images fill your finder), but that's because they automatically throw away more than half of their sensor area (and thus resolution) and only use the APS-C-sized center portion of their sensors with this lens.
Used on a full-frame camera everything will seem fine as you shoot (be sure your firmware is up-to-date), but if you look at the resulting pixel sizes of the images you'll see that they have fewer pixels in each dimension (only 62%).
This lens works best on Canon APS-C cameras like the R7, R10, R50 and R100. It's wasting most of a full-frame camera's sensor, size and weight to use this APS-C lens on a full-frame camera.
On a full-frame camera, instead use the equally superb and almost as tiny full frame RF 15-30mm IS STM.
See also crop factor.
Teleconverters
It won't work with any teleconverters.
Even if it did, it's a silly idea because either of the RF-S 18-45mm or RF-S 18-150mm cost less than and work better than any teleconverter would.
Specifications top
Sample Images Intro New Good Bad Missing
Compatibility & Format Specs Accessories
Performance User's Guide Recommendations
I got my RF-S 10-18mm at B&H. I'd also get it at Adorama, at Amazon or at Crutchfield, or used at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.
Name specifications top
Canon calls this the RF-S 10-18mm F4.5-6.3 IS STM:
RF: Works only on Canon's EOS-R Mirrorless cameras.
-S: Only covers APS-C (full-frame cameras will crop accordingly).
IS: Image Stabilization.
STM: STepper (autofocus) Motor.
Optics specifications top
Canon RF-S 10-18mm IS STM Internal Optical Construction. Aspherical and UD elements. IS section.
12 elements in 10 groups.
It's a pumper zoom; the front section moves as zoomed, and collapses for carrying.
2 UD extra-low dispersion elements, which help reduce secondary axial chromatic aberration.
1 aspherical element.
Diaphragm specifications top
Canon RF-S 10-18mm IS STM. bigger.
7 rounded blades.
Electronically actuated.
Filters specifications top
Plastic 49mm filter thread.
Coverage specifications top
APS-C only.
Focal Length specifications top
10-18mm.
When used on APS-C, it sees the same angle of view as a 16~29mm lens sees when used on a full-frame camera.
When used in the 1:1 square crop mode on APS-C it sees the same angles of view as a 37 ~ 67mm lens sees when used on 6×6 cm Hasselblad.
See also Crop Factor.
Angles of View (APS-C) specifications top
107½º ～ 74⅓º diagonal.
97⅙º ～ 64½º horizontal.
74⅙º ～ 45½º vertical.
Autofocus specifications top
No external movement as focussed, so no air or dust is sucked in.
Focus Scale specifications top
No.
Not on lens, but may be displayed in-camera.
Infinity Focus Stop specifications top
No.
You have to focus somehow to get precise focus at infinity, just like at every other distance.
Depth of Field Scale specifications top
No.
Not on lens, but may be displayed in-camera.
Infrared Focus Index specifications top
No.
Close Focus (distance from subject to image plane) specifications top
Autofocus (10~18mm): 0.46 feet (5.5" or 0.14m).
Manual Focus at 10mm: 0.28 feet (3.39" or 0.086m or 86mm), which is pretty much at the front element.
Working Distance (distance from subject to front of lens at close-focus distance) specifications top
Just about zero; you can focus just about all the up to the front element. This seems impressive, but it's nearly impossible to get any light on your subject this close.
Maximum Reproduction Ratio specifications top
1:4.3 (0.23×) in auto focus at 18mm.
1: 2.0 (0.5×) in manual focus at 10mm. Warning: this requires your subject be at about as close as the front element, so good luck trying to keep any light on your subject.
Reproduction Ratio Scale specifications top
No.
Not on lens, but may be displayed in-camera.
Optical Image Stabilizer specifications top
Rated 4 stops improvement.
Caps specifications top
Canon E-49 49mm Front Cap (p/n 0576C001), included.
Rear Lens Dust Cap RF (p/n 2962C001), included.
Hood specifications top
Optional EW-53B Hood.
Case specifications top
None, pop it in your pocket.
Size specifications top
2.72" ø maximum diameter × 1.77" extension from flange when collapsed.
69 mm ø maximum diameter × 44.9 mm extension from flange when collapsed.
Weight specifications top
5.080 oz. (144.0 g) actual measured weight.
Rated 5.3 oz. (150 g).
Quality specifications top
Made in Malaysia.
Announced specifications top
02 November 2023.
Promised for specifications top
December 2023.
