Canon EF-S 17-55mm verdict
Canon’s EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM is the optically brightest lens the company has produced for EF-S digital SLRs to date. Zoomed-out, it can gather twice as much light as the EF-S 17-85mm, and zoomed-in it can gather four times more than it or the kit lens. Combined with Image Stabilisation, this makes the EF-S 17-55mm extremely useful in very low light conditions, and also allows you to take portrait shots with very blurred backgrounds.
You have to really want or need this brighter aperture though as it doesn’t come cheap – and it’s important to note that despite its high cost, the EF-S 17-55mm offers pretty much the same focal range as the basic EF-S 18-55mm kit lens. So if you want a general purpose lens which zooms-in closer than the kit lens, then you should be looking at the cheaper EF-S 17-85mm, pictured right.
If you're seriously into portraits or low light work though, the Canon EF-S 17-55mm will delight. The more you see what it’s optics are capable of, the more you find yourself taking shots under conditions you’d previously walk away from. And while it’s pricier than the EF-S 17-85mm, Canon owners can at least console themselves it costs the same or less than the Nikkor DX 17-55mm f2.8 while additionally boasting Image Stabilisation.
Canon’s most expensive EF-S lens to date may not meet the company’s ‘L’ standards, in terms of build quality anyway, but it’ll be welcomed by EF-S body owners who are into portraiture or low light work. Most photographers will be better served by the cheaper EF-S 17-85mm, but if you’re a specialist portrait or low light photographer, the EF-S 17-55mm comes Highly Recommended.
For sample images, detailed results and more features, see our Canon EF-S 17-55mm IS review at our sister site Camera Labs. |
