I purchased this lens to go with my Canon T4i as I wanted the best possible video performance and the flexibility of zoom lens. I had considered the 40mm STM lens but for the $ difference this lens is a much better value.

Full Time Manual Focus; Lightweight; Sharper Than Previous; Virtually Soundless Focus

Looks cheap

does what it says

i have had two of these die on me . its a pity you have to give a star rating as these are junk, I cant find any one to fix them so I buy new ones and they break. I cant tell if that just makes me stupid. maybe its great marketing from cannon

The Canon EF-M 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 IS STM ($299.99 direct) is the standard zoom lens for the EOS M compact interchangeable lens camera . You can buy the EOS M bundled with it or the EF-M 22mm f/2 STM , so buying it separately to supplement the prime lens is not out of the question.

Sharp; Optically stabilized; 3x zoom range; Well built

Small aperture; Noticeable distortion; Electronic manual focus; Hood not included

Gary Wolstenholme reviews Canon's latest EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM kit lens.

Good sharpness throughout the zoom range; Lightweight; Fast focusing; Effective stabiliser; Close focusing

High CA levels; Plastic lens mount; A touch expensive when bought on its own

The Canon EF-M 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 IS STM ($299.99 direct)($74.91 at Amazon) is the standard zoom lens for the EOS M( at Amazon) compact interchangeable lens camera. You can buy the EOS M bundled with it or the EF-M 22mm f/2 STM($249.00 at Amazon), so buying it separately to supplement the prime lens is not out of the question. It features a 3x zoom ratio that covers a 29-88mm (35mm equivalent) field of view. The lens has an all-metal design, so it feels impressively sturdy. The lens is bigger than its 22mm prime counterpart, adding quite a bit of depth to the svelte EOS M. It measures 2.4 by 2.4 inches (HD), weighs 7.4 ounces, and has a standard 52mm filter thread. The lens can focus as close as 9.8 inches through its zoom range. Despite a narrow f/3.5-5.6 aperture range—it's f/3.5 at 18mm, but narrows to f/5.6 at 55mm—you can still create a good amount of background blur when working close to your subject. There is a manual focus ring, but it utilizes an electronic focus design. M...

The Canon EF-M 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 IS STM is sharper and better made than many 18-55mm lenses, but shows noticeable distortion at wider angles.

Sharp; Optically stabilized; 3x zoom range; Well built

Small aperture; Noticeable distortion; Electronic manual focus; Hood not included

Every now and then, it is time for a new "kit" lens in the Canon lens lineup. Normally this is nothing to get overly excited about since most of the "upgrades" are just on the cosmetical side.

This is the standard kit lens you can get with the camera, it is plastic which makes it feel cheap, and the zoom is not great for video, tends to move in jerks, but the optics are surprisingly good quality, and have had good reviews elsewhere.

Great Picture Quality; Lightweight

Flimsy Construction

The more I use this lens the better it gets. I bought the M3 body with this being the kit lens. At first I set this lens aside and used EF lense with converters, thinking the kit lens would be inferior. I started attaching the EF-M on hikes and bicycle rides to reduce weight.

Canon's new EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM lens is offered as a cheaper alternative to the EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM lens which was developed to match the EOS 650D (and which we reviewed in July 2012) .