The primary strengths of the Canon RF-S 18-45mm F4.5-6.3 IS STM Lens were revealed in the first sentence of this review.

The RF-S 18-45mm f/4.5-6.3 IS STM is a surprisingly good performer for a kit lens, and represents very good value for money. Its main weaknesses are its 2.5x zoom range and limited wide-angle coverage. Build quality is decent for a mostly plastic lens.

Overall, however, this is a very impressive lens given its 11x zoom range. The weaknesses noted above should not be given undue weight as there is no denying the fact that this is a versatile and capable lens that has the potential to keep APS-C users happy for many years to come.

Overall this lens offers a good quality compromise for those looking for a convenient alternative to carrying multiple lenses. Sharpness levels hold up well for a lens of this type and the four-stop image stabiliser greatly increases the usability of this lens making it a perfect travel companion.

The mere comparison of the lists of pros and cons shows that our summary can’t be positive. Good and even but not splendid work in the frame centre is simply not enough a reason for a lens to be only praised.

average image quality on the edge of the frame,, chromatic aberration corrected weakly,, significant distortion,, huge vignetting,, distinct astigmatism at the shortest focal length,, modest accessory kit.

The EF-S 18-200mm F3.5-5.6 IS is a lens which many Canon users have been waiting for with great anticipation, as an ideal 'all-in-one' lens for travel and 'walkaround' use. In the flesh it behaves much as we'd expect from such an ambitious design, as an 11x zoom range will always necessitate some...

Huge 11x focal length range, ideal general purpose and travel lens, Excellent image stabilization system, consistently delivering three to four stops benefit, Good central sharpness at all focal lengths (but inconsistent corners), Attractive rendition of out-of-focus regions of the image, Improved...

Poor sharpness across much of the frame at 18mm and wider apertures, Pronounced barrel distortion at wideangle, and pincushion distortion around 50mm, High levels of chromatic aberration at either end of the zoom range

The Canon EF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS is is a versatile zoom lens and could well be your first kit lens upgrade

A popular all-in-one lens covering a massive 11x zoom range that costs around £410 and includes a silent ultrasonic focusing motor and image stabilisation.

To sum up, the Canon 18-200mm ƒ/3.5-5.6 IS offers slightly better performance than we're accustomed to seeing with vacation lenses, with image stabilization thrown into a very portable form factor.

Canon had a somewhat weird timing regarding the release of their EF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS. It is extremely difficult to design such a lens to start with and more so under low-cost requirements.