Canon EF 22-55mm f/4-5.6 USM Reviews

This lens is perfect as a standard lens.
Its not as sharp as a prime or high end
L series, but it has a great range and can enlarge fine up to 8x10.
Very compact, great for everyday family pics.

I originally picked this lens up brand new for Film use as an ultrawide zoom at a clearance sale. Stopped down on a tripod or at a high shutter speed handheld it was very usable for big prints - ie: 8x10-16x20's. On my 20D dSLR it's not nearly as fun as it was on a film camera, but acceptable for snapshot use. It's definitely not equal to a prime lens or 'L' zooms on the contrast and distortion fronts and the build quality is pretty much equal to it's slim price. I would recommend it if the price is right and you understand the compromises inherent in a 'kit' lens such as this is. Just to Add, I shot decent 16x24's of 'idiots' rappelling down a 40 story building as part of a charity fund raiser this weekend. It was on a tripod and at 1/500th of a second and needed moderate photoshop UnSharpMask-ing, but it did work. I composited the climbers into one large 'wide' shot of the building showing their whole descent in one image. Richard