Canon EF-S 17 85mm F 4 5 6 IS USM Review | 54 Data compared

The Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM Lens is described as a highly versatile walk-around lens for APS-C cameras, offering a convenient 5x focal length range and effective image stabilization. Performance advantages include rapid and quiet ring-type USM autofocus, good center sharpness across the focal range, and a compact, lightweight design. Conversely, the lens shows significant limitations, including heavy geometric barrel distortion and notable vignetting at the 17mm wide-angle setting. Other drawbacks include strong chromatic aberration, high susceptibility to flare, and a relatively slow maximum aperture of f/4-5.6 that reduces low-light performance.

The ePHOTOzine review highlights the Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM as a versatile, 5x zoom walk-around lens offering a significant upgrade over kit lenses, featuring effective three-stop image stabilization and fast, quiet ring-type USM autofocus. While the center remains sharp throughout the zoom range, the lens is constrained by a slow maximum aperture and a build that feels less robust than professional alternatives. However, the lens suffers from notable shortcomings, including severe barrel distortion, high light fall-off, and significant chromatic aberration at the 17mm wide-angle setting. Additionally, the image stabilizer requires manual deactivation when panning, and the overall optical performance in the corners is considered poor when shooting wide open.

The DPReview evaluation of the Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM highlights a versatile, mid-range zoom for APS-C DSLRs offering a practical 24-136mm equivalent range, effective image stabilization, and fast ring-type USM autofocus. While providing better build quality than basic kit lenses, it delivers high sharpness and contrast throughout the 35-85mm range. However, the lens suffers from significant optical compromises at 17mm, including heavy vignetting, barrel distortion, and distinct corner softness, alongside noticeable chromatic aberration. Additionally, the maximum aperture of f/4-5.6 is relatively slow, and the build can feel thin under pressure.

The Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM lens is a highly versatile option featuring an impressive 5x zoom range, reliable image stabilization (IS), and a fast ultrasonic motor (USM). It is solidly built and provides good overall handling, making it a functional walk-around tool. The lens barrel also sports a "macro" moniker, indicating an extended focusing range intended for closer subjects. However, the lens falls short of its steep price tag, which exceeds £500. Its primary drawbacks include a lackluster maximum-aperture performance and weak wide-aperture resolution across most focal lengths, with the best image quality only achieved when stopped down to f/8 or f/11. Additionally, there is noticeable barrel distortion at its shortest focal lengths, and despite the fancy "macro" label, Canon’s cheaper, standard 18-55mm kit zoom actually provides superior close-range magnification.

Optically, the review notes significant drawbacks, highlighting that the lens does not offer a major increase in image quality or sharpness over cheaper alternatives. Chromatic aberration is a major issue, resulting in awful color fringing particularly at the wide-angle end of the zoom range. Furthermore, it is the only lens in its group that fails to include a lens hood, which is an inconvenient omission for users looking for a complete kit out of the box.

The Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM is a highly recommended general-purpose zoom lens designed specifically for APS-C crop-sensor Canon DSLRs. It serves as a major upgrade over the standard 18-55mm kit lens by offering a significantly longer 5x optical zoom range (27-136mm equivalent). The build quality is noticeably superior to budget kit lenses, featuring an internal focusing design that makes it polariser-friendly and an ultrasonic motor (USM) for fast, near-silent autofocus. A major highlight is its highly effective Image Stabilisation (IS) system, which provides up to three stops of compensation to combat camera shake during handheld shooting in low light. However, the lens does come with several distinct drawbacks that users should consider. It is considerably heavier and bulkier than a basic kit lens, weighing in at 475g. While its build quality is good, it lacks the professional-grade environmental dust and drip-proof sealing found on high-end L-series lenses. Furthermore, Canon does not include a lens hood in the box, requiring an optional separate purchase. In terms of optical performance, outdoor testing reveals that while its resolution is comparable to...

The Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM is a versatile, older APS-C mid-range zoom lens, acting as a budget-friendly step up from standard 18-55mm kit lenses. Key advantages include an expanded 17mm wide-angle, effective image stabilization, quick ring-type USM autofocus, and a full-time manual focus override. However, the lens suffers from notable optical flaws, particularly significant vignetting, heavy barrel distortion, and reduced sharpness at the 17mm setting. Additional disadvantages include a slow variable aperture of f/4-5.6, making it less ideal for low-light shooting without relying on stabilization.

The Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 USM IS is a consumer-grade standard zoom lens designed exclusively for APS-C EOS digital SLRs due to its short-backfocus design. Serving as an upgrade from the basic 18-55mm kit lens, it provides a versatile 5x zoom range equivalent to 27-136mm on full-frame cameras. It features a complex optical construction of 17 elements in 12 groups with 3 aspherical elements, packaged in a relatively compact body that extends significantly when zooming. Key advantages highlighted in the review include its highly desirable 2nd generation image stabilizer (IS) that allows hand-held shooting up to three stops slower, and its very fast, near-silent ring-type ultrasonic (USM) autofocus drive that supports full-time manual focusing. Additionally, the non-rotating front element makes it easy to use a polarizing filter. However, the lens suffers from several prominent drawbacks. Its main creative limitations stem from a rather slow maximum aperture, which restricts low-light performance and diminishes the potential for achieving a shallow depth-of-field. Furthermore, despite a somewhat high price tag, the build quality is deemed unimpressive and far below Canon's professional 'L' class lenses....

The LensTip review of the Canon EF-S 17-85 mm f/4-5.6 IS USM evaluates this universal zoom lens as a mid-tier upgrade option over standard kit lenses for APS-C DSLR bodies. On the positive side, the lens features a highly versatile focal range equivalent to 28-135mm in full-frame terms, offering excellent daily usability. It is noted for delivering good picture quality in the center of the frame across all focal lengths, maintaining consistent resolution results. Additionally, the lens features a solid build quality, acceptable levels of coma and astigmatism, high-quality anti-reflective coatings that prevent inner flares, an efficient image stabilization system, and a fast, quiet USM autofocus motor. However, the review outlines several severe optical drawbacks, particularly at the wide 17mm focal extreme. The most significant disadvantage is a critically high level of chromatic aberration at 17mm (reaching 0.13% to 0.14%), which the reviewer describes as a "disaster". The wide end also suffers from weak edge-of-frame resolution, a very large barrel distortion of -5.7%, and significant vignetting that causes a 44% light fall-off in the corners at maximum aperture. Finally, its...

The Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM is a versatile consumer-grade standard zoom, offering a practical 24-136mm equivalent focal range and effective image stabilization, making it a significant step up from standard kit lenses. The lens features a quick, quiet ring-type USM for fast autofocus and delivers consistent sharpness across most of its range, ideal for general photography. However, the lens suffers from severe barrel distortion, significant vignetting, and heavy chromatic aberration at the wide-angle 17mm end, resulting in soft corners, according to DPReview. Additionally, it has a slow f/4-5.6 aperture, limiting low-light performance without relying on its stabilization, alongside a somewhat weak plastic build.

In his review, Ken Rockwell identifies the Canon EF-S 17-85mm IS USM as an ideal "walk-around" lens for APS-C cameras, highlighting its 5x zoom range and highly effective Image Stabilization (IS) for handheld, low-light shooting. Key advantages include silent, fast USM autofocus, full-time manual focus override, a lightweight build, and a non-rotating front element. Conversely, the lens suffers from strong geometric distortion, specifically heavy barrel distortion at 17mm and pincushion at the telephoto end. Additional drawbacks include significant chromatic aberration, noticeable vignetting when wide open, a relatively slow variable f/4-5.6 aperture, and lack of a included lens hood.

The Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM is a lightweight, travel-friendly zoom lens built specifically for digital cameras with APS-C sensors. Equivalent to a 27-136mm lens on a full-frame camera, it covers wide-angle, standard, and light telephoto focal lengths in a single package. Its standout pros include a highly effective image stabilization system that compensates for three stops, a versatile and convenient zoom range, and Super Spectra coatings that make it relatively insensitive to flare and backlight. Additionally, its ultrasonic motor (USM) ensures quiet autofocusing with quick response times, clocking in at 0.26 seconds on a Canon 7D. However, as an older design from 2003, the lens suffers from several prominent optical flaws that serve as its main cons. It exhibits exceptionally high distortion and high vignetting, with an extreme peak at the 17mm wide-angle end that can visibly warp the horizon. Resolution is also a weakness, particularly due to low sharpness in the corners and disappointing performance at certain focal lengths unless stopped down to f/8. While uncorrected RAW files show high chromatic aberration, using a newer camera like...

The Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM lens achieves an overall DXOMARK score of 12 when tested on the Canon EOS 7D Mark II, performing at its best at a focal length of 24mm and an aperture of f/4. Evaluated across various metrics, the lens demonstrates a sharpness score of 7 P-Mpix and a light transmission level of 5.5 TStop. Its geometric distortion is measured at 0.5%, providing relatively controlled linear accuracy for users across its versatile zoom range. A major benefit of this lens configuration is its well-controlled vignetting, which registers a minimal light fall-off of just -0.8 EV. However, a notable drawback identified in the technical review is the presence of chromatic aberration, which reaches 10 µm and can introduce visible color fringing in high-contrast areas. While the lens offers a flexible focal range for APS-C sensor bodies like the 7D Mark II, its modest sharpness score and limited light transmission prevent it from maximizing the full potential of high-resolution sensors.