Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM SLR Lens for EOS Digital SLRs

The ultra wide zoom has been a mainstay of pros, especially photojournalists, since the early 1990s. Sweeping landscapes, operation in tight quarters and ease of hand holding are hallmarks of this range. The EF-s 10-22 3.5-4.5 USM is the first lens to bring this range to APS-C (1.6X crop) cameras like the 7D, 60D, 70D and Rebel.CONSTRUCTION: My initial impression was it's a little plasticy and zoom and focus rings are slightly coarse and stiff. After a year, it loosened up nicely but is still a notch below the smoothness of my EF-s 15-85 3.5-5.6 IS USM. However, it's light and petite: easy to slip in a coat pocket and ideal for travel or hiking. The metal mount and polycarbonate barrel make it durable yet lightweight. The front element moves slightly during operation so a UV filter is needed to seal the front from dust.AUTO FOCUS: Ring-type USM drives an internal lens group and, thus, AF blazes and is silent to human ears. The front element doesn't rotate during focus and zoom operations. It has FTM, allowing manual focus without switching out of AF mode. This AF design is optimized for stills and not ideal for video: the built-in mics on my 60D and 70D picked up a high pitched stutter from the motor and contrast focus is jerky during video recording. The workaround is to use an external mic and/or focus manually. If video is your main thing, buy the Canon EF-S 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 IS STM instead as the STM drive is stepless and silent to the camera mic.OPTICAL PERFORMANCE: Basically, this lens features optical quality of an L series wide zoom in a prosumer barrel. Wide open, this zoom is sharp and contrasty in the middle of the frame with slight softening towards edges. The wide side is the sharpest with slight degradation as you zoom towards 22mm. Sharpness across the frame improves as you stop down. By F8 it is pin sharp from edge to edge. I'm going for increased depth of field for landscapes and cityscapes, so I leave this lens at F8 most of the time. I only shoot wide open for occasional low light snaps.Distortion is well corrected. There is a wee bit of barreling at the wide end and slight pincushion ate the long end. But less distortion than my EF-s 15-85 3.5-5.6 IS USM and a little better than the 17-40 4L USM. Like any wide angle optic, you need to compose carefully to avoid perspective distortion, e.g., noses appearing too large or buildings falling over.Chromatic aberration is a reality with zooms and this one is not exempt, with magenta fringing along high contrast edges. e.g., tree branches against a bright sky. However, it is mild and easy to remove in DPP, LR or Aperture. In normal light you will never notice magenta fringing.Flare is well controlled for a zoom: no problems with sunsets or streetlights. Nevertheless, a lens hood is recommended for protection and to shade the front element from glare. Speaking of hoods...HOOD NOT INCLUDED: The recommended EW-83E hood is bulky and (looks like a dish) and costs $32. Worse of all, it's so shallow it offers little protection. I have an EW-83H that came with an EF 24-105 4L IS USM. The bayonet mount is the same size as the EW-83E but the hood is longer and narrower, offering increased protection. I thought the longer length might vignette but, amazingly, it doesn't vignette at any focal length, has better protection from glare and less bulk than the EW-83E. If you're going to spend money on an expensive hood for the 10-22 3.5-4.5, get the EW-83H instead of the EW-83E. If you're on tight budget, check out the Vello EW-83H clone/knockoff.LAST BLURB: This zoom is a specially lens and a bit wide for casual use. After all, 10mm covers 107 degrees! Nevertheless, I reach for this lens to shoot cityscapes, landscapes or in tight quarters. It has ideal coverage for spacious cathedrals or mammoth train stations. If you need an ultra wide zoom on APS-C, this is among the best in terms of image quality: sharp, fast to focus and easy on the shoulder.

