I'm not a frequent "upgrader," but recently I bought a Canon EF-S 10-18 mm f/4.6-5.6 STM lens to provide me the opportunity for more wide angle shots--whether they're landscapes or close-ups. The lens was around $300 on Amazon, which is more than I usually like to spend, but it's actually a steal in the world of wide angle lenses. I've wanted a wide angle lens forever, but was never willing to settle for an edge-darkening, piece-of-junk $20 lens attachment OR to shell out the ridiculous $2000 for a "real" one. I was browsing Amazon--probably to placate myself after a long day of teaching--and I stumbled across this reasonably priced lens. My first paycheck was days away, so I thought "what the heck?" and bought it.
So far, I've been pretty pleased, though there's a bit of a learning curve for figuring out which situations are best for this lens. So far, most of what I've done have been landscape shots, though I would like to use it more for macro shots to get more background in the photo. I'm getting a little better about figuring out when/how to use it, though I probably won't have time to hone my craft until a major break in the school year.
Below are a few of the test shots I've taken in the month that I've had the lens. As I said before, I'm still not great with it, but I'm still happy I made the purchase.
