Beginner Lens Hood for Canon EF-S 18-55mm for/3.5-5.6

fisheyonadishey

fisheyonadishey

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Good morning,

I bought a Canon Eos 100d last year, with the stock 18-55mm iii and 70-300mm iii. Not overly impressed with the 18-55mm, but it'll have to do for now. I do quite a bit of low light/night time shooting, and seem to get quite a bit of flare on occasions. I've been thinking of buying a lens hood, but on this lens, the outer element, including the accessory screw thread, turn during focusing, as I found out when I borrowed a graduated ND filter! From what I've read, zoom lenses should have petal shaped hoods. Will this still work when the outer element turns? How will the hood turning with the lens effect the hoods performance?

Sorry if this is ridiculously noobie, but I'm struggling to find a definitive answer.

Many thanks...

Simon
 
The standard lens hoods for the Canon 10-22 is a petal shaped design and this is required because it is a super wide angle lens, the same applies for some other Canon lenses but generally they all use a dome shaped hood.
A quick google tells me that the official Canon hood for the 18-55 is also of the petal shape but looking on ebay, there seems to be after market hoods for both types available.
The hoods click into place and will not be affected by the outer ring turning and tbh, I don't think there would be much difference between the two with the 18-55 len.
Am I correct in saying that you have the non IS version of this lens?
I had the mk1 IS version with a 450D in 2008 and for what it was, it wasn't a bad little lens, however with the 1000D I am currently using, I have a 18-55 non IS and quite frankly, I think it is dire.
I'm currently debating what to do as at present I don't want to drop a ton of cash on lenses so I am torn between getting a cheap used 18-55 mk2 IS lens or perhaps something with a bit more reach like the 18-135 IS.
 
Hey, thanks for the reply...

Yeah, that's right, it's the none is version. My dad bought the 700d at the same time, and it was shipped with the mk2 is lens. This seems to be much better, faster focusing, quieter, can have manual focus in af mode, and the front element doesn't rotate. I'm not sure how much difference there is optically, neither of us are that good with them to be able to tell at the moment. I found the mk2 is on ebay for about £60, so was thinking of just buying one, but I'm loathed to buy another lens with exactly the same focal length.

So the lens hoods.....They must be a bayonet fitting behind the manual focus ring? In that case, I'll probably try a cheap one off ebay and see if it does what I want before splashing out on the canon one.

If both are available, which one would you go with?

Thanks again for the help....
 
STM stands for Stepper Motor and is a applied to a new range of Canon lenses which feature a new design of focus motors which, along with a new iris mechanism are designed to eliminate (auditory) noise during video recording.
I hear what you saying about buying another lens of the same focal length but as I said, the MK1 IS version I had with the 450D in 2008 was far superior to the non IS version I have with the 1000D so in theory, the MK2 should be even better.
I know that I am not going to get super sharp photos with these lenses but I am struggling to get decent shots with the non IS version and although I have been out of this hobby for a few years, most of it came flooded back to me quite quickly and without blowing my own trumpet, I know I can do far better with a basic short zoom IS lens.
I'm also looking at a couple of MK2 IS non STM versions on ebay as well but on here: http://www.camerapricebuster.co.uk Bristol cameras are doing them for £79 + postage.
The ones on ebay I have noticed that they state 'white boxes', this is not problem in itself as it means that they have been split from kits but it is possible that they are grey imports and I am not sure what Canon UK's policy is on warranty repairs on grey imported lenses.
Although I think the chances of them developing a fault is quite slim, having to send a lens back to supplier on ebay who then has to send it abroad for a repair could mean a lengthy wait in getting the lens returned.

Oh, I forgot to mention that the hoods clip into place on the end of the lens so they don't spin when focussing.
 
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fisheyonadishey said:
Oh yeah, my dad's is the mk 2 is STM, don't know if that's different to the mark 2 or not. Canons lens range seems unnecessarily complicated.
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It may seem daunting at first but it's not that hard, USM (Ultra Sonic Motor) is normally a feature on the more expensive EF-S lenses like the 10-22 and the 17-55 f2.8 IS lenses and also on most of the EF lenses as well.
EF-S means that they are designed for the crop sensor bodies and EF means that they are designed for the full frame bodies but these also fit and work very well on the EF-S bodies.
As for the apature rating and focal lengths, I'm sure you have already got to grip with these :D
 
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Hmm, the plot thickens, haha! So the only difference between the "Mk2 IS STM" and the "Mk2 IS" is the quiet focusing motor....I read about that but never made the connection. I've no plans to use the 100d for video, so I wouldn't be too worried about that. In that case, I'll probably keep an eye for the the none STM Mk2. Either that, or I'll swap mine out with the old mans, he's barely had it out of the box since he got it. Though if the Mk1 one is better than the Mk3 , I wonder if the same goes for Mk2.....?