This is one terrific lens! It solves the problem of wide-angle coverage in the 1.6 FOVCF very nicely. As others have pointed out, the mechanical build and optical quality (with 3 Aspherical elements and 1 Super-UD) probably deserve an "L" stamp and a red ring. This lens appears to be of almost identical build, quality and size as the EF 17-40mm f/4.0 L USM. Even uses the same 77mm filter size as most of the L's. Overall sharpness is excellent, with maybe a little softness towards the corners at 10mm, but I've seen comparisons with other ultra-wide zooms like the Sigma and the Canon blows them away! CA is well controlled too. There is slight Barrel and Pincushion distortions present at the low and high ends, but less than would be expected for a lens this wide. All in all this is one of the best wide-angle zooms available.The major criticism of this lens usually comes down to; "well, how long will Canon continue to make 1.6 FOVCF cameras?" or "Someday I might upgrade to a Full Frame camera, then what will I do with this lens?" I doubt very seriously that Canon will do away with the APS-C cameras any time soon. My reasoning is that:1. Canon just came out with the Full Frame 5D at the $3000 price point. Introducing a FF camera to replace the 20D at $1500 would kill the 5D after only a few months.2. Having the EF-S lens line already established almost guarantees keeping the 1.6 format - mostly because of this lens. To be able to use the EF-S 10-22mm, a chip can't really go any bigger than 1.6 since this seems to be the limit of the useable coverage. Using a 1.5 or 1.4 sensor for example would probably start to introduce significant fall-off at the corners of the larger chip.As I am writing this, the PMA conference is only four days away. My prediction is that Canon will announce a replacement for the 20D that will, in essence be a 1.6 FOVCF version of the 5D. They will probably increase the (already excellent) density of the 20D's CMOS by shrinking pixel size down to around 5 micron yielding something around the 10 mega-pixel range to compete with the Nikon D200. Maybe they will call the camera the 50D after the 5D since they can't really use the name 30D because D30 was already used.In any case, my point is that the 1.6 APS-C format will likely be around for some time to come, until the point where the FF price point drops enough to warrant discontinuing the xxD line. Even then, when that happens, doesn't mean you'll throw your 20D in the trash! You'll still want to keep using it and/or sell it, and having this lens will significantly increase its usefulness or resale value.Now, having said all that, this is the only EF-S lens I plan on buying. From the reviews I've read, the other EF-S lenses are of significantly lesser quality, and all of your other lens needs can be met with standard EF lenses anyway, APS-C or otherwise. Plus you get the option to buy L glass.So, bottom line is buying this particular EF-S lens for a 20D or XT is a no-brainer. It's the best solution for wide angle in this format. Hesitating to buy it because "I might get a FF camera someday" is also nonsensical. What I might do in the future is just that, for the future. Not buying a mid-priced car today because "someday" I might buy a Ferrari doesn't satisfy my use and enjoyment of the car today!

This is my favorite lens I use for my Canon EOS R10. I have to use the EFS-EOS Mount adapter for my camera with it which not a problem at all. If you look at my pictures you can see the difference from how much of the room the lens picks up vs my phone camera. Even in portrait it captures more of the room. It feels really nice, looks really nice and it has a big ol lens and the auto focus makes nice mechanical noises and the zoom is pretty decent too. I really like it and the price is pretty good for what it is.

I don't have too much to add to what has been said by others already, but I'll highlight a few points:- Yep, it is a pretty expensive lens. Should be an "L" but canon refuses to put the L label on EF-S lenses. None the less, build quality is excellent and the optics are amazing.- Remember, it is *extreme* wide angle, so when people say "ultra-sharp" they mean for an ultra wide. At 10mm f/3.5 the corners are going to be a bit soft, but the center is going to be razor sharp and that is truely brilliant performance for such a wide angle.- The flare performance of this lens is amazing, it rejects flare like nothing I've seen before. Full sun in frame produces very modest flare. It performs much better than Sigma's offering in this respect.- This lens is good enough that it cured my full-frame dreams and desires - at least for now :). Always wanted a 5D for my 17-40 but having seen shots from the 17-40 on a 5D and this 10-22 on cropped sensors I've got to say I don't feel I'm missing too much in the ultra-wide department now.In summary, I felt a bit annoyed paying the price when I bought it, but having taken it on a trip and used it extensively I have no regrets now.