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Canon EF-S 17-55mm review
Canon’s EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM lens was announced alongside the EOS-30D digital SLR in February 2006. Boasting a constant f2.8 aperture throughout the range, it’s the fastest standard focal length zoom lens available for Canon EF-S mount digital SLRs, and also features Image Stabilisation to help combat camera-shake. As such it’s ideal for anyone who works in low light.
Like other EF-S lenses, it’s only compatible with Canon’s APS-C bodies, which include the EOS 400D / XTi and EOS 40D. Fitted to these bodies, the lens delivers an equivalent range of 27-88mm. It is not compatible with full-frame bodies.
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Canon EF-S 17-55mm design and build quality
With a diameter of 84mm and a shortest physical length of 111mm, the EF-S 17-55mm is by far the largest of Canon’s general-purpose EF-S zooms, and at 645g, the heaviest too. The EF-S 17-85mm and EF-S 18-55mm measure 78x92mm and 69x66mm, and weigh 475g and 190g respectively. The EF-S 17-55mm extends by 26mm using a single barrel.
The larger size and weight of the 17-55mm is down to its bright and constant f2.8 aperture, compared to the slower optics of the other lenses mentioned here. The large barrel diameter is reflected in the 77mm filter thread, and while a lens hood and pouch are available, like all non-L Canon lenses, they’re optional extras.
The exterior design and build quality of the EF-S 17-55mm and EF-S 17-85mm are very similar, although the additional weight of the former lends it an air of greater confidence. Both are considerably superior to the build quality of kit 18-55mm lens, but remain below that of Canon’s L range of standard zooms. So while the 17-55mm f2.8 may comfortably be the most expensive EF-S lens yet, this range has not achieved L standards so far – in terms of build anyway.
In terms of focusing, the USM motor of the EF-S 17-55 is much quicker and quieter than the budget EF-S 18-55mm, and it also employs internal focusing so the end section doesn’t rotate. The bright f2.8 aperture of the EF-S 17-55mm also allows it to easily focus in dimmer conditions, when other lenses struggle.
Canon EF-S 17-55mm coverage
The EF-S 17-55mm may be a premium lens, but it offers little difference to the standard kit model in terms of coverage. It zooms-out fractionally wider, but essentially offers the same range in practice. Examples of the range are shown below – if you want something with a longer reach, then the EF-S 17-85mm may be more suitable.
Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM |
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Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM |
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| 17-55mm at 17mm (27mm equivalent) |
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17-55mm at 55mm (88mm equivalent) |
The EF-S 17-55mm is equipped with Image Stabilisation, or IS for short, which counteracts for camera shake using a special optical element – this optical system allows you to see the stabilising effect through the viewfinder which can be very reassuring. Canon claims up to three stops of compensation, which should allow you to use shutter speeds up to eight times slower than before.
To test its effectiveness we shot the same close-up zoomed-into 55mm with and without IS enabled; this was working at an effective focal length of 88mm. Below are two examples taken with and without IS, using a very slow shutter speed of half a second. We've cropped the images to show one quarter of the original, then reduced them to 282x188 pixels for reproduction here. Viewed at 100%, the shot with IS is perfectly sharp.
Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM without IS |
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Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM with IS |
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Canon EF-S 17-55mm at 55mm (88mm
equivalent). IS disabled.
100 ISO, 0.5 second, f14
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Canon EF-S 17-55mm at 55mm (88mm
equivalent). IS enabled.
100 ISO, 0.5 second, f14 |
As with all anti-shake systems, the effectiveness of IS varies between photographers and the particular shooting conditions, but coupled with the f2.8 aperture you can now shoot under conditions you’d previously consider impossible. For example with the lens at 17mm we managed to shoot sharp portraits at f2.8 in a very dark bar environment using exposures as long as one second. This was only possible with the image stabilisation and f2.8 aperture of the lens – along with subjects who kept very still of course!
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