Nice one on the heads up about the grey imports on ebay too. If it was a significant saving on a lens under £100, I think I'd probably take a chance on one. If I were thinking of an L series, I wouldn't dare.

For now, seeing as how a new lens is on the cards, I'm going to hold off buying a lens hood, borrow the old mans lens for a while, and do some direct comparisons with the 2 of them. Do you think that both Mk2 lenses i.e the STM and none STM versions, will be the same optically? I only ask as I find it very interesting that you found the Mk1 so much better than the Mk3....

Thanks again for the help man, you wouldn't get this off the canon website!

Oh yeah, I'm pretty much there with focal length and aperture. In theory anyhow, if not in practice.
 
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If you shoot low light then the 17-55mm f2.8 is your holy grail. It's the best crop lens that exists and is superb for low light. Most of these shots were taken using it - http://landwomble.photography It'll cost you around 350 used though. They hold their value really well so it's kind of an investment.
 
I've also owned the Tamron 17-50 2.8 VC and while it is a very good and sharp lens, I got the impression the OP was on a tight budget hence not mentioning this or the Canon 17-55 f2.8 IS.
However, I've noticed that the new and used price on the Canon 17-55 f2.8 IS had dropped quite a lot and I will be planning on getting one at some point in the future.
 
protip with the 17-55mm - it's got a reputation as a dust hoover. However, it's also one of a very very small number of Canon zooms that can be readily cleaned internally yourself in 5 minutes. All the dust ends up behind the main primary element which can be removed without risk and cleaned. Might help someone negotiate a discount..!
 
fisheyonadishey said:
Do you think that both Mk2 lenses i.e the STM and none STM versions, will be the same optically? I only ask as I find it very interesting that you found the Mk1 so much better than the Mk3....
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I have no idea which version my lens is as it doesn't state it on the barrel, a friend of mine upgraded one of his bodies so I bought it along with the 1000D just that I could get back into photography.
I think it may be the lens supplied with his 1200D as he mentioned that there was a filter stuck on his other 18-55 Canon lens although he is into astrophotography and doesn't use these lenses much.
Either way, the IQ is quite dire imho so it will soon be replaced with a MK2 IS version for now.
I wouldn't know about the optics without googling around for a comparision but I know that even the MK1 IS version is better.
 
landwomble said:
protip with the 17-55mm - it's got a reputation as a dust hoover. However, it's also one of a very very small number of Canon zooms that can be readily cleaned internally yourself in 5 minutes. All the dust ends up behind the main primary element which can be removed without risk and cleaned. Might help someone negotiate a discount..!
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I remember another friend some years ago saying that it can be a dust magnet but I had a play with his and was very impressed with the IQ but I never got around to buying one back then as I as mainly focussed on getting a longer reach lens for wildlife and I had a 10-22 for landscapes.
I did toy with the idea but ended up with a 24-105L IS as I wanted a bit more reach than 55mm.
 
WelshNoob said:
I wouldn't bother. I'd go for a Tamron SP 17-50 2.8 to replace the kit lens.
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I'd love one, I've read very good things and seen some stunning images taken with it, but I'm on a tight budget just now. I'm going to have to settle for another, hopefully slightly better, kit lens just now. If it wasn't for the front element rotating, I'd just make do until I could afford a proper upgrade, but I want to start using a graduated ND filter.

I dunno guys maybe I'll just wait until I can afford the Tamron. I'll do some more reading and see what I come up with.

Many thanks again for the help.
 
Got mine for £90 2nd hand from eBay, sold the kits lens for £45. Massive improvement. Very little money.
 
It was good fortune that the seller hadn't put the fit in the advert so I guess it got missed by a lot of people searching and it's the non VC version which the Internet says is sharper.
 
fisheyonadishey said:
I've been looking on Ebay, I can't find one for that sort of money at the moment, they are all a bit more expensive, but not prohibitively so, and selling the other one makes it even more viable.
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They key to success on ebay is too look for things that have 0 bidds on them, people don't realise that it's far better to wait until an auction has nearly ended as all they acheive is to drive the price up.
In 2009 I wanted the Tamron 18-270 VC as I thought at the time it was the best all singing and dancing lens for me, I came across a bloke who had listed one at quite a low starting price so I added it as a watched item and decided to see how it went price wise.
To my surprised no one bid on it an towards the end of the auction I think I added a maximum of another £50 hoping I would get a bargain and to my surprise no one else bid on it and I got it for a bargain price.
I've been lucky like that on a few items but I guess it all depends how popular the item is but I have even come up trump on popular xbox 360 games.
 
