Feedback for EF-S17-85IS USM

[hetfieldpaul]

yeah 18-200 quite heavy... about 500+g coming to 600g.

but i do agree with the rest... from 18-55mm to 17-85mm like not much upgrade (you wun see much significance difference i find).

if you top up a bit to $600-$650, you can get yourself a tamron 17-55mm f2.8 (new one). It's as good as my 17-40mm f4 L lens!

but if u want zoom range... then this tamron not for you. alternatively you can consider a 55-200mm... (will be cheaper then your 17-85mm), but you will have to keep your existing 18-55 kit lens for that range.

Well said, a second hand 17-85mm is not cheap lets say about $ 450, why not just save up $ 100 more and get a tamron 17-50mm f2.8, its a great general purpose lens which would last you a long time if you stick to cropped bodies, furthermore, the 17-85mm lens isnt exactly sharper than the 18-55mm, even if you get a new 17-85mm, from the BnS corner it has poor resale value, compared to the tamron, so i think getting the tamron would be your best bang for buck

 

[calebk]

Honestly, the 17-50-ish range is really the most common range that most people use on a 1.6x crop body. That's the range where you can get quality lenses for not much. Like others have already said, consider a Tamron 17-50 f/2.8; it's an excellent alternative to the venerable Canon EF-S 17-55 f/2.8 IS USM.

 

[badtzdiana]

I have this kit lens for both of my school's 40d, and the IS and USM and the reach is good and the image quality is decent, but, as the equipment head, I can tell you that the lens can be quite a nightmare..

The lens itself is quite heavy (475g) and the zoom ring is just simply "frictionless" aka very loose, zoom creep of course when you point it downwards or moving about, but that is not the scary part yet.

Its 17-85 right? Imagine this, you are shooting.. then your eye is inside the view finder then you recompose for you perfect shot and you need wide!!, you turn from the most tele to the most wide with the loose zoom ring in the heat of the moment asap and you bang the 475g lens from 85mm right back into its 17mm position (Imagine the inertia..), you press the shutter and you hear mirror lockup.. You wonder what happened and the LCD screen says error ** (I forgot the number) "Please check your lens connection"

You unmount and remount, and no more error code, you are relieved, but once you look into your viewfinder, WTF, why so dark one??? You look at the front of the lens and see the aperture ring at its smallest (Not suppose to happen). You desperately point it at an object to shoot and you half press, WTF??? , the focus keeps on hunting back and forth, like vibrating (serious).

I sent the first lens to canon via the school, bill came back $200++ (Warranty over), reason: AF motor spoil. Servicing charge $120 & motor only a few dollars.

The second followed suit not long after :bheart: (SAME EXACT PROBLEM) and now the school refuses to pay for the repair for that.. And now I have a $700 475g paper weight sitting in my school drybox...

Both 17-85 lens were spoilt as it was heavy and loose and frequent banging from changing from one extreme focal length to the other very quickly (very hard to prevent) caused the motor to die [even manual focus also cannot use, cause aperture also stuck]

so... [Sorry for the long story la :bsmilie: , important info for potential buyers] you still want to buy a 1785 :dunno: ??

wow, seems like this lens very problematic lei..

 

[badtzdiana]

Honestly, the 17-50-ish range is really the most common range that most people use on a 1.6x crop body. That's the range where you can get quality lenses for not much. Like others have already said, consider a Tamron 17-50 f/2.8; it's an excellent alternative to the venerable Canon EF-S 17-55 f/2.8 IS USM.

I more interested to increase a bit of zoom range, still don have great skills to do gd lens justice.. :bsmilie:
thks for ur advice too..

 

[badtzdiana]

I'm also a newbie, currently addicted to renting lens for special occasions. So much cheaper and if you really like the lens, then consider buying it! Win-Win!!

Its a gd method.

 

[badtzdiana]

Well said, a second hand 17-85mm is not cheap lets say about $ 450, why not just save up $ 100 more and get a tamron 17-50mm f2.8, its a great general purpose lens which would last you a long time if you stick to cropped bodies, furthermore, the 17-85mm lens isnt exactly sharper than the 18-55mm, even if you get a new 17-85mm, from the BnS corner it has poor resale value, compared to the tamron, so i think getting the tamron would be your best bang for buck

really many options.. thks for e advice..

 

[calebk]

I more interested to increase a bit of zoom range, still don have great skills to do gd lens justice.. :bsmilie:
thks for ur advice too..

Like I said, 50mm to 85mm is a matter of two or three steps forward only. In any case, I guess you don't quite value or quite need the large aperture that a 17-50 has to offer, which is why you are still looking for reasons to get the 17-85.

 

[badtzdiana]

Like I said, 50mm to 85mm is a matter of two or three steps forward only. In any case, I guess you don't quite value or quite need the large aperture that a 17-50 has to offer, which is why you are still looking for reasons to get the 17-85.

i suppose so..

 

[hetfieldpaul]

Just saw a 17-85mm In Bns for $450, not exactly very cheap tho, furthermore most 2nd hand 17-85 lenses are pretty old

 

[calebk]

i suppose so..

But you might later, which is still why I'd recommend a Tamron 17-50 f/2.8. Compensate for that extra reach by taking a few steps forward. Think about it this way, now you are willing to spend $450 for a lens which gives you three steps more reach and better built quality. You have to ask yourself if that's worth it, because to me it isn't.

 

[badtzdiana]

thks all for ur kind replies :thumbsup::angel: