Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM Lens for Canon DSLR Cameras

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Probably the best lens you can pair with the Canon 80D and thats what I did. The focal length is great as a versatile walking lens on the cropped 80d sensor. The added image stabilization is also a very nice feature of this lens to pair with the video capabilities of the 80D. Pros: - The quality of the images is definitely good, not the best lens, but it is almost impossible to find another lens that can beat the versatility here. You could probably find better primes, but none in a 35mm (cropped sensor equivalent) with image stabilization and that fast 2.8 aperture. - The auto focus worked great, was plenty fast and is pretty quiet. Not as quiet as the STM, but quiet enough to get usable audio from the onboard mic in a pinch. - Image stabilization is a must for hand-held video shots and allows for hand-held shots at slower shutter speeds. - While the lens is heavy, I also have used the Sigma 35mm f1.4 ART lens and that lens is even heavier so, I guess its all relative. Cons: - Very big lens (the wide range of focal lengths means the lens is long) - In addition to the length, the diameter is 77mm which is also quite big. - No lens hood included (I reviewed the lens hood, and made comments about the enormous size of that hood and the high price) - Very expensive lens considering that it is an EF-S mount, which I believe means that you cant use it on a full-size body. So, if you ever decide to go to a full-size body, you cant take this lens with you. Conclusion: While there are a long list of negatives for this lens, they are not deal breakers. Again, you would be buying this for an APS-C camera and that would make this focal range more like 27-88mm which is a great range for walking around. The fast aperture at every focal length, and image stabilization make this an all-in-one lens. You could definitely carry around a few lenses which might be better, but most of then dont have image stabilization if you want to take video, plus you would need to be changing lenses constantly. This was the main lens I used on my trip and there is no single lens that could replace it. I highly recommend it if you are starting out and just want one lens to last a while.

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Overall great lens. Its sharp as a tack and the contrast of the images is stunning. This lens is notorious for collecting dust. All of my lens are in immaculate shape as I take good care of them but that did not prevent dust from collecting in this lens. Its easy to perform surgery on these lens to clean them. I had it in top top shape after blowing out the lens. The whole process takes less than 8 minutes. I just wish I didnt have to take apart such an expensive lens. Id be happier with giving it a 3.5 rating but ill just round to 4 because of the positives mention above. Also, this lens, size-wise is a monster. The construction looks and feels great but you are going to feel the weight. There are comparable Sigma and Tamron lenses with a similar focal length that wont break your back like this bad boy.

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This is a very nice lens for those moving beyond the kit version. Super low light performance across all focal ranges coupled with image stabilization makes this great for indoor photos with no need for flash. The focal range covers wide angle to mid-range telephoto to make it a perfect all in one lens for walk-around purposes. AF is super fast and tack sharp. The only drawbacks re the cost and weight. Right now Amazon is offering this fabulous lens for $330 off; weight you will need to deal with, but it is not a bit issue for me given the many positives.

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By far the best lens I have ever purchased. I recently returned from Zimbabwe and "needed" a lens for most shooting situations. I didnt want to carry a bunch of different lenses. I bought a Tamron 70-200mm for zoom and thought this would be a good choice for wide angle and portrait. The photos turned out amazing. super sharp in all lighting situations. Even on a night safari drive with just a spot light, I got excellent photos.. Well worth the cost

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Ive been using this lens for over 2 years now. It replaced the 17-85mm f4-5.6 that I bought several years ago. Here are some of my random comments about it. This lens is mounted on my camera (Canon 7d) more than any other lens. It is very sharp for a zoom, and I have tested the sharpness using FoCal and various test targets. The IS and auto-focus is effective and fast enough for me. There are times when I wish it would reach a bit further, maybe, 70mm. However, for many landscape, and interior shots, it fills the bill nicely. I have not noticed any dust buildup in the lens, which was the major criticism Ive seen for this lens. There are ways to safely clean this lens yourself, however. I found a few YouTube videos that show you how. Ive only had one problem with this lens. I noticed that it exhibited extreme lens creep after about a year of use. Pointing it up or down would cause the lens to creep and lose the compositions (and focus). This is unacceptable. I found a solution to this, by using some label strips (Dymo metallic) stacked along the lens barrel. This gives enough friction to prevent the creep. Thus, I deducted a star for this. I like the 77mm diameter of this lens, since I can use the same filters I use for my 10-22mm and 70-200mm lenses. I was really surprised to see that Canon lowered the price of this lens since I bought it. Back in 2011, you couldt find one for much less than $1000. I have never regretted buying this lens.