Included specifications top
Canon E-49 49mm Front Cap (p/n 0576C001).
Rear Lens Dust Cap RF (p/n 2962C001).
Packaging specifications top
Canon's Model Numbers specifications top
Product code: 6262C002 (6262C001 in Japan).
Model number: RF-S10-18ISSTM.
JAN code: 4549292-222012.
Price, U. S. A. specifications top
19 February 2024
$329 at B&H, at Adorama, at Amazon and at Crutchfield
About $235 used at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.
55,000 yen catalog price in Japan.
02 November 2023
$329 at B&H, at Adorama and at Crutchfield.
55,000 yen catalog price in Japan.
Canon RF-S 10-18mm IS STM. bigger.
Optional Accessories top
Sample Images Intro New Good Bad Missing
Compatibility & Format Specs Accessories
Performance User's Guide Recommendations
I got my RF-S 10-18mm at B&H. I'd also get it at Adorama, at Amazon or at Crutchfield, or used at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.
Performance top
Sample Images Intro New Good Bad Missing
Compatibility & Format Specs Accessories
Performance User's Guide Recommendations
Overall Autofocus Manual Focus Breathing
Distance Recording Bokeh Distortion Ergonomics
Falloff Filters Flare & Ghosts Lens Corrections
Macro Maximum & Minimum Apertures Mechanics
Sharpness Stabilization Sunstars Weather Sealing
I got my RF-S 10-18mm at B&H. I'd also get it at Adorama, at Amazon or at Crutchfield, or used at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.
Overall performance top
This tiny plastic lens performs brilliantly. Laugh all you want, but the results speak for themselves. This lens is a secret for creativity: I can carry it all day and not even realize it. The more relaxed I am from not having to carry my bulky old DSLR lenses, the more receptive and observant I am to what's around me, and that results in seeing and creating much better images.
Autofocus performance top
Autofocus is reasonably fast, as it always is with ultrawide lenses.
There is one gotcha due to its enormous macro focussing range. If I'm at the macro end of the focus range, sometimes my EOS R10 won't autofocus on something at a distance unless I help bring it into better focus with the manual focus ring first. This usually only happens if I've pulled the focus very close manually.
Manual Focus performance top
Unlike most Canon RF lenses, the manual focus ring is always active. Even in SERVO (continuous) AF mode, just move the ring for instant override and focus lock.
Manual focusing is entirely electronic; the manual focus ring isn't connected to anything other than a digital encoder.
There is no AF/MF switch; you have to set this in a menu or on your camera if it has an AF/MF switch.
This all works great on my EOS R10; if it's not working for you, see How to Get Manual-Focus Override.
Focus Breathing performance top
Focus breathing is the image changing size as focused in and out. It's important to cinematographers that the image not breathe because it looks funny if the image changes size as focus gets pulled back and forth between actors. If the lens does this, the image "breathes" by growing and contracting slightly as the dialog goes back and forth.
For any reasonable dramatic cinematographic use there is no breathing, which is excellent.
If you go to extremes and stop all the way down and rack the focus throughout its entire range from ultramacro to infinity to look for breathing, at 10mm you'll see no breathing in the center while the corners pull-in a bit at close focus. At 14mm the center grows a bit as pulled towards ultramacro. At 18mm most of the image grows slightly as pulled-in to ultramacro.
At normal apertures the defocus is greater than an breathing and covers it up, and if you stop down to see any breathing then everything is pretty much in focus anyway, which is why I say you're never going to see it in actual use.
Focus Distance Recording performance top
The focused distance is recorded in the EXIF data.
I read this in the lower left of my screen in Photoshop's lens correction filter.
Bokeh performance top
Bokeh, the feel, character or quality of out-of-focus areas as opposed to how far out of focus they are, is reasonable, but with a lens this wide and this slow there is never anything particularly out of focus so it doesn't matter.
Here are photos from headshot distance wide-open. I'm focused on the DAVIS logo. Click either for the © camera-original JPG file:
Made-in-U. S. A. Davis 6250 weather station, 1:26 PM, 13 February 2024. Canon EOS R10 at 1/320 at Auto ISO 100, +0.7 stops exposure compensation (LV 12.8), Radiant Photo software. bigger or camera-original © file.
Made-in-U. S. A. Davis 6250 weather station, 1:26 PM, 13 February 2024. Canon EOS R10 at 1/125 at Auto ISO 100, +0.7 stops exposure compensation (LV 12.4), Radiant Photo software. bigger or camera-original © file.
