15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM

[rbat]

Hi everyone,

I'm looking at this lens as a walk about, would love to hear any opinions - both good and bad. Or any alternatives.

I currently own a 450D and no plans to upgrade any time soon. I don't think I can afford an L lens at this time.

[Tannin]

It is a very significant upgrade on rte kit lens, Rbat, and one of the best two or three general-purpose lenses available for the 450D (along with the EF-S 17-55, and possibly the EF 24-105).

[unistudent1962]

I bought one a few months ago, a BIG upgrade from the 18-55 kit lens and the 17-85 that it replaced. Image quality is fantastic, focus is fast and accurate. Buy it, you won't regret it. Are you buying grey, or local?

[rbat]

Tannin, I would love a 24-105mm but the budget will not stretch that far.

unistudent1962, I was thinking grey. Where did you get yours?

[unistudent1962]

Teds at Garden City in Brisbane, I bought it and a 60D for $2050, grey price was about $1950 at the time.

[agb]

DWI $639, of if you are madly wealthy Teds at $1199.
I know which one I would choose.

[vk2gwk]

I had this lens with my 400D and 50D before I upgraded to a 24-105L - very good lens - takes nice photos. Construction is not s solid as an L lens but that can be expected as there is a significant price difference. If you cannot afford L then this is a very good alternative.

[Mick B]

I have had this lens for 7 months now and love it. It's my main lens , great for landscapes AND portraits .......... not that I'm very good at either !

[unistudent1962]

If you cannot afford L then this is a very good alternative.

Even though the build and image quality, along with the constant aperture of the 24-105 is better than that of the 15-85, I'm not really sure that it is really an alternative to this lens. It covers an entirely different focal range and on a crop body I believe that unless you had a 10-22 as well, you'd miss the wider end of the 15-85, regardless of whether or not you can "afford" the L.

[unistudent1962]

DWI $639, of if you are madly wealthy Teds at $1199.
I know which one I would choose.

Yes, grey is cheaper, don't forget to factor in P&H and the lack of Australian warranty.

Yes, Teds listed prices are higher than they could be, but given the overheads associated with running a business in a major shopping centre you don't have to be an economist to work out why.

If you have done your research, and you are will to shop around and haggle, you will get it for under $1K. Even so you will be paying about a 30% premium over the grey price.

The following comment is purely an observation and my personal opinion.
If it does not apply to this thread, I am happy for a moderator to delete it, or move it to an appropriate thread. It is not directed at anyone in particular, and I hope it doesn't come across as a rant.

If the Australian public continue to buy their major equipment purchases from overseas sellers, sooner or later photographic stores in Australia will go the way of video stores and begin closing their doors.

Unless you are living in a town or city that does not have a photographic retailer, the chances are you go into your local store and ask if you can handle their gear to see how it feels, performs, and to access their expertise (assuming you are lucky enough to come across someone who knows what they are talking about). These actions all add to their overheads. If you then make your purchase elsewhere, the retailer has no choice but to pass those overheads onto consumers who actually make a purchase from their store.

So far, I have not bought any of my bodies, lenses, flashes, bags or supports (listed in my signature) grey and my total outlay has been approximately 22% more than if I had bought them on the grey market.

I couldn't imagine spending $1000 or more on a piece of equipment without seeing how it feels in my hand before making my decision. You can't do that if you buy grey, unless of course you are taking advantage of your local retailer, which is, in my opinion, contributing to the problem

It will be interesting to hear how loudly those who save money by buying grey whinge when they no longer have local stores where they can go and try before they buy.

[householddog]

I bought this lens too. I really like it. The IQ is great, it focus' very fast and feels very nice in hand.

To be honest I really only have a 50mm prime to compare it to, but aside from the narrower aperture, I can't really pick the difference between th two. Mind you I probably don't know what I am looking for.

The wider end is nice and handy as well. It does get some barrel distortion wide, but nothing that can't be corrected. I find the wide end invaluable, especially on a cropped body like my 60d.

The IS is quite nice too. Again though I have nothing to compare it to.

For the money I think it is rather good. I am certainly happy and don't regret spending the money, at all.

Now I am looking for a nice x-200/300 zoom.

[colormeter]

I am also in same boat. i have 400D and 18-55mm lens.

my first choice is 15-85.
I am considering others also.
1.Sigma 17-50mm F2.8 EX DC OS HSM Canon
2. Canon EF-S 17-55mm F2.8 IS USM Lens

Sigma 17-50mm F2.8 is much cheaper than Canon EF-S 17-55mm F2.8.

I have no idea about quality of sigma as compared to canon.

[bargain]

I'm looking at those 2 also colormeter.

I think they're fairly similar in IQ - but the canon is a little better built and has full time manual focus where the sigma doesn't.


The sigma is rated slightly better than the canon on DxOmark dot com (I'm not allowed to post links yet).

Tis a tough choice.

[rbat]

Thanks for the continued discussion. Householddog, thanks in particular for your insight. How do you find the clarity in your landscape shots?

[Namus]

Awesome lens the 15-85. Had it for around 6 months and highly recommend it for a crop body. IS makes it very usable in low-light as well

http://www.flickr.com/photos/monk_ph...7625587930890/

[gje38752]

Can only agree with the comments re the 15-85 is a great lens I find surprisingly that the photo quality is only very slightly less than my 70-200 L . A happy chappie.