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This is my primary lens that I use on my Canon 7D. Great depth of field with the 2.8 & like the range of 17-55mm for my shots. This lens is what I use in place of the included kit lens when I purchased my 7D. I have owned this lens for over 10 years with no problems.

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I am not so much into the technical complexity of lens performance. But simply put, this is a very versatile lens that gives very sharp and brilliant images. I use this lens on my EOS 70D. It makes great portrait photos at f-stop 2.8, especially at focal lengths between 24-35mm. It is a great lens for low-light situations thanks to the image stabilizer and large aperture setting. Im able to take images at 1/10 to 1/13 sec hand held without much problem. Landscape photos are good, although images appear a little flat and less impressive when the lens is completely zoomed out at 17mm focal length. Nevertheless, it is THE lens to get for your crop sensor if you do not see the need to spend more on an L-series lens. Truth is, I think this lens holds its own well enough in comparison to the more extravagant L-series cousins. The only downside is its weight. It can feel rather heavy especially if you are on a long trekking trip over bumpy and unpredictable terrains. Should not be an issue if you are just touring a city area with ample breaks at street-side cafes. Other minor issue is that there is no lock switch to the lens barrel so it can spontaneously extend and zoom out as you are walking (or trudging if you happen to be trekking). I purchased this from Amazon in March this year. I made use of Free Global Shipping but it took a long time for the product to arrive here in Singapore. Thankfully the lens arrived in perfect condition in its original packaging. On hindsight, if the purchase is going to be this big and important, I would use Priority shipping to minimize the anxiety.

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It is physically large and heavy, but has a solid and well-built feel to it while handling and shooting. Lightroom has no problem automatically correcting any distortion, colors and bokeh are beautiful, ghosting and flaring are non-issues (and are beautiful when created on purpose). The 2.8 zoom is a no-brainer for any shooters bag, and this APS-C only lens takes pictures that are indistinguishable from a 24-70 on a full frame body.

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Nothing much to say. Its a great piece of glass that didnt get the "L" ring because its EF-S, not because its image quality lacks. Makes low-light photos easy with stabilization.