As always, if you want to throw the background as far out of focus as possible, shoot at f/6.3 at 18mm and get as close as possible.
Distortion performance top
There is no visible geometric distortion (curving of straight lines) when shot on Canon's cameras, which always correct for it. Of course ultrawide lenses exaggerate near-far relationships, make people look really weird and unless you keep everything perfectly aligned, parallel lines will diverge — but that's why we use ultrawides.
If you shoot raw data rather than JPG images, whatever software you use to create visible images from raw data may or may not correct the distortion as is done in-camera as JPGs. You're on your own there; I don't bother with raw data.
For more critical scientific use, use these corrections in Photoshop's lens correction filter to JPG images. No, I have no idea why my EOS R10 doesn't correct the distortion completely.
These aren't facts or specifications, they are the results of my research that requires hours of photography and calculations on the resulting data.
On APS-C |
Correction factor at 30' (10m) |
Correction factor at Infinity |
10mm |
+1.00 | +0.65 |
12mm |
+1.00 | +0.60 |
14mm |
+0.55 | +0.30 |
16mm |
+0.35 | +0.50 |
18mm |
+0.50 | +0.30 |
© 2024 KenRockwell.com. All rights reserved.
Ergonomics performance top
Ergonomics are great. It's a tiny lens with great-feeling zoom and focus rings.
Turn the zoom ring to the dot for the collapsed position. it's perfect: there's no lock, just perfect detents:
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Collapsed. bigger. |
At 10mm. bigger. |
At 18mm. bigger. |
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Collapsed. bigger. |
At 10mm. bigger. |
At 18mm. bigger. |
There is always-responsive instant manual-focus override, just turn the front ring.
This is good, but also can confuse you if you've accidently knocked the ring and it's locked a manual focus while you're expecting autofocus. No worries, just take your finger off the shutter and half-press it again and AF takes over.
There is no AF/MF switch; you have to set this in a menu or on your camera if it has an AF/MF switch.
There's no Stabilizer switch, you have to set this in a menu in your camera.
Falloff performance top
Falloff is invisible, with default correction ON.
If you shoot raw data rather than JPG images, whatever software you use to create visible images from raw data may or may not correct this as is done in-camera as JPGs. You're on your own there; I don't bother with raw data.
I've greatly exaggerated the falloff by shooting a gray field and placing these on a gray background; it will not look this bad in actual photos of real things and even here it's almost invisible:
Falloff on APS-C at infinity, correction at its default of ON.
© 2024 KenRockwell.com. All rights reserved. |
If you' go out of your way to turn Peripheral Illumination (Falloff) correction OFF and then go looking for it, then this is what you'll see — and even here it will only be visible wide-open at 10mm and gone at other settings for practical photography:
Falloff on APS-C at infinity, correction turned OFF.
© 2024 KenRockwell.com. All rights reserved. |
Filters, use with performance top
There's no need for thin filters. I can stack two standard 49mm filters with no vignetting at 10mm on APS-C, and more at longer settings.
You may need to be careful trying to stack thicker filters at 10mm; if it's a problem, just zoom a little longer.
Depth of field is so great that at smaller apertures you may see crud or fingerprints on your filter in your image; be careful.
Go ahead and use your standard rotating polarizer and grad filters.
Avoid polarizers with ultrawide lenses; the sky's natural polarization can appear as a dark band across the sky.
Flare & Ghosts performance top
There are nearly no ghosts or flare. Bravo!
See examples at Sunstars.
Lens Corrections performance top
Other cameras may vary as the years roll on, but my EOS R3, R5, R5C, R6 II, R6, R, R8, RP, R7, R10, R50 and R100 all have options to correct for falloff (Peripheral Illumination Correction), Distortion and a Digital Lens Optimizer which corrects for a suite of other aberrations.
These are all ON by default.
This lens uses distortion correction as part of its design, so Distortion correction is always ON and the setting is grayed-out because it can't be turned off.
If you turn off the Digital Lens Optimizer, you are then offered à la carte ON/OFF options for Chromatic Aberration Correction and Diffraction Correction.
If you shoot raw data rather than JPG images, whatever software you use to create visible images from raw data may or may not correct these as is done in-camera as JPGs. You're on your own there; I don't bother with raw data.
Macro Performance performance top
Marco gets foolishly close, right up to the front element which makes it almost impossible to photograph anything that isn't lit from behind. It's sharp, too!
