Canon 15-85 mm

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Name
Justin
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Looking to buy this lens and just wanted anyone have experience with it and any problems?
Its a lot of money so wanted to be sure!
 
One of the best Canon lenses you can buy for a Canon APS camera, Great for wide angle and a usefull zoom range. I had it and its very sharp, Only other lens i would get apart from this is the Canon 17-55mm f2.8.
 
Looked at that but wanted the better range of the 15-85 as want as holiday lens. Was you happy with it, no problems?
 
i had one on my 60d and loved it
just could have done with a bit more length sometimes so now i have gone for the 18-135mm stm lens
 
It's the only lens I have. I'm pretty new to photography and started with the 18-55 kit lens, 50mm 1.8 and 55-250. I then bought the 15-85 and found that I didn't take it off the camera as it was much better than the others, which I sold shortly after.
 
Have heard there can be a bit of lens creep, anyone experienced it with their copy?
 
joel222, did you find you missed the 50mm 1.8 or did you find the 15-85 was good for portraits and DOF shots?
 
joel222, did you find you missed the 50mm 1.8 or did you find the 15-85 was good for portraits and DOF shots?

The 15-85 doesn't give a shallow DOF like the 50mm but is certainly (in my limited experience) better for portraits as you can shoot at a further distance from the subject or if you're in a limited space you can get right in close with the wide end. It also produces sharper and more vibrant shots.
 
It is a superb lens which stays on my 7D 95% of the time. Mine does suffer from a little zoom creep but I am prepared to put up with a minor annoyance with such a quality bit of glass.

Go buy. You will love it,
 
I used a 15-85 on my 7D and my wife's 600D. Whilst not quite as sharp as the Canon L series it is very very good. I go with Joel it is great for portraits allowing you to get closer photos without getting in people's faces.

I've just sold mine (well I have if the person pays me) as I've bought a full frame canon.
 
Damn, could have done with a second hand one as they are a bit pricey brand new.

What prices are you looking at???

I've been looking to buy this same lens too and have been scouring around some local areas I visit & have found prices vary from £409 up to £600 new,

Here's a company I spoke to
http://www.digitalrev.com/

£434 from US
£418 from HKG (I work in Hong Kong)
£409 from Shanghai (I regularly visit here)

Now I'm a newbie too so can only assume they will offer local warranties but there a few posts on here about this company and they have a uk distributor too.
 
I got it as the kit lens with my 7D, I find it good, but soft compared to my 50 1.8, 28 2.8 and 70-200L 4, looking to replace it with L when I change body.

Good all rounder though. Think mine has some creep when the lens is pointing downwards.
 
The cheapest site I found was £475
http://www.flashcamera.co.uk/
Looked into the warrenties and I think Canon allow lens warrenties from any country in the UK as long as the import is legal, think there are some issues with Camera bodies though.
 
Great review, want it as a travel lens so whole review fitted into my bracket. I now just need to find one at reasonable price and I will be happy man.
 
Whilst on the subject of this great lens. For anyone wanting a lens hood. I recently bought the one in the link below. It's made from very substantial plastic, nicely finished, fits beautifully on the lens and the petals are lined with a felt material to prevent glare. I haven't seen the Canon alternative, but I doubt there is a lot of difference, except of course the price.:)

I ordered mine from that vendor at 2:00pm and it arrived the following morning at 9:30am.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/EW-78E-Peta...0XQO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1359796436&sr=8-1
 
Is the lens hood OK when the lens is full open at 15mm, some have had issues?

Yes, it's fine. I haven't found any evidence of Vignetting, or other issues, at least none that can't be corrected in PP, IE: pincushion distortion. I really wanted this lens for it's 15mm capability.
 
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Mine creeps when not "locked" in the 15mm position. It was the kit lens which came with my 7D and I love it. I also have a 70-200 F4 IS but it's mostly the 15-85 which gets used. It's plenty sharp enough for me.

Only downsides for me are the variable f-stop, a bit of focus-creep between wide and tele (important for video) and the dof could be shallower.
 
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