THE CONTENDERS
The human eyes are wonderful things and, working in tandem, give a huge field of view. Put one of them to a camera viewfinder, however, and you can feel short-changed. The viewing angle of most lenses gives you a much more blinkered outlook, insufficient for shooting a rolling landscape vista, expansive cityscape or an architectural interior.
Thankfully, you can use the right tool for the job by mounting an ultra-wide-angle prime or zoom lens. There are plenty to choose from, including optics for Canon APS-C and full-frame cameras, in EOS DSLR, EOS M and EOS R system formats. ‘Faster’ ultra-wide lenses with an aperture rating of f/2.8 or wider that pull in more light are also ideal for astrophotography. Not just for cramming more into the frame, ultra-wide lenses also play to your creativity. Get in close to the main subject in a scene and you can accentuate the perspective between the foreground and background, making an object stand out from a diminishing backdrop.
For this Super Test, we’ve focused on rectilinear wide-angle lenses but we’ll also give a passing nod to Canon’s curvilinear (fisheye) zoom. Read on and buy the best for your EOS camera. We have something for every type, style and budget so take your pick.
CANON EF-S 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 IS STM £249/$299
Compact, lightweight and affordable, it’s the obvious choice for APS-C format Canon EOS DSLRs
With Sigma and Tamron ultra-wide lenses discontinued, this own-brand Canon lens is the obvious choice for APS-C format DSLRs, and it’s also a good fit for APS-C M and R system cameras, via Canon’s respective mount adapters. That said, there are also a pair of good-quality Tokina options.
The Canon lens is noticeably compact for an ultra-wide zoom, weighing just 240g but it packs in some useful features, including a 4-stop optical image stabilizer. Autofocus is based on a stepping motor that gives quick performance for stills and smooth, near-silent transitions for movies. Manual override and fully manual focusing are via an electronically coupled focus ring.
Build quality feels pretty good for such a lightweight lens although part of the weightsaving is due to the mounting plate being made from plastic rather than metal. Even so, it shouldlens hood is sold separately for £25/$25 but is worth having.
