14. Lenses

All of Canon's lenses are compatible with the EOS 300D, but of course, some of them are more suitable than others. All you need to know, as a rule of thumb, is that the more expensive they are, the better they are (in a nutshell...).

Fans of the macro lens will be in a hurry to try the extraordinary 50 mm f:2.5. It produces images of hallucinatory sharpness. Those who like the trans-standard will also appreciate the 24-70 mm-f:2.8, which has already been mentioned here. In any case, the large majority of buyers would probably be satisfied with the "basic" zoom lens supplied with this latest Canon offering, the 18-55 mm - f3.5-5.6. This is an average lens that gives quite good results, as long as it is restricted to amateur use. To the extent that this lens is designed for that specific purpose, it would be silly to expect it to have features worthy of the best lenses of the Canon brand. So, as can be seen in the illustrations, vignette is significant, but in the end it is not particularly prominent when you are working under normal conditions.

Wide angle and maximum aperture (18 mm at f:3.5)

Maximum zoom at maximum aperture (55 mm to f:5.6)

Photographing a white wall that is uniformly lit reveals lots of defects, but this is rarely a subject photographed in itself. A classical subject, such as a portrait or landscape never suffers from this type of problem. Note also that the photograph was taken with a wide angle and at maximum aperture, two "extremes" that generally clash badly with each other.

As for distortion, the image on the sheet of paper - doesn't show very much! Once the camera settings are correct with the precise levels, there is a certain amount of bearing distortion, but it's not disastrous. Looking through the lens-viewfinder produces a lot of distortion through the barrel, but that's only a viewfinder defect. It's not there in the captured image, so no cause for alarm.