Canon 17-85 IS USM :: Opinions?

feenster99 · 15 Jun 2006 at 19:48

Hi all,
Got a holiday coming in Cornwall, and looking forward to filling my boots with pictures of the coastline. I will be selling/trading my Sigma 18-125mm and want to move up the scale a little, so to speak.

The lenses that have grabbed my attention are the Canon 17-85 and the Sigma 17-70. The Canon has a slight edge for its USM and longer range, but people either seem to like it, or absolutely slate it. Fred Miranda's reviews site gives a very mixed impression like this.

Has anyone owned one, and care to give me their overall impression of its?

Cheers,
Matt

Awesome · 15 Jun 2006 at 20:04

O.K. I have one for my 350d.... now 30d

I really llike the

Fast and accurate USM focusing
Image stabiliser
Size/weight/general ergonomics
Ideal zoom range for a crop camera
Good colors and contrast with this lens
Good picture quality above about 24mm

I really dislike the

Picture sharpness in the 17-24mm range is VERY poor
It's not the fastest of lenses at F4-5.6

For me it's a bit of a love hate relationship with this lens, As listed I find it very poor below about 24mm. I thought about selling it but decided to keep it and I hope to get a 10-22 soon. Hopefully I'll like this combination.

Kieran

feenster99 · 15 Jun 2006 at 20:07

Humm, that echo's what everyone else has said. Good lens, but let down by its optical performance, mainly at the wide end.

Thanks for your input - any more thoughts from others?

Matt

Yella Fella · 15 Jun 2006 at 21:43

im not too keen on it, will be looking to sell mine...

however, i been using 50mm and 85mm primes and loving it but i do miss the mid range zoom and its very flexible. If your money can stretch it, i have heard nothing but good reviews on the Canon 24-70mm f2.8 L lens, it will deffo be my next zoom pending cash

feenster99 · 15 Jun 2006 at 21:44

What don't you like about it Yella Fella?

Matt

Yella Fella · 15 Jun 2006 at 21:55

for me, its good as an all rounder walk about lens because the flexibility of the zoom is there, but sharpness and colour renditions are a no no for me. Like the other guy states, the lower wide angled part isnt as sharp until u zoom in a bit more. Saying that, u need to use around F8 for the sweet spot before it starts sharpening up a bit.

Im quite liking fixed focals, u cant beat the bokeh for nice blurred backgrounds and what not for portraits

SCM · 15 Jun 2006 at 23:25

I have the lens as well and agree with the comments about the issues at the lower end of the zoom. It does pick up at the longer lengths and can be ok there.

I also am not impressed that within 6-8 months of me getting the lens fibres managed to get into the internal lens. So i ended up with marks, blotches and spots on shots at certain zooms. As soon as i can find the receipts etc i am having to get the lens repaired as paying £400ish for a lens that does this in under a year is not making me very happy.

SCM

Yella Fella · 16 Jun 2006 at 00:05

yeah i had that as well... had a small piece of fibre drop into the outer zoom bit, luckily it didnt affect my pics, and for some reason its now gone!!

what goes through the process of getting ** lens serviced? i know it takes about 4-6 weeks... but i might as well get it done under warranty before i sell it. Only used it for a month an all!

Richard T · 16 Jun 2006 at 09:54

I am in the same boat as you

the reviews I have seen all say the same about the softness and the reviews of the 17-70 sigma seem really good if you get a decent copy

Not sure if anyone on the forums has the sigma though

Psilonaught · 16 Jun 2006 at 10:53

another ex 17-85 user and as everyone says, mine was terrible below 30mm. Very sharp above it though.

Overall given the stupid price i cannot possibly recommend it