- 15-85mm lens with f3.5-f.5.6 aperture; for use with APS-C cameras
- 35mm equivalent to 24-136mm focal length range
- Dedicated image stabilization
- Lens construction of 17 elements in 12 groups
- Compatible with 72mm filters
Product Description
Combining a extensive zoom range featuring wide angle and telephoto plus a 4-stop Image Stabilizer, the EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM provides outstanding performance and flexibility.
Trevor S. Howard @ 3:30 pm
I was one of the early fans of this lens, and to my knowledge, one of the first guys to get their hands on one and play with it, from the moment I held this lens, I knew she was a winner
Lets start with the build quality, its fantastic, ok its not quite L-level, but it is considerably better than the old 17-55 f/2.8 IS I owned, as in its put together much better, the build is similar to a midrange Nikon lens [Such as the 16-85 VR] which is a good thing, the zoom and focus rings both operate smoothly, but are also reassuringly firm, there is a slight bit of zoom creep between 24-35 I’ve found, but nothing major to worry about
AF-wise, its a very quick performer, probubly one of the faster USM lenses out there, and its also very quiet, even for a USM lens the soft noise is well..softer…and the IS functions completely silently and smoothly, and as advertised, its good for at least 4 stops of stabilization, I’ve managed 1/4 shots with ease at 85mm for instance…
Optically, this lens impresses, people may criticize its variable aperture nature but its tack sharp wide open, even at 15mm, distortions are very good [They test even less than the 24-105 f/4L on a full frame camera] and the colors have a very nice zest to them, The only down side is the chromatic aberration, which is a tidge high, but its also easily correctable from what I’ve seen, and certainly not as bad as some people would make it sound, overall I’ve been very impressed with this lens optically, its one of the best lenses I’ve had [And I've owned the 24-105 f/4L IS and the 17-55 f/2.8 IS] and its my favorite walk-around lens ever
My only other complaints are the fact that it should include a hood for the price, Canon is still the only manufacturer who forces you to buy $45 lens hoods for $700-800 lenses just because they’re not an L lens…Its quite annoying to be honest..but again, I knew that going into this..
Overall, its a fantastic lens, don’t mock it till you try it
peter_co @ 3:58 pm
This lens will take a key place in the Canon line-up: it will be the first high quality wide angle to medium telephoto lens for APS-C (i.e. 1.6x) crop bodies. Thankfully, this lens is well qualified for this role. The build quality is solid and both the focus ring and zoom rings are firm yet move smoothly. The image quality provided by the lens is outstanding. The lens is very sharp across its zoom range, even wide open. Color fidelity is also a strong point of the lens, as it produces saturated yet natural colors. Distortions are also at a minimum considering the focal range of the lens. Although there is some barrel distortion at the wide end (particularly at 15mm), this is simply unavoidable for superzooms covering this range and it should be pointed out that even L lenses covering the same (35 mm equivalent) range cannot fare better in this respect. I confidently give this lens 5 stars!
The only alternative to this lens that I considered was the Canon EF-s 17-55mm f/2.8, which is another superb lens for APS-C cameras. I decided to choose the 15-85mm over the 17-55mm simply because it suited my needs better. Optically the lenses perform about the same (i.e. both offer superb image quality), therefore this did not factor into my decision. The two lenses simply have different strong suits. The 17-55mm with a constant aperture of 2.8 gives the lens versatility in low light situations and allows it to double as a portrait lens in certain situations. On the other hand, the 15-85 while having a variable aperture f/3.5-5.6 offers a greater focal range: 15-85 (i.e. 24-136 in 35mm eq.), allowing it to cover a greater range of subjects in daylight. Since I plan to later buy a dedicated portraiture lens and since I was mainly interested in a walkaround lens for reach and image quality, the 15-85mm seemed the more appropriate choice for me. Of course, the decision was only helped by the fact that the 15-85mm is also $300 cheaper than the 17-55mm. However, both the 15-85mm and the 17-55mm are great walkaround lenses offered for Canon crop bodies and which lens you choose can only be dictated by your particular circumstances.
Gene Naftulyev @ 5:17 pm
This lens is the perfect walkabout lens covering 23-135 with the 1.6 factor.
Distortion is at a minimum, and although not a fast lens, the IS makes even hand held shots sharp.
The downside of this lens is that both in sunlight, and in studio flash conditions chromatic aberration (purple/green fringe) is evident in all shots. Granted it is less pronounced than with the cheap kit lens (for the 7D) but none the less at 1:1 resolution there is chromatic aberration in every shot where dark and bright come together in high contrast.
The Canon software that comes with DSLRs does a very good job of removing the fringe from photos, however that means unlike Nikon’s in-camera processing of the image to remove fringe, an extra manual step of doing that on the Canon is necessary for any images that are more than casual snapshots.
If you want 1 lens for a very wide to slight tele range, this is probably the best thing available for 1.6 crop factor. However even if the price is near L lenses, this is not an L lens and it will be apparent when zooming in 1:1.
Erick Houli @ 7:32 pm
I bought this lens to make it one of two lenses to walk around, being the other one the Canon EF-S 17-55 f2.8 IS USM.
This lens has a good color saturation, sharp image quality and fast Autofocus. the 85mm focal length is very useful to zoom at something without having to carry your longer zoom around. I use this lens mostly at day time, and the 17-55mm F2.8 is my inside-night time lens, although I can stretch the IS and make good pictures in low light.
After having lenses from Tamron and one Sigma, I can really say that Canon is the best way to go if you aren’t in a tight budget.
Richard @ 8:28 pm
I recently upgraded from the EF-S 18-55 IS to this EF-S 15-85 IS. GREAT lens, the difference between 17 & 15 is quite noticeable when it is needed. I recommend the Canon to anyone. Image quality is excellent, there is a little bit of vignetting but when you shoot in RAW, it is EASILY correctable in Canon’s DPP, as is the slight barrel distortion. I have not yet seen any chromatic aberration (CA).
The USM motor is superb, FAST, QUIET & ACCURATE.
The minimum aperture is f/22 at 15mm and f/36 at 85mm, which I love, a noticeable step up from the 18-55 IS
Using the 15-85 lens on any of the Rebel series cameras may feel a bit unbalanced, unless you have the battery grip on your camera. I shoot with the 50D, which is a bit larger & heavier camera body, so it is a good match and well balanced, comfortable feel. The lens is substantial with a 72 mm filter size, to be safe I am taking after Nikon and I bought a B+W 77mm Circ. Pol, and will use it on the lens with a 72-77 stepping ring. This will eliminate all possibility of filter vignetting!
It is not an “L” lens, but no EF-S lenses are.
* Evaluation (on a 5 point scale)
Image Quality – 5
price value – 3
build quality – 5
focal length range – 5
lens speed (f/stops) – 4
focus speed – 5
quiet focus – 5
Minimum focusing distance (macro) remains constant throughout the focal length range, being about 7 or 8 inches (18-20 cm).
I have some images in my gallery: [...]
goto my gallery titled “Gallery” the first 3 images: the Statue of Liberty & the two images titled “Deer Tracks in the snow” were taken with this lens.
Would I recommend this lens to a friend (or non-friend)?… Unquestionably YES
I would have loved to see this lens as a constant f/4, but I’m thinking the physical size of such a lens would be unbearable.