Lens advice

G

Gigabyte

Suspended / Banned
Messages
542
Name
Tony
Edit My Images
No
Is the Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4.0-5.6 IS USM Lens a lot better than the 18-55mm IS Canon lens?

I fancy a longer reach walkabout lens and was considering the above. How much should i expect to pay for a 2nd hand one ?
 
Just thought that it might be worth saying that I had a 17-85mm and you get really bad distortion at the wide end, CA also. It's not a great lens. Good range though.
 
woof woof said:
Just thought that it might be worth saying that I had a 17-85mm and you get really bad distortion at the wide end, CA also. It's not a great lens. Good range though.
Click to expand...

Thanks for that. Guess i won't be looking to get one of those then!

Anything else i can look at to replace the 18-55 as a walkabout lens?
 
Last edited:
I really didn't lilke mine to be honest, in fact I preferred the image quality of the non is kit lens.
 
The lens has it's good points, range, IS and USM so don't let me talk you out of it if it's what you want, you could check a couple of on line reviews.

I replaced mine with a Tamron 17-50mm f2.8 which is a better lens IMVHO but has no IS or USM. I think that there's a new IS version though so it might be worth Goggling your way to a review if you're interested plus there's always the Canon 17-55mm f2.8 IS but I think that's a lot more money.
 
if you want a bit more range you could try the sigma 17-70. otherwise you're looking for something that dosent really exist. (that is, a quality zoom in the 18-100 range). A very good option would be the tamron 17-50 and the canon 85mm 1.8 prime but that would cost you £500
 
Just had a thought...If you want a quality lens with a bit more reach you could always go for a FF lens like a 24-70mm if you don't mind losing the wide end.
 
you could go for the sigma 24-70 f/2.8. i know a girl who shoots weddings all day long with this lens..
 
Ive just upgraded from a 17-85 is usm to a canon 24-70 F2.8. I never had any problems with the quality of the shots out of te 17-85 as long as you remember its not a pro quality lens. It was great as a walkaround lens and always produced decent results.
I went for the 24-70F2.8 to use for indoor gigs etc and as a new walkaround lens.
 
Last edited:
Do you find the 24-70 a much better lens quality etc? Is it IS?
 
The Canon 24-70 is a very well made piece of kit indeed, excellent optics and image quality. Ive only had it a few weeks and only used it outdoors so far. I have had a few nite shots with my mate and his fire POI and it worked very well.
It is quite heavy and has no IS but this wasnt a problem as its nicely balanced on my 50D. Its pricey though, around a grand !!. Well worth it in my opinion.
Simon
 
Can recommend the canon 15-85 which nobody is mentioning here. Great reviews and a much better lens than the 17-85 and just as good as the 17-55 except for the f2.8.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top