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| Yes the 18-150 on M50 can do PIF (pigeons in flight) |
The EF-M 18-150mm was introduced in 2016 and has become a favourite with EOS M camera users for its versatility and one-lens-does-most-things capability.
It is sometimes bundled with an EOS-M body as a kit.
Who’s it for ?
The EOS-M camera user who hates changing lenses and is looking for a one lens approach to the photographic enterprise.
What’s it for ?
Travel, lifestyle, street, documentary, family, sport/action outdoors and just about anything else outdoors.
The lens is suitable for indoor/low light work at the wide end of the zoom range where the aperture is a reasonably bright f3.5 and the stabiliser helps to keep things steady.
It can do birds in flight on a suitable body such as the M6.2 or M50.
It can also do a decent job of close-ups. At a focal length of 60mm it can get close enough to give a subject width of 60mm, good enough for flowers and large insects and other small things.
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| Unfortunately the process of getting these photos into Google Blogger loses the fine details. On the original I can easily read the "Welcome Aboard" sign over the entryway. Pretty good for a hand held shot from several hundred meters on a hazy day. |
Description
The focal length range is 18-150mm (8.3x) which is equivalent to 29-240mm on a full frame body. This provides a moderately wide view at one end and a versatile telephoto reach at the other.
The lens is very light and compact for its reach.
Length 87mm
Diameter 61mm
Mass 300 grams
Filter 55mm
The optical construction is quite complex with 17 elements in 13 groups, 2 aspherics and 1 UD element.
Everything except the glass appears to be constructed of plastic including the mount.
It is made in Malaysia.
In typical understated EF-M style there are just two controls on the lens, a wide zoom ring and a narrow focus ring right at the front of the barrel.
The zoom action is very smooth.
The stabiliser works well in the usual Canon fashion.
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| Hazy day looking across Sydney Harbour to the CBD. Plenty of detail there with appropriate management in Adobe Camera Raw. |
Sharpness/resolution
This lens has acquired something of a mixed reputation on forums with some users reporting good imaging capability, others expressing disappointment.
I have bought, tested and used three copies of this lens over a period of time and have some ideas about possible reasons for the mixed results which have been reported.
Firstly there is sample variation which can be considerable. My first copy was decentered. This was repaired by Canon Australia under warranty and was much improved after the repair but still just good, not very good.
Two other copies have been slightly better than the repaired first one.
All three copies can make good pictures but they are not in the same class as, say, the 11-22mm which is a little star.
Secondly I have noticed on tests and in general photography that the 18-150mm delivers lower contrast and acutance than other EF-M lenses such as the 11-18mm zoom or any of the three primes.
This does not necessarily mean it is a bad lens but it does prompt specific strategies for enhancing contrast and acutance in an image editor.
In Adobe Camera Raw this involves careful adjustment of Contrast, Texture and Clarity in the Basic tab and Sharpening Amount, Radius and Detail in the detail tab.
Users who are not familiar with these adjustments may simply assume the lens is “soft” when in fact the fine detail is in the files but must be coaxed into clear view.
The best aperture for sharpness across the frame is around f5.6 at the wide end and f8 from mid zoom to the long end.
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| Good enough for landscapes at 18mm |
Focus
Autofocus is very fast and accurate on the M50.
Using AF servo with Continuous drive the lens can follow focus on moving subjects at 6-7 frames per second.
Flare
This can be provoked if the sun is deliberately placed near the edge of the frame but is not often a problem.
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| In the old days of 35mm film I would spend 20 minutes setting up for a shot like this, with tripod, macro lens and light baffles. With the 18-150 on M50 hand held I made this in about 15 seconds. |
Distortion, color fringing and peripheral shading
These are all present to a moderate degree but are readily corrected in post processing.
Bokeh
The character of the out of focus image is generally pleasing with no major problems.
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| This is a graphical representation of my amateurish and likely technically incorrect notion of contrast and acutance. The original test subject is represented by the black lines. A high contrast, high acutance lens might render this as shown by the red line. A low contrast, low acutance lens might render the subject as shown by the blue line. The information is there but local contrast and sharpness need to be boosted to show it properly. |
Summary
The EF-M 18-150mm lens is arguably the most versatile all-rounder of the M lenses.
A good copy used thoughtfully can deliver good to very good pictures in a wide variety of circumstances.
I have a limited kit of Canon EOS R gear as well as M. At one stage I experimented with the RF 24-240mm STM lens on both the EOS R and RP.
But I prefer the EF-M lens on the M50. This gives very similar results to the RF24-240 in a much smaller, lighter and user-friendly kit. I can package the M 18-150 with a M 11-22 in a small bag for a lightweight, easily carried yet very versatile two lens kit.
Downsides
I identify three issues which could cause problems in some conditions.
1. Sample variation.
2. Low contrast and acutance.
3. The lens closes to a small aperture over most of the focal length range. So indoor/low light use is effectively limited to the wide end of the zoom range.
The upside to this downside is the very compact size and light weight of the lens, consistent with the leitmotiv of the EOS-M system.
The maximum aperture is
18mm f3.5
24mm f4
35mm f5
50mm f5.6
70-150mm f6.3
Conclusion
This might seem like a negative review to some readers.
However the 18-150mm is the lens which most often finds itself on my M50 because it is so versatile and it produces good to very good results when used thoughtfully.
If you believe the aphorism that perfect is the enemy of good, or to put it another way you believe getting the shot is more important than getting the perfect shot, then the EF-M 18-150mm does the job rather well.