Used Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 USM IS Autofocus Zoom Lens

2016-04-02T09:53:27

It's not great in low light, but it's lovely for nature shots and outdoors photos

alicia g.

2013-07-10T21:00:00

This is a great mid-price, all around lens. I use it on my Canon 60D for both stills and video and it's on my camera 75% of the time (the rest of the time I pretty much only shoot on 50mm prime). Auto focus is impressively fast, the range is spot on for a walk around lens, and it can do most of what you want it to do with some imagination. Feels better constructed, is more consistent, and higher quality than the 18-135 kit lens.

Clara S.

2012-08-19T21:00:00

I have had this lens for almost 6 years and it is my best friend! It lived in Germany with me for 3.5 years as I traveled all over Europe and even into the sandy environment of Egypt. This lens is a great walkabout lens that can do almost everything, in my opinion. The wide angle is great for the tight streets of Europe and the 85mm is nice for the close up portraits of the locals. Yes, it can suck up some dirt, but after 6 years of very hard use and over 200k photos, I just had the interior cleaned for 90 bucks, and now it's ready for another 5 years. You can't go wrong with this baby.

STEVEN H.

2012-08-12T21:00:00

I used this lens to photography a bridal shower. It was a pretty casual affair. I noticed that it locked on autofocus fast and was accurate. I love the USM. I am pleased with how sharp the images are from a non-L lens. Finally, I'm such a big fan of the distance window. When I was shooting a large group photo I could just switch to manual and set it based on distance instead of the auto focus locking on to the one area of contrast in the background! One big drawback is how slow the lens is. Common complaint for almost any zoom lens, but I've been shooting a lot with my 50mm f1.8 and really noticed the loss of light and depth of field. However, I'm really happy with the range of focal lengths. It has made a great kit lens replacement.

DANIEL V.

2012-05-06T21:00:00

I use it 90% of the time

jake

2012-04-17T21:00:00

This lens is a good upgrade from a kit lens and works well as a general purpose lens. It's not L lens claiber but will provide consistent good quality photos. It works well in a wide variety of lighting situations and has held up to 3 years of use and travel. The downside is that it's not an L lens. If you're looking for professional output then you'll have spend more to get it. However it does everything it's designed to do. Perfect for the photo enthusiast; not so much for the professional.

WILLIAM H.

2012-02-05T19:00:00

This a great lens if you are looking to upgrade your standard kit lens. I upgraded from the 18-55 f/3.5-5.6 IS and it is a totally different shooting experience! USM autofocus is fast and silent and image quality is great. It is also handy that the out ring does not rotate when you focus(good for polarizing filters). Only issue i have is that some time the autofocus has trouble with backgrounds with out much deffinition but full time manual focusing makes this problem less frustrating.

MARTIN N.

2012-01-15T19:00:00

I just got this lens and so far I love it. This was my first good lens I bought. My others are the Kit lens. The price is great and I am really loving how well it performs.

MARVIN A.

2012-01-01T19:00:00

Great for indoor and outdoor photography

Billy k.

2012-01-01T19:00:00

Good all around lens, but focus is not consistant and there is distortion at the wide end.

GREGORY G.

2011-12-28T19:00:00

I love the clarity I get with this lens. It is lightweight and easy to interchange. I am very satisfied with the zoom range. I bought it used, hoping it would be perfect. I have found a small flaw within the lens, it only appears at particular focal points. I tried having it cleaned, the merchant was unable to locate the flaw when examining the lens. The spot shows up occassionly it is frustrating. I would like to have known about it before I purchased the lens. Overall,I am happy with the lens and the images I am able to capture with it.

Teri

2011-12-27T19:00:00

This is the lens used most often on my Cannon SXi. Unfortunately, after using this lens, I simply could not return to the kit lens--as the results with this lens were so much better. Everyone in my family loves the excellent family event photos! And my garden is especially lovely through this lens.

JUDY K.

2011-12-18T19:00:00

I use this lens as my primary. I bought it used, hoping for 100% quality. There is one spot within the lens that shows up at specific focal points. It's hard to find and only shows up on images when I am focused at that point. It hasn't been a huge problem and I am enjoying the lens overall. I did get the lens at a good price but would like to have known about this flaw. The lens was rated with a high star quality rating. I love the quality of the images I am able to capture with this lens.

TERESA S.

2011-12-10T19:00:00

This is one of the best CANON walk around lens. Very light and I used this lens on my CANON XTi 100%, a great lens.

EPJEOS

2011-12-10T19:00:00

THIS IS A GREAT WALK AROUND LENS. DON'T FORGET CANON 67MM (UV) FILTER. THIS LENS STAYS ON MY CANON XTi 100%.

