CANON RF-S 10-18MM F4.5-6.3 IS STM

A tiny lens with a big field of view

www.canon.co.uk £380/$329

Since it first came onto the scene, the RF-S mount has struggled to find its place. Given Canon’s need to fill out its lens lineup for its professional RF mount cameras, lenses specifically made for the RF-S mount have been few and far between. The RF-S 10-18mm F4.5-6.3 IS STM, however, has come along to fill a hole in the existing lineup for a compact, wide-angle lens for photography and vlogging to give RF-S cameras a boost.

Out of the three Canon RF-S lenses launched before this one, the Canon RF-S 18-45mm F4.5-6.3 IS STM was the widest lens available for the RF-S mount used by cameras including the Canon EOS R50 or EOS R7 – although the 18-45mm lens isn’t a true wide-angle, with an approximately 29-72mm focal length in full-frame equivalence. RF-S cameras are also able to take RF lenses, so the Canon RF 15-30mm f/4.5-6.3 IS STM and RF 16mm f/2.8 STM have offered slightly wider angles – equivalent to 24-48mm and 26mm respectively.

Thankfully, the Canon RF-S 1018mm answers the prayers of wideangle Canon shooters, as well as vloggers itching to get a wider lens for video. With a full-frame equivalence of 16-29mm, the RF-S 10-18mm lens offers the broadest perspective yet, matching the more premium Canon RF 10-20mm f/4L IS STM.

Build and handling

The Canon RF-S 10-18mm follows Canon’s recent collapsible lens designs, which enable the lens to be remarkably compact when not in use. It’s one of the shortest zoom lenses I’ve used, and the entire zoom range only moves the front of the lens in and out a couple of millimetres. This lens is the perfect pocketable-sized companion for a camera like the EOS R50 or EOS R100.