Rating: 5.00 
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thoughts to help your decision
by Anonymous from Alberta, Canada
Rating:
All zoom lenses have drawbacks. However, according to many reviews this is a fantastic lens especially when you consider what is available for the EF-S lenses---those lenses for Canon cameras that have a 1.6 crop factor such as the Rebel, 20D and 30D. This is definitely the BEST all-round lens available for these cameras as the EF-S 18-55mm f3.5-4.6 and the EF-S 17-85mm have some serious optic problems. It is great for low light photography because of the large aperture and image stablization; It is lovely for portraits because of the large aperture and circular aperture rings which combine to give a smooth background blur. The lens is larger and heavier than all the other EF-S zoom lenses.
You need to weigh the positives and negatives so that you find a good fit with what you need the lens for. Here is what I am considering.
Positives:
• excellent optics (at par and often better than many of the Canon "L", luxury, lens line):
a. It is an extremely sharp lens right through the zoom range.
b. the lens is low in chromatic aberations.
c. there is low barrel distortion at wide angle.
• IS, image stabilization, allows you to hand-hold up to three stops more that without
• the color rendition is excellent (I find it to be on the cool side).
• the build quality is good, similar to the EF-S 10-17mm lens.
• suitable as a portrait lens, hand-held low light lens, and a wide angle landscape lens.
Negatives:
• It is expensive (you get what you pay for, pro-quality glass elements, IS, and the large fixed aperture).
• It is not sealed as well as the "L" lenses. There is a large extension of the zoom and it must suck a lot of air in as it expands. Will this cause dust to enter the lens?
• It only works on the cameras with a 1.6 crop factor. Will you eventually be upgrading to a full-frame camera or, more importantly, will the majority of cameras in the future be full frame and reduce the resale value of this lens?
• There is some strong vignetting that happens when the aperture is wide open at the widest angle (stop down to f4 and this goes away). This is the only real optics drawback of this lens but apparently most wide angle lenses have this, especially the zooms.
• because of a tendency to flare you should get the lens hood (not included).
See some samples and decide for yourself:
A Flickr group http://www.flickr.com/groups/canon_17-55mm/
Pbase (hit refresh to see new samples. Warning, I noticed some adult content here)
http://www.pbase.com/cameras/canon/ef_s_17_55_28_is_usm
Good reviews at:
Photozone http://www.photozone.de/8Reviews/lenses/canon_1755_28/index.htm
Digital picture review http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-EF-S-17-55mm-f-2.8-IS-USM-Lens-Review.aspx
I hope this helps your decision.
Video
by Derek Shantz from Toronto
Rating:
I shot an outdoor music video with this lens on the weekend and it performed very well for me. Great "cool" colour and the IS is definitely a huge help with any handheld shots. Especially when you are outside in the freezing cold. I also really appreciated not having to change lenses at all during the day.
Overall IMO this is the best all-around lens I have ever shot video with and not the most expensive. The Tamron 17-55 VR does not compare!
If you only buy one lens for your APSC camera make sure you consider this one!
