Stick with 18-55 IS or get 17-85 USM IS or...???

soze

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I've got a Rebel XSi with the Canon 18-55 IS kit lens. I like the range of the Canon 17-85 USM IS lens though.

Provided I can get a used 17-85 IS for around $250, would it be better to stick with the 18-55 IS kit lens, or go ahead and get the 17-85 USM IS lens?

Another thing to note is that my 18-55 IS kit lens seems to have a problem where it adds a weird artifact in the left side when I take a landscape picture on bright days with a background like clear sky. Nothing I can't photoshop clone stamp out, but it bugs me that I have to do it everytime. (I will try to find a picture with this and post it up when I can).

Any other good sharp lenses within this zoom range at a good reasonably affordable price?
 
For $250, the 17-85mm IS, is a great lens. It's got a nice range as you mentioned. I don't know how it compares to the new kit lens that you have, but it's a better than the older (non IS) 18-55mm kit lens. The only major drawback is the small maximum aperture. That's why I also have the Tamron 17-50mm F2.8, which I use when I need a wider aperture. But I still grab the 17-85mm for less demanding shooting.
 
Yeah, I eventually plan on adding the Canon 10-22 in addition to what I use for walkaround, so that also plays into this decision.
 
Canon EF 18-55mm IS should be a bit sharper than 17-85 but of course it lacks USM. The spot sounds like either dirt on the camera sensor or a lens flare. Try your camera body with another lens to check this.
 
Canon EF 18-55mm IS should be a bit sharper than 17-85 but of course it lacks USM. The spot sounds like either dirt on the camera sensor or a lens flare. Try your camera body with another lens to check this.

You know funny you should mention the flare. I'm starting to wondering if it's lens flare, because the lens itself looks spotless. These pictures were taken with a UV filter on, but not a polarizer or hood? Again, I'll eventually get a picture up so you guys can tell me what you think it might be. It doesn't seem to happen with my other lenses though, but hard to say, as I don't have any other lenses in that focal range.
 
EF 18-55mm IS is quite a flare catcher in my opinion. A lens hood helps - or if not available try to shade with your hand.

UV filter doesn't prevent flaring. A cheap filter can actually cause flaring among other quality problems.
 
Ok, I just took a shot with a 17-85 lens from a Craigslister. I see the CA at the wide angle, but I can fix that in photoshop cs3. Still undecided.

As for the "artifact" in the pictures... I think it's on my camera sensor... :( Notice the left side of the picture in the sky area. How do I go about getting this cleaned?

dirtincamera.jpg
 
Not that while you can remove CA by desaturating the colour shift, or by changing the hue to something more appropriate, it will still make edges look a little unsharp. This usually isn't a terribly big deal, in my experience with this lens. But, if you're going to do big prints, it can make for some serious nastiness.

In my limited experience, I haven't seen a really tack sharp zoom for less than $1k CAD. >.<

Here's a shot that I took with my 17-85; I think it's a good showing of what the lens can be made to do, and it's (albeit slight) problems at wide angles.



Annoyingly, those trolly wires in the sky adopted the blue hue of the sky; they had almost no contrast, and in reality they're a very dark grey indeed. Sure I shot pretty open on the aperture, but still, it leaves something to be desired when comparing it to Canon's better lenses. You can see the original colour of the wires if you look to the left of the right tree in the background (I just wanted to get these up quick so I settled with leaving the harder to edit and less noticeable wires alone), and you can also see pretty nasty haloing around the tree leaves. In my experience, this is probably the worst aspect of the 17-85. I've always seen some amount of haloing around contrasty areas like that, if it isn't outright CA.

One thing you ought to consider is how far you want to take your photography in the near future. If you're just wanting to keep shooting like you do but add a little more versatility, the 17-85 may be a great choice. But if you're looking to start getting really great IQ in your shots, you'll probably get more benefit from waiting on the purchase for a while and adding better glass to your kit.

Oh, and as to the dust spot, you sure it's not a speck of dust on the lens itself? (That includes the back.) If not, time to get yourself a rocket blower, or a sensor cleaning kit.
 
Those spots look like sensor dust. If you have a blower that made for camera use, you can try that.

As for the lens, the 17-85mm cover pretty good range, but I'd rather pick up the Tamron 17-50mm F/2.8. I bought my Tamron for $300 used. So pretty close to your budget. Although the Tamron AF is not as fast as the EF-S 17-85mm, but the Tamron 17-50mm F/2.8 is a very sharp lens and it rated pretty good in many lens review sites.
 
Oh, and as to the dust spot, you sure it's not a speck of dust on the lens itself? (That includes the back.) If not, time to get yourself a rocket blower, or a sensor cleaning kit.

No, this was the 17-85 lens I tried out today, my 18-55 does the same thing.

Those spots look like sensor dust. If you have a blower that made for camera use, you can try that.

As for the lens, the 17-85mm cover pretty good range, but I'd rather pick up the Tamron 17-50mm F/2.8. I bought my Tamron for $300 used. So pretty close to your budget. Although the Tamron AF is not as fast as the EF-S 17-85mm, but the Tamron 17-50mm F/2.8 is a very sharp lens and it rated pretty good in many lens review sites.

Thanks for the help and review of the lens guys! Maybe I'll just stick with the 18-55 IS for now and get the 10-22 first.
 
Solid choice, as long as you don't want to jump up to 36mm frames soon. :thumbup:
 

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