WelshNoob said:
It was good fortune that the seller hadn't put the fit in the advert so I guess it got missed by a lot of people searching and it's the non VC version which the Internet says is sharper.
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Yep, listing errors are a good thing to look out for as well.
Thinking about I think the guy also forgot to mention the fit on the Tamron that I bought and I sent him a message asking what fit it was and luckily for me it was a Canon.
 
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Yeah, there are bargains to be had, without a doubt. I tend to miss out on a lot because I can't bid on things for 12 hours while I'm at work. Looks like I'd be able to get a good one for around £140 any time which is ok if they are as good as the reviews say.
 
Use auctionstealer or similar. Put your maximum bid in and it bids in the dying seconds of the auction for you. It's good to use even when it's possible to bid as it stops you getting bidding fever right at the end.
 
jbidwatcher. Leave it running and tell it to snipe about 6 seconds before the end of the auction. Set max price you're willing to pay and forget about it. Early bidding just drives the price up.
 
Auctionstealer is just a website you register with for free.
 
fisheyonadishey said:
Hmm, the plot thickens, haha! So the only difference between the "Mk2 IS STM" and the "Mk2 IS" is the quiet focusing motor....I read about that but never made the connection. I've no plans to use the 100d for video, so I wouldn't be too worried about that. In that case, I'll probably keep an eye for the the none STM Mk2. Either that, or I'll swap mine out with the old mans, he's barely had it out of the box since he got it. Though if the Mk1 one is better than the Mk3 , I wonder if the same goes for Mk2.....?

Nice one on the heads up about the grey imports on ebay too. If it was a significant saving on a lens under £100, I think I'd probably take a chance on one. If I were thinking of an L series, I wouldn't dare.

For now, seeing as how a new lens is on the cards, I'm going to hold off buying a lens hood, borrow the old mans lens for a while, and do some direct comparisons with the 2 of them. Do you think that both Mk2 lenses i.e the STM and none STM versions, will be the same optically? I only ask as I find it very interesting that you found the Mk1 so much better than the Mk3....

Thanks again for the help man, you wouldn't get this off the canon website!

Oh yeah, I'm pretty much there with focal length and aperture. In theory anyhow, if not in practice.
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The STM lens has an improved IS system as well. I have one and it is a very nice lens for a kit lens. Focusses quickly and accurately, very sharp and produces nice looking images. Park cameras had loads of them split from kits at the end of last year for £100.

Generally speaking it is regarded as a very strong kit lens, and noticeably better than previous canon 18-55 kits.
 
miker said:
The STM lens has an improved IS system as well. I have one and it is a very nice lens for a kit lens. Focusses quickly and accurately, very sharp and produces nice looking images. Park cameras had loads of them split from kits at the end of last year for £100.

Generally speaking it is regarded as a very strong kit lens, and noticeably better than previous canon 18-55 kits.
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Do you mean the "EF-S 18-55mm IS STM ii"?
 
miker said:
The STM lens has an improved IS system as well. I have one and it is a very nice lens for a kit lens. Focusses quickly and accurately, very sharp and produces nice looking images. Park cameras had loads of them split from kits at the end of last year for £100.

Generally speaking it is regarded as a very strong kit lens, and noticeably better than previous canon 18-55 kits.
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Funnily enough I have just been reading about the 18-55 and 55-250 IS STM versions of these lenses and the reviews do say that the focus lock and IS is an improvement over the MK2 IS versions.
I'm now watching a few of each on ebay and will see if I can get the 18-55 for a reasonable price and watch to see what prices the 55-250 goes for.
 
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I've just had a play with my Dads 18-55mm IS STM and its much faster at auto focusing than my 18-55m (non IS) Mk3. I think optically they are on a par, but its hard to tell in the fairly short time I was using it. The focusing is very quiet too, and the front element doesn't rotate. The STM version needs to be powered up for manual focusing though, which I wasn't too keen on, I've been playing with a macro lens, and I found it a pain to have to keep pressing the shutter button half way before I could manually adjust the focus. I could set the auto power off to stay on for a bit longer, but I find the 100d doesn't have the best battery life as it is.

hashcake said:
I'm now watching a few of each on ebay and will see if I can get the 18-55 for a reasonable price
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I've just seen a used 18-55mm STM go for £55, so we certainly aren't talking big money for them.

I'm going to wait until I can get a Tamron 17-50mm on my camera and see how that compares. They are another £100, but get excellent reviews.
 
fisheyonadishey said:
Are they programmes in their own right or browser plugins? I run Linux in my computer, and I'm still finding my way around it.
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Jbidwatcher is a java application you install. Seen lots of third party websites that do the same but I don't fancy giving them my ebay credentials..!
 
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