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***March 2012 Update!*** Hey, hows it going colleagues! I just read a review I wrote about this lens Feb. 2011 of last year and I have to say that I had to completely revamp what I wrote about this incredible lens! Its crazy how you can grow so much, look at your past mindset and be slightly embarrassed. Throughout this review, I will make comments on what I previously wrote and how Ive changed my thinking and/or elaborate on what I wrote. First and foremost, this is my most used lens. I have the Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM Standard Zoom Lens for Canon SLR Cameras , the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Camera Lens , and the Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM Telephoto Zoom Lens for Canon SLR Cameras . Even though I have these beasts to choose from, the majority of my shooting requires me to be able to shoot from wide to a short telephoto like the 17-55. I only had the NON-IS version of the 70-200 2.8 last year and I didnt have the 28-135 at that time either however, this is one thing I can still agree with from last years review til now. After purchasing the 28-135mm a couple of months ago, I realized how important it is to have a lens that covers 17-27mm on a crop sensor camera like my Canon EOS 7D 18 MP CMOS Digital SLR Camera with 3-Inch LCD (Body Only) and T1i. Also, compared to the standard 18-55 kit lens and the 28-135, the auto-focus of the 17-55 is a BEAST! It blows the 18-55 out of the water and the 28-135 is no slouch for the price however, the 17-55 at 2.8 focuses almost as good as my 70-200! Last year, I did mention a little something about the quality of this lens. I said, "The image quality is SICK! I was able to handhold quality shots at night, while it was raining at F 2.8 and 1/5 shutter speed. The image was still sharp! The lens was not exposed to the rain in case you were wondering." I still agree. This lens is still a BEAST when it comes to the quality of your images! I had the opportunity to shoot the Dallas Fashion Week 2012 and the only 2 lenses I used were the 70-200 2.8 IS II and the 17-55. On days I only used the 17-55, I didnt really noticed a Big difference with the auto-focus of the two lenses, which says a lot about the quality of the 17-55. Now, when you talk about image quality overall, at the time of this review, the 70-200 is the king of all zoom lenses at 2.8 hands down however, the 17-55 definitely held its own at the same aperture setting. I was definitely comfortable shooting a whole event with only the 17-55 in other words. No question about it. Also, the bokeh on this lens is incredible! I also said some crap I would love to see about the next version of this lens. I said that if Canon came out with an upgrade, I would love for it to be an actual L lens. That honestly doesnt matter as there are plenty of lenses that arent L lenses that will still get the job done! If you are all about L lenses, then by all means, stick with L lenses however, please dont down talk any lens that is not an L lens! I should know, I have one of the best L lenses out there. On top of that, me personally, one of the reasons why I chose the 17-55 is because it was Image Stabilized opposed to the 24-70L and the 17-40L. Also, check out Captured by the Light: The Essential Guide to Creating Extraordinary Wedding Photography . David Ziser is a world renown wedding photographer who, in his book, states that he uses 9 lenses on a regular and only 2 of them are L lenses. Another thing I mentioned was weather sealing. Even though that would be a nice feature I wouldnt be too concerned about dust sucking inside the lens. I have had this lens for about a year and a half and I have yet to see a spec of dust inside of it. On top of that, there are times when I have had dirt on the front of the lens however, it never affects the quality of my pictures. Even when I would clean the 17-55, I never noticed any image quality improvement. I still believe it is important to clean your gear to prevent dust from finding a way in. Now that the 5D Mark III is out, I would love to use the 17-55 on a full-frame camera. One thing I mentioned in last years review was a 17-55 with an EF mount and not just an EF-S mount. That would be incredible however, I dont plan on purchasing a full-frame for a while and when I do, Im not getting rid of the 17-55 for a lens that will also fit a full-frame camera. The way I see it, I will always have a crop-sensor camera regardless if I have a full-frame camera, so Ill always have a use for the 17-55. One thing I will recommend with any lens that you own is a great UV filter and a lens hood. I have a B+W 77mm Clear UV Haze with Multi-Resistant Coating (010M) and the Canon EW-83J Lens Hood for EF-S 17-55 F2.8 IS on my 17-55 at ALL TIMES. All of my lenses have a B+W filter and a lens hood on at ALL TIMES including my 50mm 1.8! I believe you should have these items mainly to protect your front lens element from crowds, dust, bumps, finger prints, scratches, etc. You dont have to spend a lot of money (relatively speaking) on a lens hood for the 17-55 like I have. You can get some decent lens hoods for under $20 if you want however, just make sure you do some serious research if you get an off-brand version. Also, with the UV filters, I stick with B+W. You dont have to be exclusive to one brand like I have though. Just make sure you research what brands may suit your needs best. To a very minute degree, Ive seen how a filter can affect the quality of your images, good or bad. Check out my review on the B+W 77mm XS-Pro Clear UV Haze with Multi-Resistant Nano Coating (010M) . Last year, I gave this lens a 4 out of 5 stars because of my concerns with dust inside the lens. Now, I give it 5 stars because it doesnt bother me anymore. This lens is definitely underrated for various reasons with one being that it doesnt fit on full frame cameras. The 17-55 really is a beast and I definitely understand why it is relatively expensive. From research, if you want the Canon 17-55 but cant afford it, I hear that the Sigma 17-50mm f/2.8 EX DC OS HSM FLD Large Aperture Standard Zoom Lens for Canon Digital DSLR Camera is a great alternative at half the price! Heck, I know that certain 3rd party lenses that are suited for crop-sensors still fit on full-frame cameras like the Tokina 11-16! Just make sure you do your research. PS: Even though this lens is suited for low-light performance, it would be best for you to learn as much as you can about lighting. Buying a low aperture lens alone WILL NOT solve all of your low-light problems. If you are interested, check out the Speedliters Handbook: Learning to Craft Light with Canon Speedlites . This book, accompanied by the 17-55, has catapulted my understanding of photography to CRAZY heights within a relatively short time span. That is part of the reason why I had to rewrite this review from last year!

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