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Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM & Power Zoom Adapter PZ-E1 Hands-On Preview

Canon's introduced a new lens that can be used with a power adapter to enable smooth, fingertip zoom control when shooting movies and ePz got the chance to get hands-on with both new accessories.

Highres Power Zoom 1455721302

As well as the EOS 80D, Canon has also introduced a new EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM lens which is Canon's first lens to feature Nano USM focus technology. There's also a new Zoom Adapter (PZ-E1) available which is designed to work with the EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM to provide finger-tip control when capturing movies. 

Canon says the new adapter is perfect for those who shoot sport as well as movies and after getting hands-on with it, we can see why as it did make it easier to adjust the zoom at various speeds. You can also control the zoom remotely and it's easy to switch over to manual control, too.

Highres Powerzoom Close up 1455721323

As for the lens itself, the focal range means you can use it to capture close-up as well as wide-angle shots and its auto focus performs well when shooting stills or video. A 4-stop image stabiliser and Dynamic IS help ensure shots / video footage are shake free and the lens is light in the hand, even when the adapter is attached.

The EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM lens offer a 35mm film equivalent focal length of 29-216mm and will be available from May for £439.99. The adapter will be priced at £129.99 and also available in May.

Highres Power Zoom Eo S80 D 1455721308

Comments

shadow_photo
shadow_photo
10 97
Feb 20, 2016 5:33pm
So in the 90's Pentax and Minolta somehow managed to do their power zoom SLR lenses without clumsy ridiculously priced external adaptors, and put all the controls on the lens barrel itself. What Canon was unable in 2016 with their ultra-new "Nano USM focus technology" (whatever it means 🙂). £129.99 for the adaptor is a real miracle of marketing, congratulations Canon! 😉
josa
11 25
Feb 22, 2016 6:47am
They took the easy and profitable road...☹️