Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4.5-5.6 IS USM

Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM

The Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM is a weighty ultra zoom lens with a good focal range and for those owners of a first-generation Canon kit lens that doesn’t have image stabilisation, this added feature is a real plus.

Photo answers rating 4*

Features and handling
Overall build quality on the Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM is good, as it has a metal lens mount, and rubberised zoom and focus rings, together with a mottled black plastic finish. One downside is the zoom ring which, although a good size, has a slightly sticky action – particularly when zooming short distances. Thankfully there are no such problems with the focus ring.
Attach this lens to a bigger D-SLR like the Canon EOS 40D and you’ll get a nice balance between lens and body, but on lighter models, such as the EOS 400D, you might find it a little front heavy.
On Canon’s 1.6x crop sensor, the 17-85mm focal range gives this lens a 35mm-equivalent 27-136mm field of view. At 17mm, this isn’t especially wide, but that extra mm over the 18-55mm kit lens can be beneficial, while the longer 85mm zoom gets you a lot closer to the action.  The EF-S lens range has been designed for use with APS-C sensors, so the EF-S 17-85mm isn’t compatible with full frame models such as the EOS 5D.
The autofocus is fast, locking onto subjects quickly with minimal hunting – even in tricky lighting – and the USM motor ensures quiet focusing. The in-lens image stabilisation works well, giving sharp shots with shutter speeds up to three times slower than normal when hand-holding.

Value & verdict
Canon’s 17-85mm f/4-5.6 is a solid performer. Taking into account the 1.6x Canon crop factor this lens doesn’t offer a ‘super wide’ field of view, but the focal range is still good for a general-purpose lens and both image quality and performance are respectable.

Spec
Street price: £353
Construction: 17 Elements in 12 groups
Aperture blades: 6
Maximum aperture: f/4-5.6
Minimum aperture: f/22-32
Image stabiliser: Yes
Minimum focus: 35cm
Filter size: 67mm
Dimensions: 78.5x92mm (DxL)
Weight: 475g
Mount: Canon EF-S

www.canon.co.uk