In this post, I’ll be sharing with you my Canon 10-22 review. This lens used to be my favorite wide angle lens before Tokina released their amazing Tokina 11-16mm lens.
I bought mine from Amazon
I use this lens primarily for landscape photography and sometimes for street photography.
I’m not saying that this is a bad lens, but the Tokina offers much more – faster aperture and better build quality – for less price.
The only thing that this lens win from the Tokina is the longer zoom range (10-22mm vs. 11-16mm), but I really don’t need that feature from an ultra wide angle lens.
I ended up selling this lens and have used the Tokina with no regret whatsoever.
If you want to start shooting with a wide angle lens, I’d recommend you look at the Tokina 11-16mm lens instead.
However, if you’re a die-hard Canon fans (I used to be one), who only want to use the Canon glass, then by all means go on and read this review 
On to this Canon 10-22 review…
Specs • Performance • Sample Image • Conclusion • Where to Buy
Canon 10-22 Review – Specs
Back to: Menu • Introduction
Official Name:
Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM
Focal Length Markings:
10, 12, 14, 17, 20 and 22mm
Features:
EF-S – Short Back Focus – Only compatible with cropped sensor DSLR. You should not use this lens with a full frame DSLR camera or film SLR.
USM – Ultra Sonic Motor – Canon’s special autofocus motor that enables fast and silent autofocusing mechanism.
Lens does not extend during zooming.
Full Technical Specs (from Canon’s website):
| Technical Specifications | |
| Groups / Elements | 10 / 13 |
| Angle of View | 107° 30′ – 63° 30′ |
| Number of Blade Diaphragm | 6 |
| Minimum Aperture | f/22-27 |
| Minimum Focusing Distance | 0.24m |
| Filter Thread | 77mm |
| Weight | 385g |
| Dimension (Diameter x Length) | ø83.5 x 89.8mm |
| Macro Magnification Ratio | 0.17X |
| Available at | Amazon, B&H Photo, Adorama |
Optical Performance
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Canon 10-22 Review – Sharpness
Center sharpness is excellent throughout the zoom range at any aperture.
Border sharpness is also great at every focal length, but it gets a bit soft at 22mm at the widest aperture.
To get the maximum sharpness, shoot at f/5.6.
Sharpness Scale (from Best to Worst):
(5) Excellent
(4) Great
(3) Good
(2) Fair
(1) Poor
Center Sharpness
| Focal Length / Aperture | f/3.5-4 | f/5.6 | f/8 | f/11 |
| 10mm | Excellent | Excellent | Excellent | Excellent |
| 14mm | Excellent | Excellent | Excellent | Excellent |
| 22mm | Excellent | Excellent | Excellent | Excellent |
Canon 10-22mm EF-S USM Border Sharpness
| Focal Length / Aperture | f/3.5-4 | f/5.6 | f/8 | f/11 |
| 10mm | Great | Great | Great | Great |
| 14mm | Great | Great | Great | Great |
| 22mm | Good | Great | Great | Great |
Distortion
Barrel distortion is visible on 10mm (typical for a super wide angle lens), but can be considered relatively minor.
Above 10mm the distortion is very well controlled and distortion (both pincushion and barrel) can be ignored.
Vignetting
If I can name one major problem with this lens, it is vignetting.
Vignetting is apparent at all focal length at the widest aperture which is typical for an EF-S lens.
Stop down 1 stop and you’ll dramatically reduce vignetting (although it is still slightly visible).
See my vignetting test chart below.
Chromatic Aberration
Chromatic aberration is generally well controlled at any focal length at any aperture, even at 10mm.
Chromatic Aberration Scale (from Best to Worst):
(5) Negligible
(4) Very Low
(3) Low
(2) High
(1) Very High
Canon 10-22mm EF-S USM Chromatic Aberration
| Focal Length / Aperture | f/3.5-4 | f/5.6 | f/8 | f/11 |
| 10mm | Low | Low | Low | Low |
| 14mm | Low | Low | Very Low | Very Low |
| 22mm | Very Low | Very Low | Very Low | Very Low |
Build Quality
Back to: Menu • Introduction
Materials
High quality plastic, Made in Japan.
Zoom Ring
The zoom ring is very smooth and responsive. The IF feature prevents the lens from extending during zooming (the lens dimension remains constant when you zoom in and out, which is a very nice feature to have).
Focusing
The USM motor is very fast and silent. Autofocus is also dead accurate during testing.
You can do full time manual focusing during one shot AF mode with this lens.
Image Stabilization
There is no Image Stabilization feature on this lens.
Compatibility
The EF-S designation means that this lens can only be used for cropped sensor DSLR. You cannot use this lens for a full frame DSLR such as Canon 5D Mark II
Canon 10-22mm EF-S USM Sample Image
Back to: Menu • Introduction
Below are some sample shots that I took using this Canon 10-22 review. Click on any thumbnail to open the image.
Get the best price online from these sites: Amazon
Conclusion
Back to: Menu • Introduction
This section will summarize the whole Canon 10-22 review.
This is a good, decent ultra wide angle lens for cropped sensor DSLR. I have one before I replaced it with the Tokina 11-16mm lens.
Image quality is a strong performer on this lens, as well as good distortion and chromatic aberration control.
The downside of this lens is price and vignetting control.
If you’re looking for the best ultra wide angle lens for the price, I’d recommend you look at the Tokina 11-16mm lens instead.
Drawbacks
- Expensive
- Average vignetting control
- Border softness at 22mm at f/4.5
Positives
- Excellent sharpness throughout the zoom range
- Great distortion control for an ultra wide angle lens
- Great chromatic aberration control
- Compact
- Good build quality
- Fast, silent and accurate autofocus
- Lens dimension does not change during zooming
Good For
- Landscape photography
- Environmental portrait
Not So Good For
- Indoor photography in dim light due to the slow aperture. Tokina 11-16mm does much better in this condition.
What Others Are Saying…
by “Svend”
Very good lens, but expensive! I am very impressed with this lens. I didn’t realize just how wide-angle this lens was. At 10mm, I can stand just a few feet in front of a 13-story building, and get the whole thing in the picture, from the entrance to the top of the building…
Click here to read the full review
by “D. Elswit”
Expensive, but high quality. Minor sharpness issues in corners. I’m a fairly serious amateur photographer, and have had mostly Canon equipment for 18 years or so. This lens has very good color balance, perhaps very slightly on the cool side. The lack of distortion for a lens this wide is pretty amazing…
Click here to read the full review
Where to Buy Canon 10-22mm EF-S USM Lens
Support this site, buy the Canon 10-22mm EF-S USM from these sites (best price online):
Be sure to check out the related lens review below.
Thanks for reading this Canon 10-22 review and I hope this has helped you!
| Lens Score | |
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| Optical Quality | |
| Build Quality | |
| Value for Money | |
| Overall | |
