Canon 17-55 IS

Arkanoid · 4 May 2007 at 21:46

I was going to get myself the Canon 17-40 but am now swinging towards the 17-55 IS f2.8 which sounds like it's a brilliant lens.

I noted that you can pick up this lens a lot cheaper on a well known auction site. Have any of you guys bought from any of these suppliers.

Also thoughts on the lens please.

I already have the Canon EF-S 10-22 for wide angle which is great.

Sleepyd · 4 May 2007 at 22:13

Arkanoid said:
I was going to get myself the Canon 17-40 but am now swinging towards the 17-55 IS f2.8 which sounds like it's a brilliant lens.

I noted that you can pick up this lens a lot cheaper on a well known auction site. Have any of you guys bought from any of these suppliers.

Also thoughts on the lens please.

I already have the Canon EF-S 10-22 for wide angle which is great.

I'd get the 24-105 F4 IS or the 24-70. You don't gain much reach with the 17-40 and you're overlapping the focal lengths with the 10-22 which is an excellent lens anyway.

Arkanoid · 5 May 2007 at 03:47

Now you've gone and blown it.

Geffen · 5 May 2007 at 07:28

I think it comes down to convieance and if you want a one lens solution or a two lens solution. The 17-55 would cover most walkabout situations, from wide to telephoto and being in one lens would be convient. If you go for the 24-X solution, you're going to have to carry the 10-22 as well, as 24mm isn't wide on a crop sensor camera. Also both the 24-105 & 24-70 are about double the size and weight of the 17-55 so overall your going to be carrying 3 times the weight in lens.

By the way the 17-55 is meant to be a fantastic lens.

^^Gord^^ · 5 May 2007 at 09:53

I generally agree with Geffen but I will add a couple of my own points. It does depend on what type of photography you do. The 17-40 L is near perfect for me (on a cropped camera) if it was f/2.8 it would be perfect. My Sigma 10-20 hasn't been used in well over six months but I always have the option. For other photographers the 17-40 L may not have the reach, it's a call each person will need to make.

As for the 17-55 f/2.8 IS it is optically very good but the plastic construction and not being internal zooming (hello dust!) does but me off, especially at that price.

Raider · 5 May 2007 at 10:07

I've been tempted by the 17-55 IS as well. I currently own the 17-40L which is indeed an awesome lens. The way I try to justify me not spending even more money is this:

1) In outdoor situations I won't need F2.8 really, if I really need shallow DOF I'll use the 70-200mm F4.
2) Indoors, I mostly use the 17-40L, and in that case i'm usually taking group photos (or photos at a party etc..), in which case I usually use F6 or higher to make sure everybody is in focus. I have to use a flash of course, which is fine.
3) The IS helps for low light situations, but still doesn't help unless you can tell everybody in the photo to stand still

Where I could see an advantage is taking photos of static things (outside for example) in low light. Photos around sunset / sunrise for example.

Arkanoid · 6 May 2007 at 13:25

Anyone bought from HK sellers on fleabay or would you avoid?

Raider · 6 May 2007 at 14:30

Arkanoid said:
Anyone bought from HK sellers on fleabay or would you avoid?

If you want anything cheap, go with Kerso. Not as cheap as HK, but 100% reliable, and customs free. He really is THE man

A.N.Other · 6 May 2007 at 14:38

Raider said:
He really is THE man

For truth.

yak.h'cir · 6 May 2007 at 15:59

The question you should be asking yourself is how happy are you with your style of camera, i.e. the 1.6x crop ala 300/350/400d & 20/30d? Do you have asperations to get a full frame camera at some point in the next couple of years? The crop cameras are great, and they'll be here for many years to come so if you are happy with them that's great, and you should get the EFS17-55 as from all accounts its the perfect walkabout lens, and an excellent partner for the 10-22. The extra 15mm reach over the 17-40 would be very handy as I always find the 40mm falls short of what I would like it to be.

If you think you might be going full frame though it's something to think about, because it would be a bit rubbish to have to replace your camera and all your main lenses at the same time.

robertgilbert86 · 6 May 2007 at 16:10

I recently bought a lens of a HK seller and didn't get charged when it was delivered. But then a week later I got a letter from FedEx asking for £25 tax

It's still worth it though. Some sellers will to refund tax too if you shop around.