Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens - Press Release

EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens

Developed in response to consumer demand for a high-quality yet affordable optically image stabilized lens, the Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS standard zoom lens adds a phenomenally flexible lens to the EOS 40D SLR shooter's imaging arsenal. While it features the wide-angle to mid-range zoom flexibility of its non-IS predecessor, this new EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS lens offers the significant advantage of a true lens-shift image stabilization system that yields up to a full four stops of image-shake correction.

The higher performance provided by Canon's lens shift IS system (compared with the in-camera sensor shift type offered in some competitive SLRs) includes the ability to optimize the lens performance for specific shooting situations such as low-light, long-zoom or movement while shooting (or virtually any combination of the three). What's more, the shooter can see the image stabilization effect in the viewfinder. As the image already appears steady, more accurate framing and composition is possible, the AF point can be placed more precisely, and the photographer can concentrate on the optimal shot more comfortably.

Compact and lightweight, the optional EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS zoom lens is manufactured by Canon specifically for the EOS 40D SLR and any other EOS SLR that takes EF-S lenses including the EOS 30D, EOS 20D, EOS 20Da, EOS Digital Rebel XTi, EOS Digital Rebel XT and the original EOS Digital Rebel camera. An ideal complement to the EOS 40D SLR, the EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS lens is scheduled to be in stores in October at an estimated selling price of $199.99.i

The Canon EOS 40D Digital SLR is scheduled for early September delivery and will be sold in a body-only configuration at an estimated selling price of $1,299.00i. It will additionally be offered in a kit version with Canon's EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM zoom lens at an estimated selling price of $1,499.00i.

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Specifications and availability are subject to change without notice.
1 As of August 20, 2007
i Pricing subject to change at any time. Actual prices are determined by individual dealers and may vary.
† IFI Patent Intelligence Press Release, January 2007

This is an interesting IS (good for 4 stops) lens - light weight and inexpensive at $199. Does anyone know if there are any sample images posted anywhere?

Thanks.
Liz

I just noticed and think it's interesting that Canon specifies how their IS system differs from in-camera, sensor-based image stabilization systems. For the price, I'd guess the image quality compares to the non-IS 18-55 kit lens. It would be interesting if this became Canon's normal kit lens, though. That would be an exciting move on their part to compete with the Olympus, Pentax, and Sony DSLRs with built-in image stabilization.