These images are brilliant. Even wide open they're super clear:
At 10mm Wide-Open at f/4.5, Autofocus
It focuses to within 2¼" (57mm) of the front of the lens, making it tough to light the subject, and thus why I shot this under overcast light:
Casio G-Shock Solar Atomic Watch at close-auto-focus distance at 10mm at f/4.5, 13 February 2024. Canon EOS R10 at 1/160 at Auto ISO 100, +0.7 stops exposure compensation (LV 11.8), as shot. bigger or camera-original © file.
1,200 × 900 pixel (5× magnification) crop from above. bigger or camera-original © file.
What may look soft is simply out-of-focus; there is no depth of field at macro distances with any lens.
If this 1,200 × 900 pixel crop is about 3" (7.5cm) wide on your screen, then the complete image printed at this same large magnification would be about 10 × 15" (25 × 38cm).
If this 1,200 × 900 pixel crop is about 6" (15cm) wide on your screen, then the complete image printed at this same extreme magnification would be about 20 × 30" (50 × 75cm).
If this 1,200 × 900 pixel crop is about 12" (30cm) wide on your screen, then the complete image printed at this same insanely high magnification would be about 40 × 60" (1 × 1.5 meters).
At 18mm Wide-Open at f/6.3, Auto Focus
It looks even closer, still focusing to within 2¼" (57mm) of the front of the lens, making it tough to light the subject, and thus why I shot this under overcast light:
Casio G-Shock Solar Atomic Watch at close-auto-focus distance at 18mm at f/6.3, 13 February 2024. Canon EOS R10 at 1/80 at Auto ISO 100, +0.7 stops exposure compensation (LV 11.8), as shot. bigger or camera-original © file.
1,200 × 900 pixel (5× magnification) crop from above. bigger or camera-original © file.
What may look soft is simply out-of-focus; there is no depth of field at macro distances with any lens.
If this 1,200 × 900 pixel crop is about 3" (7.5cm) wide on your screen, then the complete image printed at this same large magnification would be about 10 × 15" (25 × 38cm).
If this 1,200 × 900 pixel crop is about 6" (15cm) wide on your screen, then the complete image printed at this same extreme magnification would be about 20 × 30" (50 × 75cm).
If this 1,200 × 900 pixel crop is about 12" (30cm) wide on your screen, then the complete image printed at this same insanely high magnification would be about 40 × 60" (1 × 1.5 meters).
At 10mm Wide-Open at f/4.5, Manual Focus
With manual focus at 10mm it realty does focus right up to the front of the lens, so my watch is in the dark. This is why the luminous green hands are glowing green; they're in the dark:
Casio G-Shock Solar Atomic Watch at close-manual-focus distance at 10mm at f/4.5, 13 February 2024. Canon EOS R10 at 1/160 at Auto ISO 100, +0.7 stops exposure compensation (LV 11.8), Radiant Photo software to add light. bigger or camera-original © file.
The concentric circles are the reflection of the front of my lens in my watch crystal! The magenta rockers on either side are a reflection of the side-lit edges of my lens' front element.
1,200 × 900 pixel (5× magnification) crop from above. bigger or camera-original © file.
What may look soft is simply out-of-focus; there is no depth of field at macro distances with any lens.
If this 1,200 × 900 pixel crop is about 3" (7.5cm) wide on your screen, then the complete image printed at this same large magnification would be about 10 × 15" (25 × 38cm).
If this 1,200 × 900 pixel crop is about 6" (15cm) wide on your screen, then the complete image printed at this same extreme magnification would be about 20 × 30" (50 × 75cm).
If this 1,200 × 900 pixel crop is about 12" (30cm) wide on your screen, then the complete image printed at this same insanely high magnification would be about 40 × 60" (1 × 1.5 meters).
Maximum & Minimum Apertures performance top
Maximum Aperture |
Minimum Aperture |
|
| 10mm | f/4.5 |
f/22 |
| 12mm | f/5 |
f/25 |
| 14mm | f/5.6 |
f/29 |
| 16mm | f/6.3 |
f/32 |
| 18mm | f/6.3 |
f/32 |
Mechanical Quality performance top
Canon RF-S 10-18mm IS STM. bigger.
This is a well-made but all plastic lens, with glass glass and metal screws and electrical contacts.
Finish
Black plastic.
Optional EW-53B Hood
Plastic bayonet (not included).
Front Bumper
None.
