Field-test of Canon EF 22-55mm f/4-5.6 USM zoom lens. In issue No.10, the Canon product tested was the EF 17-35mm f/2.8L USM, a wide-angle zoom lens that is designed specially for advanced amateurs and professional photographers. What about the beginners or users of entry-level EOS camera models like the EOS 888, EOS 88, EOS 500N and the Advanced Photo System (APS) EOS cameras like the EOS IX and EOS IX7? Well, Canon does have just a zoom lens for these shooters in the form of the EF 22-55mm f/4-5.6 USM lens. Okay, a 22mm focal length is not really a 20mm but it is still wider than a 24mm or 28mm focal length lenses. Weighing just 175 grams, this is one of the lightest lens ever in the Canon EF line-up. Its length is slightly longer than the EF 50mm f/1.4 USM but is much more compact and lighter than the standard lens. In fact, it is so light that it balances very well when fitted to any entry-level EOS model. Since it is so light, users can have this zoom lens attached to their EOS camera all the time, as they won't be able to feel the additional increase in weight. In addition, unlike the pro zoom lens, this entry-level version zooms all the way to the standard focal length of 55mm, so users have a narrower angle-of-view than the 35mm end of the pro-specs version. Yes, you do get focal lengths of 35mm, 28mm and 24mm with this zoom lens although the 24mm zone is not indicated in the body of the lens. You will have to guess this focal length by yourself since it is not far off from the 22mm mark. At the 22mm focal length, the diagonal angle-of-view is 90°, 57° for vertical format and 79° for horizontal format. At this setting, having your pictures show a great sense of depth is easy with this compact zoom lens. Or you can choose to compose the scene with this lens using its setting between the 22mm and 35mm focal lengths, and then use perspective distortion to create any breathtaking shots of any subject you wish to shoot. Perspective distortion is not limited to simply exaggerate the nearest subject to the camera to be larger than those in the background. It can also be used to create unusual distortion simply by shooting by bending down and shoot from the ground up towards any large subject. << Back to Main . 1 . 2 .