Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS SLR Lens

I got this lens as a "walk around" lens to go along with my 17-40L, 24-105L IS and 70-300IS for a d40. I knew it wasn't an "L" lens but it did get decent enough reviews. I will say the lens is light and easy to operate, even the build quality is decent for a plastic lens. Image quality is acceptable for images that aren't going to be cropped or printed over 8x10. However the optics are definitely not up to the 40d and I find I still prefer the 24-105L for nearly all situations. It's OK as a starter lens, but you might be disappointed if you're getting it for a 20d or better body.

PROS
light weight
small
IS works well
not much flare problem

CONS
slow aperture (not great for low light)
low and high f-stops not particularly sharp
noticeable chromatic aberration
color and contrast are not as good as other Canon lenses
can't resolve as much detail as the 40d sensor

this lens came with my XSI and it was perfect to learn the basics and get a fell for DSLR photography

I replaced my kit lens 18-55mm lens with IS lens, to reduce some of "blurred" shots. And it has. Now, granted I still get few but that's due to non-ideal environments.
For those who are starting out into this arena, this lens is a good choice.
I would also recomment the 55-250mm IS lens by Canon.
With these two lens, any one starting out will have lots of fun.

ok so i know it comes with the rebel xsi and it's only 50 bucks more in most cases,however if you shoot full zoom and at 5.6 it's damn near unusable for sharpness sake. 2.8 would give a huge amount of difference. think flash and soft light vs. deer in the headlights white hot and black background.
if you are just using this to walk around in i guess it might work...but did you not just step up to a dslr camera? i want more and would pay a few bucks more for a usable lens. even the old standard lens of yesteryear was a 50 1.8 right? why not now.
love the camera with the 430 ex and 70-200 NON IS 2.8

Amazon is offering this at a great price. I paid $190.00 at Adorama when they first came out. According to dpreview.com the optics are better than the original lens, and the image stabilization works well. They claim it is becoming the new standard kit lens. Don't pass up this deal.