Filter Threads
Plastic.
Hood Bayonet Mount
Plastic.
Front Barrel Exterior
Plastic.
Zoom Ring
Plastic.
Focus Ring
Hard plastic.
Rear Barrel Exterior
Plastic.
Identity
Molded in almost invisible black-on-black inside the filter ring around the front element.
"10-18" printed on top of barrel.
Internals
Seem like all plastic.
Dust Gasket at Mount
No.
Mount
Plastic.
Markings
Paint.
Serial Number
Canon RF-S 10-18mm IS STM. bigger.
Laser engraved in dark brown-on-black on bottom of barrel.
Date Code
None found.
Noises When Shaken
Mild clicking and clunking.
Made in
Made in Malaysia, molded in black-on-black on rear of lens.
Sharpness performance top
Lens sharpness has nothing to do with picture sharpness; every lens made in the past 100 years is more than sharp enough to make super-sharp pictures if you know what you're doing. The only limitation to picture sharpness is your skill as a photographer. It's the least talented who spend the most time worrying about lens sharpness and blame crummy pictures on their equipment rather than themselves. Skilled photographers make great images with whatever camera is in their hands; I've made some of my best images of all time with an irreparably broken camera! Most pixels are thrown away before you see them, but camera makers don't want you to know that.
If you're not getting ultra-sharp pictures with this, be sure not to shoot at f/11 or smaller where all lenses are softer due to diffraction, always shoot at ISO 100 or below because cameras become softer at ISO 200 and above, avoid shooting across long distances over land which can lead to atmospheric heat shimmer, be sure everything is in perfect focus, set your camera's sharpening as you want it (I set mine to the maximum) and be sure nothing is moving, either camera or subject. If you want to ensure a soft image with any lens, shoot at f/16 or smaller at ISO 1,600 or above at default sharpening in daylight of subjects at differing distances in the same image.
People worry waaaaay too much about lens sharpness. It's not 1968 anymore when lenses often weren't that sharp and there could be significant differences among them; ever since about 2010 all new lenses are all pretty much equally fantastic.
This lens is super sharp corner-to corner at every aperture, limited of course by diffraction at the smallest apertures. Avoid f/22 and smaller unless you really need them for extreme depth of field because diffraction takes its toll. See also How to Calculate the Sharpest Aperture.
Canon RF-S 10-18mm IS STM MTF wide-open at 10 cyc/mm (black) and 30 cyc/mm (blue). Sagittal (solid) and meridional (dashed).
Image Stabilization (IS) performance top
Optical Image Stabilization (OIS, IS or VR (Vibration Reduction)) works great. Even on my unstabilized EOS R10 I can get sharp shots hand held at a half second and probably longer.
Hand tremor is a random occurrence, so at marginal speeds some frames will be perfectly sharp while others will be in various stages of blur — all at the same shutter speed. Therefore if you're pushing it, make several exposures and pick the sharpest one.
Sunstars performance top
With a 7-blade rounded diaphragm, I get mild 14-point sunstars on brilliant points of light at most apertures.
Oddly at the smallest apertures it becomes a bigger, more complex and uncontrolled star.
Likewise ignore the crazy rainbow dots at small apertures; these are sensor artifacts caused by taking a picture directly of the sun and exposing for the dark underside of a huge palm tree, and using that same palm tree to hide the sky to accentuate the stars.
Click any to enlarge:
Click any to enlarge.
Weather Sealing performance top
This lens claims no weather sealing. Neither does any LEICA M lens, nor did anything other than dedicated underwater cameras claim this up until a few years ago. "Weather sealing" is mostly a marketing feature to get you to pay more for more expensive lenses.
If it really starts to rain I work under an umbrella. If a few drops of rain hit my lens, no big deal: I just wipe it off.
People have worried way too much about this ever since camera companies started FUD campaigns to make us think that our gear will melt unless it has weather sealing. How do you think we shot in the rain for the first 190 years of photography?
User's Guide top
Sample Images Intro New Good Bad Missing
Compatibility & Format Specs Accessories
Performance User's Guide Recommendations
I got my RF-S 10-18mm at B&H. I'd also get it at Adorama, at Amazon or at Crutchfield, or used at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.
Shooting
Be sure to rotate the zoom ring away from the collapsed (dot) position, otherwise you won't be able to focus or shoot.
Focussing
There is no AF/MF switch; you have to set this in a menu or on your camera if it has an AF/MF switch near the lens mount.
