Canon EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM Lens

This is a great lens. The service was excellent. Quick shipping. Good packaging. Couldn't ask for better. Well, I guess I could have asked for someone to give it to me. :)

The Canon EF-s 15-85mm is an excellent lens for any photographer. In the 1990s my wife and I took a trip to Europe and I took my trusty Canon A1 with the FD 28-85mm f4 lens along with a few filters and some 20 rolls of film. Last year we decided to go back but this time I wanted to take a compact, light weight kit capable of covering a variety of photographic opportunities. After careful consideration, lots of research, and extensive review I came up with, what I consider, the perfect combination, the Canon SL1 with the Canon EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM. The EF-S 15-85mm zoom proved to be the perfect lens, light weight, compact size, solid build, image stabilization and excellent optics. For street scenes and buildings I could use the 15mm wide angle and then zoom to longer focal lengths for architectural details, portraits and framing a scene. With image stabilization I was able to take great pictures inside museums such as The Tower of London and Louvre Museum and night time attractions like the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame cathedral and Big Ben. I took along the Canon 500d close-up filter to increase the versatility of the EF-s 15-85mm lens and got some great photos of flowers and coins. I could travel all day without feeling burdened by my camera and knew I had the equipment needed for almost any photographic situation. Canon came up with a lens that challenges the quality and attributes of its “L” series lenses but at a price that is consumer friendly. The Canon EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM zoom lens is a no brainer, I highly recommend this zoom to anyone that wants a top quality versatile lens.

Perfect focal length range, almost L level build quality, true 4 stop IS, tack sharp, quick and silent autofocus.....paired with the new 50mm 1.8 STM.....you can shoot almost anything short of sports and wildlife that require 200mm+ long glass.

For almost 30 years I have used Canon EF mid range zoom lenses. Their zoom range has become wider and longer and IS has been added. Most of my work is travel photography, family shots, and garden club power point shows. I do 90% of my shots with this lens. It is a bit chunky and a hand full with few lens changes it just fine day in and day out. Do not have any complaints with lens construction and durability.

I've owned this lens for about 2 years and it is an OK all around lens however I would put performance at average. As one other reviewer said it is best at mid ranges which is to be expected. At its longer reaches and at small apertures it is fairly soft. I find it quite inconsistent. Also my biggest beef is that it has wobble and looseness in the barrel so that I am not sure if it's the wobble that makes some of the images soft. Otherwise I love the range it has and if I had the money I would buy the "L" series.

I've had this lens for a while now, and I'm pretty amazed. The sharpness is on par with the legendary 17-55 f/2.8 and better than some L lenses. Looking at how this lens is cheaper than the 17-55 and all L lenses, I'd say this is a pretty good deal. Colors and contrast are also great. Just beware of chromatic aberration, it is quite strong from 15-20mm and 70-85mm. 24 to 60mm is absolutely stellar. Also, this lens functions best from around f/8 to f/11 in terms of sharpness and overall image quality. Bokeh is definitely achievable, and results are very nice. Build quality is amazing. Finally, the image stabilization on this lens may just be the best on the market, so don't be afraid of using up to one second exposures handheld - they are tack sharp. Overall, this lens is universally a great performer and its price is a bargain. I highly recommend it.

I'm not an expert, nor do I do any pixel peeping, the only thing that concerns me is the quality of the photos that I have at the end of the day, and this lens works great for me. I'm a nature/landscape photographer and I have been extremely pleased with the photos that I have gotten from this lens.It's been used primarily for landscapes, and for close-ups of flowers and insects. Since it focuses down to 1 foot, it almost does the job of a macro lens, but only for larger subjects. I also own a 70-200 mm L series lens, and this lens comes very close to matching the sharpness of the L series. In fact, I get more sharp photos from this lens than the L Series when doing close-ups, as the auto-focus of this lens is more accurate up close than the L series is. I have to manually focus the L series to get photos as sharp as this 15-85 lens produces in auto-focus. It's also faster and quieter than the L series. I also love the larger diameter of this lens, it fits my hand better, and I don't have a problem going from my two long lenses down to this lens as far as it feeling good in my hand. The IS works extremely well, I've gotten usable shots at shutter speeds down to 1/4 second handheld in a pinch, although a tripod would probably have been better. I use this lens on a 60D, and I have the peripheral illumination correction enabled, which may be why I've seen no vignetting with this lens for the most part. I did stack a polarizing filter on the UV filter once, and saw vignetting then, lesson learned. Overall, I'm very pleased with this lens. The sharpness, color, contrast, and color saturation are superb, I couldn't ask for a better wide angle zoom for my crop sensor camera.

Bought this lens several months ago but wanted to really put it to a severe test before reviewing it. Test just completed: A week on the Big Island of Hawai'i! Took a T4i body, this incredible 15-85mm, a Canon's 10-22mm and 50mm macro lenses. (The 10-22 and 50 macro never even left the camera bag ... ) As suspected, the EF-S 15-85mm performed flawlessly - it's a 24-135mm lens to us old film shooters - and simply "did it all" as far as taking in every possible scene. Colors are out of this world, clarity and sharpness beyond wildest expectations and in over 30 years of recreational / vacation photography in addition to a professional business, this was - easily! - the most complete and beautifully documented travel adventure ever. Impossible to give a high enough recommendation for this lens! If there was a 10-star category for performance and quality, this lens deserves it! Shoots on par with most 'L' lenses! (Wish we could have bought this lens with the T4i body instead of the excellent 18-55mm "kit" lens - which has just been sold off ... ) Dropping the images into Lightroom for conversion (we shot all RAW files) and a little post-processing, still cannot believe my eyes ...

