WANTED: Canon USM IS 17-55mm Lens

[Ultrawong]

Hello folks,

I have been advised by a friend that this forum is a good place to be for my interests and that it can be a good place to give a shout out if I am looking for bits of kit without having to go through the dangers of "Fleabay".....

So I am wondering if anybody can help me look for a Canon USM IS lens 17-55mm that I want as a walkaround general use lens. My standard lens just doesn't cut the mustard and I think its time for an upgrade.


Thanks in advance.....

 

[Cesare]

Sorry, I can't offer you one, but I can offer you some advice.

Just in case you haven't tried one on a camera, give it a go. This lens is quite large and you may find it's too big for your intended purpose (a carry around lens).

This review covers the obvious alternatives from Sigma and Tamron. I'm a big fan of Tamron lenses, finding them very good for the money, and underrated. The tamron 17-50 is a constant 2.8, and 430g, compared to 645g for the canon.

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Tamron-17-50mm-f-2.8-XR-Di-II-Lens-Review.aspx

I also believe Sigma now have a 17-50 IS 2.8 lens, and a 17-80 2.8 without IS which may also be of interest. This cropped standard lens market has heated up in the last year and there are lots of options to consider...

 

[cliffpatte]

A mate of mine bought this lens in 2008 when he and I were out in Hong Kong. In most cases the lens wasn't staggeringly better than the kit lens he had already, however it is very sharp in the corners, even wide open, if that is what you are really needing.

cheers
Cliff

PS Lens prices in HK are much lower than the UK!