Unlike most Canon RF lenses, the manual focus ring is always active. Even in SERVO (continuous) AF mode, just move the ring for instant override and focus lock. This all works great on my EOS R10; if it's not working for you, see How to Get Manual-Focus Override.
There is one gotcha due to its enormous macro focussing range. If I'm at the macro end of the focus range, sometimes my EOS R10 won't autofocus on something at a distance unless I help bring it into better focus with the manual focus ring first. This usually only happens if I've pulled the focus very close manually, and it's easy to do since the focus ring is always active.
This is good, but also can confuse you if you've accidently knocked the ring and it's locked a manual focus while you're expecting autofocus. No worries, just take your finger off the shutter and half-press it again and AF takes over.
Optical Stabilizer
There's no Stabilizer switch, you have to set this in a menu in your camera.
AF - MF Switch user's guide top
There's no AF/MF switch; you have to set this in a menu if there's no switch on your camera (look near the lens mount).
I add this menu option to my My Menu so I can get to it easily if I don't have an AF/MF switch on my camera.
Your camera may vary (and cameras with an AF/MF switch won't have this option). Here's where to find it in some models:
EOS R5
Select manual focus at MENU > AF 1 > Focus mode > MF.
In manual focus you have options of 6× or 15× magnifiers. I assign this to my SET button at MENU > CUSTOM 3 > Customize buttons > SET > Magnify. Now just tap SET and it toggles among 1×, 6× and 15×.
Select the in-finder focus-distance scale at MENU > CAMERA 7 > Shooting info. disp. > Focus distance disp.
Focus peaking is enabled and set at MENU > AF 2 > MF peaking settings.
EOS R6
Select manual focus at MENU > AF 2 > Focus mode > MF.
In manual focus you have options of 5× or 10× magnifiers. I assign this to my SET button at MENU > CUSTOM 3 > Customize buttons > SET > Magnify. Now just tap SET and it toggles among 1×, 5× and 10×.
Select the in-finder focus-distance scale at MENU > CAMERA 7 > Shooting info. disp. > Focus distance disp.
Focus peaking is enabled and set at MENU > AF 2 > MF peaking settings.
EOS RP
Select manual focus at MENU > CAMERA page 7 > Focus Mode > MF.
Manual-Focus Override user's guide top
If you're not getting always-active manual-focus override, find the "Lens electronic AF" or "Electronic full-time MF" option in your AF menu (AF 6 in R6 II, R7, R8 and R10, AF 4 in EOS R5 and EOS R6 or CAMERA 8 in EOS RP), and set it to either "One‑Shot‑> enabled," "One‑Shot‑> enabled (magnify)" or ON.
Recommendations top
Sample Images Intro New Good Bad Missing
Compatibility & Format Specs Accessories
Performance User's Guide Recommendations
I got my RF-S 10-18mm at B&H. I'd also get it at Adorama, at Amazon or at Crutchfield, or used at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.
GET ONE! This lens is awesome, and nearly free. It's tiny, sharp, stabilized and I can't say enough good about it.
This is for APS-C cameras; on full frame ideally use the RF 15-30mm IS STM instead.
I use a clear (UV) protective filter instead of a cap (exactly like an iPhone) so I'm always ready to shoot instantly. I only use a cap when I throw this in a bag with other gear without padding — which is never. The UV filter never gets in the way, and never gets lost, either.
The very best protective filter is the Multicoated Hoya HD3 49mm which uses hardened glass and repels dirt and fingerprints.
The LEICA faithful use the LEICA 13 035 49mm UVa II filter. Fuji sells a PRF-49S filter if you prefer.
For less money, Canon makes a great 49mm UV filter, and the multicoated B＋W 010, the Hoya NXT Plus multicoated and the basic multicoated Hoya filters are all optically superb, while the Hoya HD3 is the toughest and therefore the best.
Filters last a lifetime, so you may as well get the best. The Hoya HD3 stays cleaner than the others since it repels oil and dirt.
All these filters are just as sharp and take the same pictures, the difference is how much abuse they'll take and stay clean and stay in one piece. Since filters last a lifetime or more, there's no reason not to buy the best as it will last you for the next 40 years. Filters aren't throwaways like digital cameras which we replace every few years, like it or not. I'm still using filters I bought back in the 1970s!
I got my RF-S 10-18mm at B&H. I'd also get it at Adorama, at Amazon or at Crutchfield, or used at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.
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Ken.
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