Canon EF-S 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6 II review - Image resolution

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Canon EF-S 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6 II

16 October 2007

Arkadiusz Olech

4. Image resolution

Everyday work with the Canon 18-55 mm shows that it is possible to take some good pictures. Our resolution measurements can be seen as evidence. At the sharpest possible diaphragm – f/8 the cheap kit lens can have results of 35lpmm, which is comparable with a fixed focal length 28 mm or 50 mm class lens’s results. The MTF50 and diaphragm value relations chart shows us that it is only possible at the 18 and 35 focal length.

Canon EF-S 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6 II - Image resolution

The conclusion is simple. If we want to have a sharp picture we have to stick to the short focal lengths since the longer it is, the worse our picture resolution will get, both in the center and at the edges of the frame. The Canon 18-55 mm has the best results at 18 mm, as well as at 30 mm, and the weakest results are at the 55 mm focal length. As a result, the lens will do well with easy landscape holiday pictures, but it will be much worse with portrait photography. Although the maximum aperture of 5.6 at the 55 mm focal length doesn’t encourage us to take such pictures anyway.

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The results on the highest quality JPG formats can be observed below. Although the pictures are good at the 18 mm focal length and f/5.6 (MTF50 reaches as much as 1700LW/PH), the results are much weaker at 55 mm focal length (the level drops below 1000LW/PH)