Canon EF-S 15-85mm lens
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| Excellent quality 01/07/2010 Before deciding upon this lens I did a considerable amount of research into the various lens options for my Canon 400D. I felt I was not getting the best out of the camera with the 18-55mm lens supplied as standard with the camera. Already having a 75-300mm telephoto and a 100mm macro lens, it rather narrowed down the area of choice for the next lens. The problem was that everyone seemed to be saying that the 17-55mm supplied lens was very good, and it is within reason, but in practice I find it difficult to get the best out of it, not too bad with relative close-ups but broader shots did not satisfy. While the optics might be good, the play in the manual focusing makes accurate focusing difficult. This lens, the EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 had some pretty good press reviews, and several recommended it as a worthy walk-around lens; one review said of this lens that "it stands out from the crowd" among the many general purpose lenses, and that it offers "top-tier image quality over an excellent general purpose focal length range". Well I am not disappointed. Firstly the lens has a good solid feel to it and a nice weight. The zoom operates smoothly and without any flexing, and the manual focusing ring is easy and positive to use with no play in it. In either case the lens does not rotate during adjustments, useful when using some filters. As for the images it produces, there is a vast improvement over the standard equipment lens. Sharper more detailed images, better tonal range, and better colour rendition; I find I have less editing to do to produce a more accurate picture. Problems such as barrel distorting, common to many wide angle lenses, can easily be remedied with editing software too. The extra flexibility with the slightly wider angle at one end and the much greater range at the 85mm end again make this a very practical lens. That it has Image Stabilisation makes it easier to use with confidence with slower shutter speeds or for telephoto shots. This is without doubt the lens that will be on my camera the most By Benjamin UK | |||||
| wow 10/11/2009 I bought the Canon 15-85mm IS last Saturday, not from Amazon as price was too high. I wanted a lens that I could use as "A walk about" and this seemed to fit the bill. I took some shots in the local park that evening and was very impressed with the results. I took a bit of a gamble buying this lens as I found only one review; in this country and America. I compared the findings with 17-40 F4l and 17 - 55 F2.8 IS. The 15-85 was slightly worse on Barrel distortion and CA compared to the other two, but was far superior on Resolution. The big question is going to be is the 17-55 F2.8 better if working in low light probably yes but the lens is not as sharp also it is more expensive. If looking at these lenses then think very carefully about the 15-85 as the zoom is much larger than the other two examples and the resolution is far superior. I only gave the product 4* on account of the barrel distortion and the CA values. CA can be corrected in RAW and barrel distortion by altering the aperture. By John Kirkpatrick Kent , England | |||||
| Wow! Impressive EF-S lens considering variable aperture! 27/08/2010 For my amateur hobby shooting I prefer zooms with constant aperture along with a few portrait primes. So I might carry a 28-75mm f2.8 or a 70-200 f4 IS, and maybe a 35mm f2 or 50mm f1.4 for low light and portraits. I've read up on some reviews and wanted to give the 15-85mm a try after many positive recommendations. I found a great seller on Amazon who sent a mint 15-85mm with hood+b&w uv filter for an outrageously low price of $700! Still, it cost almost double than my Canon 18-135mm IS and I doubted if it's optical quality was really worth the price. IT IS! The image quality is simply superb! Granted, its variable aperture suggests optimum performance outdoors and a little more consideration to depth of field effects, but it is vastly superior to the 18-135mm (and the 28-135mmm) in terms of clarity and color. It is incredibly sharp for a non-L lens, and the auto-focus is quick and accurate. I could not give it 5 stars due to the zoom creep (which happens between 24-50mm). All lenses have some degree of zoom creep but for some reason (perhaps due to its weight), the zoom creep on this one happens rather fast between 24mm and 50mm. Don't be alarmed, there is no zoom creep at 15mm or 85mm, so unless there is traction to either push in or pull out the lens, the lens will stay pretty much in place at its extreme. It's really no big deal, your hand is usually on the barrel countering any zoom creep. My other option was to go with the even more expensive 17-55mm f2.8 but I like a little more reach and some opportunity to go wide. The 15-85mm is just the perfect walkaround zoom for my needs. If they made a 15-85mm f2.8, I'd be the first to get it but it would probably be a monster of a lens with a matching monster price tag. I haven't done much testing on the IS, but I've handheld the 15-85mm in the low tenths and have gotten some pretty good results. I'd like to say that the 18-135mm IS is comparable but I will say that the 28-135mm IS is not as good and a little lacking (it is a much older model, so IS must have improved over the years). The retail price could be a little cheaper but until the competition can come up with a lens with the same range and IQ, this Canon 15-85mm is the one beat (come on Tamron, I know you can do it!). By MAGIC KOALA Los Angeles | |||||
| Another great Canon lens! 21/08/2010 I am an enthusiastic, reasonably experienced amateur. I wanted to upgrade the kit 18-55mm lens that came with my Canon T1i. I researched many options, price, features, convenience etc. Finally I found the Canon 15-85mm lens! I quickly realised that this met my requirements and neatly complemented my Canon L 70-200mm f4. I am thrilled with the results, sharp images, easy to use, excellent auto focus, the IS really helps those hand held shots and everything that was promised in the reviews. Some downsides: the price is a little steep; there is no lens hood (shame on Canon!) and no case, shame again! But the quality of the results makes up for this. If you want to upgrade from your kit lens, this should be your first option. By D. A. Newsam Barbados, W.I. | |||||
| Top quality lens. 19/08/2010 I purchased this lens after carefully checking reviews, and I made no mistake. It truly is an outstanding piece of kit. Autofocus is near-instant, IS works a charm, and operation is silent. It is built like a tank too. The 15 mm width pushes it enough for cramped indoor parties and dinner groups, and the 85 takes it far enough for anything that doesn't need real tele capability. The sharpness of the images it can deliver is absolutely breathtaking. While there is a teeny bit of CA at some lengths, it's a Canon lens, so there's a profile in DPP that deals with it very capably. The only negatives would be the weight (although it helps with sturdiness and shake), the fact that is is rather slow, a little stiffness of the zoom in the middle (and a little to much movement needed at the long end), and of course the price. By TheAnd | |||||
