The Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM lens is an ultra wide-angle lens compatible with Canon APS-sized sensor DSLRs, like the Rebel XTi and 40D. The lens is equivalent to a 16-35mm zoom on a 35mm format camera. The consensus among reviewers is that it offers excellent performance and optics. Three aspherical lens elements, plus a Super-UD element, assure image quality. It also has a ring-type USM, which means fast and silent AF along with full-time manual focus.
Reviews
The numbers tell a positive story, but more importantly, this lens is capable of producing some very fine results in terms of prints. I wouldn’t hesitate to use the Canon 10-22mm for any professional application.
The Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM Lens’s focus speed is fast and the focus sound is very quiet. We can thank Ring USM (and a short infinity focus distance) for these features.
In a recent meeting with Canon, it was brought to my attention that the 10-22 EF-S actually uses all L-series glass. Canon does not want to give the L moniker to any lens that isn’t full-frame, so the 10-22 is labelled an EF series lens, but optically, Canon considers it L-quality.
The Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM delivered a very sound performance with a combination of very decent build quality and very good if not impressive optical results. If anything vignetting at wide-open aperture could be better. The center performance is excellent throughout the range with generally good borders.
The ultra-wide group to which this lens belongs has gone a long way towards overcoming the biggest drawback of cropped sensor dSLR’s, that of lost angle of view at the wide end. Being newly designed, it has addressed all of the other problems that have been thrown up by digital sensors and optically, if they had stopped at 20mm there would be very little to pick up on.
This lens is very wide and I find it enjoyable to use. On the other hand, because it is so wide it requires a certain amount of self discipline to achieve good results. I found the best way to use it is to shoot at F8. Because it is not a constant F-stop, I find it better to stay away from wide open settings.
In practice the Canon EF-S 10-22mm performs very well, especially considering its extreme coverage. In terms of resolution it matched or out-performed the EF-S 17-85mm and EF-S 18-55mm lenses, and was only just beaten by the premium EF-S 17-55mm model. Corner sharpness was also good with softness only visible when zoomed-out with larger apertures.
Photography Review User Reviews
Image quality and the near fisheye view at 10mm blew me away. I particularly like the way it distorts the image at 10mm focal length. You can stand very near to the objects and would still be able to capture the whole thing.
The Canon EF-S 10-22/3.5-4.5 is a very good lens. There is a little corner softness wide open at 10mm, but overall the image quality is excellent. Those who claim that this lens shows “L” quality performance may not be wrong.
Where to Buy
First off, consider going to your local camera store (and I don’t necessarily mean Wolf Camera at the mall). By going to your local camera store, you’re supporting your community and you just might build a lasting relationship with people you can rely on when you need some help or answers. If you’re buying online, I recommend sticking with Amazon, B&H Photo or Adorama. These three vendors are reliable, trustworthy and generally have the best (legitimate) prices. Additionally, purchasing your gear through these links helps support this site.
[tags]canon, ef-s, 10-22mm, lens, review[/tags]