Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 Image Stabilized USM SLR Lens for EOS Digital SLR's
by Canon
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 Image Stabilized USM SLR Lens for EOS Digital SLR's
Customer Review: BAD chromatic aberration
Summary: 1 Stars
I bought this lens for its range to be used with my 40D. It would be perfect if it hadn't some serious issues with chromatic aberration (worst on the short end.) You can see purple/green fringes on any high (and sometimes not so high) contrast in the picture at 100% view. Color rendition is mediocre at best, focus tends to be on the soft side. The EF-S 18-15mm that came with my XTi shoots crisper, less distorted, more colorfull pictures than the EF-S 17-85 with very little CA! Looks like there is a reason for Canon not posting MTF charts for this lens..
On top of that, the lens in *not* supported by DPPs Lens Aberration Correction function (ver. 3.2 at the time this review was written), which renders this EF-S 17-85mm f4-5.6 IS USM totally useless for me.
If I can't return it (3rd party vendor..) I'll try to have Canon "calibrate" it and take it as a lesson -- in the future I'll stick to L lenses, the 17-40 will cover my indoor and landscape needs nicely.
Customer Review: Bang For The Buck Walk Around Crop Lens.
Summary: 4 Stars
There are 3 good reasons why you want to get a 17-85 for your walk around lens.
First is the good usable angles. I'm sure everyone knows that you pretty much have to multiply the zoom range by 1.6 on Rebels, 20D, 30D, and 40D's otherwise known as crop bodies. So at the widest 17mm is actually about 27mm and at the furthest 85 is 136mm zoomed. See so 27mm wide isn't actually the widest but it's usable for group shots and landscape shots. And 136mm decent for sports and wildlife at a short to moderate distance. There are wider lenses but they most likely won't zoom as much and there are longer telephoto lenses but they're usually not wide enough.
Second, IS. Image Stabilization comes in very handy when you're taking hand held photos. Especially if you're cropping your shots, shooting at low light without a flash, and drank too much coffee. Obviously you can see the benefits of IS. It's almost like using a tripod to get those amazing long exposure shots. Ofcourse at single digit shutter speeds nothing beats a tripod.
Price. Yes this is "only" about $500. I sold my lens and am buying something very similar, an EF-S 17-55 IS but that's $1000. Why? It a little faster at f/2.8 which I really use often because of low light situations that I shoot at. But it's because am at a compromising situation. If it was up to me, I'd use my flash each and everytime because photos just "pop" when a flash is used right. But I don't have that luxury so I'm hoping the 2.8 is enough. Also, the edge are a bit sharper with the 17-55. Otherwise the 17-85 at half the price is and was my first choice for a walk around lens.
If you're looking at the 17-85 you probably are wondering why its so much more than a 18-55 kit lens. The 17-85 has IS and the glass is definitely higher quality and it shows at tele and it produces noticeably sharper images zoomed up. The overall quality is a little better as well. There's a new 18-55 IS for a little under $200 if your budget is tight and it's definitely a sharp shooter but you'll agree that color, contrast, and IQ are better on the 17-85.
Customer Review: Buy it, you will like it!
Summary: 5 Stars
As you can see by my rating - - I consider the Cannon EF-S 17-85 lens an excellent general purpose lens that I am pleased to own. This image stabilized lens is a real asset for low light level and sports photography. The range, 17-85 mm, is good for a general purpose 'carry around' lens.Customer Review: Great lens
Summary: 4 Stars
Really good addition to an EOS camera.
Definitely delivers on most fronts, but is a bit over-priced for the performance. Considering the size of the lens, I would have expected better light collection and the image stabilization doesn't help as much in low light as expected, but it is still a huge improvement over the stock lens.
Customer Review: Very pleased
Summary: 5 Stars
I really like this lens and have recommended it, along with the Canon Xti body, to several people already. I especially like the image stabilization feature. I also have, and enjoy the 70-300mm IS lens by Canon.