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Canon EF-S 17-85mm f4~5.6 IS USM
The Canon EF-S 17-85mm f4~5.6 IS USM was announced in August 2004 as general purpose zoom for Canon digital SLRs with EF-S lens mounts; these include the EOS 400D / XTi and EOS 40D. The lens delivers a 5x optical range with an equivalent focal range of 27-136mm.
This offers both wide angle and reasonable telephoto coverage, and a more useful overall range than the budget EF-S 18-55mm kit lens. The EF-S 17-85mm also features Image Stabilisation facilities to counteract camera-shake, along with quick and quiet USM focusing.
Canon EF-S 17-85mm Design and build quality
The EF-S 17-85mm measures 78mm in diameter and 92mm long, has a 67mm filter thread, and weighs 475g. This is noticeably bigger and heavier than the EF-S 18-55mm kit lens which at 69x66mm and just 190g is both small and incredibly light. But to be fair, this kit lens is much smaller and lighter than almost any other Canon model, so if you’re upgrading, you should expect something bigger and heavier.
In terms of build quality the EF-S 17-85mm is noticeably superior to the EF-S 18-55mm, although not quite up to the standard of one of Canon’s luxury ‘L’ range. The EF-S 17-85mm feels similar to the EF-S 17-55mm and EF-S 10-22mm models in terms of build quality and the style of its zoom and focusing rings.
In terms of focusing, the USM motor of the EF-S 17-85 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 – this is good news for users of polarising filters. There is a lens hood available, but like all non-L lenses from Canon, you’ll need to buy it separately.
Canon EF-S 17-85mm Coverage
The Canon EF-S 17-85mm delivers a longer 5x optical range to the 3x of the standard EF-S 18-55mm kit lens. At the wide end, 17mm doesn’t sound much greater than 18mm, but it is noticeable on examples taken side by side. More obvious though is the longer end, which lets the EF-S 17-85mm zoom-in closer. It may not be long enough for sports or wildlife photography, but it’s ideal for portraits or simply zooming-in on details.
Canon EF-S 17-85mm f4~5.6 IS USM |
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Canon EF-S 17-85mm f4~5.6 IS USM |
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| 17-85mm at 17mm (27mm equivalent) |
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17-85mm at 85mm (136mm equivalent) |
The EF-S 17-85mm is equipped with Image Stabilisation, or IS for short, which counteracts 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.
Canon EF-S 17-85mm
Image Stabilisation OFF
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Canon EF-S 17-85mm
Image Stabilisation ON |
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85mm (136mm equiv), 1/4, f32, 100 ISO |
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85mm (136mm equiv), 1/4, f32, 100 ISO |
In practice the IS system proved very effective. Below are two examples taken moments apart with the lens fully zoomed-in to 85mm, and therefore operating at an effective focal length of 136mm. With the aperture closed to f32 at 100 ISO, the shutter speed was just 1/4 of a second. We cropped an area from each image measuring 564x272 pixels, then reduced it to 282x136 pixels for reproduction here; you’re therefore viewing the images here at 50%. It’s clear how the version with IS has eliminated the wobbles.
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