E J.

2011-09-06T21:00:00

This is my all around favorite lens that I keep on the camera most of the time. Although it has some barrel distortion and some color distortion, I shoot RAW and it all cleans up with a click or two in Photoshop. It is far superior to the kit lens that came with my 20D. When I purchased my Canon 7D, I was looking for a newer lens. After reading specs on the new lenses, I decided to buy another EF-S 17mm - 85mm. I had Canon clean and service my original EF-S 17mm - 85mm lens, and use it as a back up. I do not use this lens for indoor low light photography without a tripod. Canon makes good L lenses for low light. Having a distance scale, I am able to use it (with tripod) with an infrared filter.

ELEANORE H.

2011-09-03T21:00:00

I purchased this to replace the kit lens in order to fill the gap to my 70-200 zoom lens. The picture quality is consistent and good for a medium cost lens. It also happens to use the same size filter as my Canon 70-200 F4 lens which allows me to minimize the number of filters in my camera bag. Worth the investment if you are looking for a modestly priced Canon lens to fill the gap to a 70 or 80-whatever zoom lens.

FREDERICK K.

2011-02-19T19:00:00

I purchased this to replace and fill the gap between the 18-55mm Kit Lens and the 70-200mm f4.0 IS USM Tele-Zoom to use on my Canon XSi. Now wish I had bought the camera body and added this lens rather than the 18-55 kit lens. The build quality is not as good as L grade Canon lens but it's not nearly as expensive either. A good lens for a reasonable price. It also uses the same size filter (67mm) as the 70-200 f4.0 lens, so both lenses get a UV filter and can share the other filters. This halves the number of filters I have to carry around in my camera backpack.

TrumpetSprint

2011-01-12T19:00:00

This was the best purchase I've made since I bought my camera. The USM is quiet and fast, the zoom is smooth, the IS is handy, the optics are clear. Overall a great lens, especially if you can't afford the faster L series. Has a great zoom range as well, which is incredibly useful for event and wedding photography, when you don't have time to switch between lenses.

RICHARD G.

2010-08-20T21:00:00

An OK lens with good image quality in the middle range. The wide end barrels badly and is very soft in the corners. Build quality is excellent and IS helps considerabily, it is a good walk around lens and better than the lower end kit lenses.

ColvinAtch

2010-05-22T21:00:00

My go to portrait lens

Alan S.

2010-01-09T19:00:00

Great Value. Excellent quality for a very good price. If you're not ready for an "L" series lens, this optically is very close. The only difference would be the light weight construction. Great all purpose lens to change out and up grade from the Kit lens that came with my Canon T1i .

Family P.

2009-08-08T21:00:00

Just started using the lens and everything is great. Had it out today on Mt. Evans at 14,250 feet in Colorado. All landscape shots overlooking the Rocky Mountains were clear, sharp and great color.

BURKE M.

2008-08-06T21:00:00

Easy to use, has auto and manual focus setting that are very easy to use.Lightweight, not too bulky.

DRA

2008-08-05T21:00:00

My wife and I have used this lens for several years and several thousand exposures all over the world. At one point, it got dropped, in a small suitcase, from about 2 metres onto a solid airport floor and started to give intermittent faults that were repaired by Canon [$]. Otherwise, it has proved extremely reliable and durable in the rough and ready world of travelling and use in various conditions including a sand storm in Beijing. The lens is very easy to use, smooth zoom, fast focussing. The aperture is adequate for most purposes. An excellent lens for the Canon 350D or 450D giving a well-balanced combination. Overall, very highly recommended indeed.

HarryRM

2008-03-18T21:00:00

Great lens... added it to my arsenal of lenses recently.. as a compliment to my 28-135IS lens, and 50MM lens... for my studio work.. the lens creep is amazingly annoying... and the dust inside the lens is a pain.. but all in all.. a great lens for the price... especially if you can get a used one and save a hundred bucks or so.. I've been using it pretty much exclusively since I bought it.. just have to make sure i photoshop out the dust flecks or darker shots...

Ivan

2008-03-05T19:00:00

Great as my walk around lens.

David A.

2008-02-22T19:00:00

Had this lense for a year now and find it great in all settings; family portraits to landscapes. No troubles in extreme cold, tough enough to go in and out of the pack through the day. Well worth the $!

photo g.

2007-07-09T21:00:00

This is an outstanding lens that will stay on my camera 95% of the time.

Captain K.

2007-07-09T21:00:00

very nice clarity, lens is slow in any low light, autofocus does not seem as good as my other lenses. Overall, very good images and very good wide angle which is why I purchased the lens.

Uncle D.