Very durable, good quality lens. Works perfectly with my 7D. This lens is always on my camera. Perfect for birthday parties, weddings, unexpected events, trips to the park with the kids, or a Saturday afternoon bike ride with the family. It's a bit pricey, but if you check around you can get a good deal on one. Highly recommend it.

This lens promises to be a great walk-around lens but I find the image quality to be lacking. And it has developed lens creep, such as when I shoot at 35mm and then tilt the camera down only a little to change settings by looking at the LCD on top of my 50D and 60D, it rotates on its own to 50mm when I bring it back up to look through the view screen. Also, its corner and edge image clarity at the short end (15-24mm) is poor, with lots of distortion, CA, and blur. The kit lens image quality in this range was better. On the plus side, it has a greater zoom range and is sharp in the middle. The front element not moving or rotating is very nice also. Its color reproduction can be very good too. But in the end, image quality outweighs features and I find that it is only satisfactory if i limit myself to f/5.6 - f/8 through the 35-85mm range. This contradicts the notion of a walk-around lens. Bokeh at f/8 is displeasing and f/5.6 is not much better. Perhaps wait until version "II" or pass altogether.

I use a 60D most of the time, but needed an extra camera while doing a wedding video, so I got a T2i with the 18-55 kit lens. This lens has a good overall zoom range, and it's good for somebody who only wants one lens, and doesn't want to spend much money. The downsides are that the images are not sharp. Even in the perfect light in perfect focus, the images are fuzzy compared to the other lenses I own. Also, it is plasticky and makes a triumphant roar when it auto focuses. (not as loud as the 50mm 1.8 though) Also, unless I'm shooting in the sunlight, f5.6 can be inconvenient. The upsides are that even though it's a little fuzzy, it's way sharper than what you'd get with a point-and-shoot camera. It is good value for money, and if you want to buy a cheap lens with a nice zoom range, this is a good product.

This is a great lens for outdoor photography. Pair it up with one of the the 70mm-200mm L models and a 50mm 1.4 and you can get most anything done you want. It is not the greatest for indoor stuff like school functions etc but then it likely wasn't built to be.

i have a t4i, and the 135L, and this 15-85. this 15-85 is as good as the 135L on my crop camera. i would assume that if i put the 135L on a 5d, it would outperform the 15-85, but on a crop, they're the same. the IS is very good, but takes a lmost a full second to spin up

I purchased the T3i with the standard 18-55 mm lens. After using the kit lens, it was decided that a higher quality lens was needed. Purchased the 15-85 mm and the difference is like night and day. Optics,ease of use and the outstanding photographs make this the best all around lens available in my opinion. The lens is as close to perfect as you can get. The lens costs more than the camera but after using you will understand why. A quality and superior lens.

I really love this lens with my 7D. BUT, was really disappointed when autofocus motor started to squeak after one and a half years! And unfortunately it's no longer under warranty so it will cost to get repaired. I don't use auto focus anymore because its so embarrassing having a 800 dollar lens squeak like crazy when shooting photos! This is an amazing lens but sadly didn't end up so good for me after 1 1/2 years of purchase.

This is a great walkaround lens, and also very good for landscapes, etc. While the 3mm difference between this and the 18-135 (or 18-55) may not seem like much, it makes a big difference on crop sensor cameras! I have a 24-70mm 2.8 L and love it, but this truly is near as sharp. I don't hesitate to use it at paying gigs. Plus, it has a much more useable range. 15mm is wide enough for landscapes with an 84 degree view, while 85mm brings you up into the portrait range, Nice! now, if it was only f/2.8 and made of metal & weather sealed. Oh, but then it would be large, heavy and cost 3x as much!

This lens is great. I decided to get this one over the standard 24-105 mm lens based off of the excellent reviews on the Canon website, as well as many others, and boy am I glad I listened. I bought this to replace my 18-55 mm kit lens and man does it make a difference. The extra range, while 3 mm at the wide angle and 30mm at the tele end doesn't seem like a lot, really makes a huge difference. The lens is also sharp as a tack, regardless of zoom or aperture. The USM focuses quickly and quietly. Overall, this lens is basically an L lens without the extra price tag. Definitely the only lens I'll be needing for a while.

I am surprised at the reviews that say this is not a sharp lens or that the kit lens is sharper. Mine is very sharp. If I had to express one complaint that would be aperture size. It would be perfect if it was F2.8. The vignetting issue reported in some tests is not something I have noticed in real life. The other issue, barrelling is apparent in the view finder but less so in images. As it is consistent, it is not so noticeable. The sweet spot is from 60 to 70mm for sharpness.

I bought this lens instead of the kit lens when I bought my T2i and I have since upgraded my camera to the Canon 60 D. It is a great lens for general use and it is on the camera most of the time. I have used it to capture great pictures of the grandchildren and family, our dogs, kids in sports and plays and on a trip to Europe. Sharp, crystal clear, great color and fast focus are the best attributes.

I really like this lens as a walk around lens, its not overly large or heavy and fits comfortably on my T1i. This is the lens I reccomend for anyone with an APS-C as a walk around lens. pros: Autofocus is fast and accurate, image quality is extermly good, especially compared to the stock 18-55 is II. While it lacks the feaures of a true L lens, it also doesn't have the price tag of an L. besides image quality, the best feature of this lens as a walk around is its excellent focal range. Cons: I have two real complaints with this lens, which for the average user might be no big deal. For me though, I find them pretty signifigant. First is the lack of weather sealing, I use my camera outside at shows and dust is a concern for me. That, above anything else, was a big reason for me to look at L lenses. Eventualy though, price and focal range won out. Complaint number two is the lack of a lock. I use this lens pointing downwards a lot taking vertical shots and I have to use a piece of tape to hold the focal length. A minor issue, but annoying to me.