new lens: 15-85, 17-55 or what?

I've been reading lots of comments about the 17-55 2.8 IS, and the 15-85.

I currently have a 50d and shoot with:

24-70 2.8. it's nice, just too heavy sometimes for all day with my family. This is the lens that is on 80% of the time.

70-200 2.8 is. Love it for sports and other things I need a zoom at. Beautiful shots.

50 1.8 use very rarely when I need super speed with no flash.

28-135. My original lens. Don't use much because it's slow on the long end and IQ is not in line with the other lenses I have. Still was great for many years.

that said, I often shoot indoors with kids or in an auditorium at church. For that reason I was leaning to the 17-55 ($1000) due to the constant 2.8. However the reach of the 15-85 ($800) is appealing. I'm thinking the 15-85 might be too slow at the long end indoors without flash. ?

How would you guide me. Is there something else I should look at or have I picked the two top choices? Anyone used both and can provide feedback?

thanks for the guidance.

Sean

Sean,

Can't comment on the 15-85, but I can say without reservation that the 17-55 was my all time favorite lens. Had to sell it when I moved up to the 5dII, but I still miss it's size weight and quality.

24-70 is a great lens also, but was never quite wide enough on my 40D. Never seemed to miss the range from 55-70 and certainly didn't miss the extra size and weight of the 24-70.

Good luck in your decision.

Mark.

I believe that you have picked the top 2 choices, but if you are interested in saving a few bucks (retails for about $650) , you could consider the new Tamron 17-50 2.8 (with VC)...this new lens is due to be release with the Canon mount this month...you can read some consumer views on this lens on the Nikon board.

Sell the 28-135, 50 and the 24-70 and get the 17-55. Its a great lens for APS-C. The difference between 2.8 with IS and 1.8 not so great anyway. Just 2 good lenses might be all you ever need.

Cheers

Richard

I have the Sigma 18-50/2.8, so I pick the 15-85
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Interesting to read these thoughts. myself, I own the 17-55 2.8 IS on a 30D and I seriously consider to sell the 17-55 for the new 15-85. goes along with my 70-300 IS and further I would like to have a more versatile walk around zoom then the 17-55 range.

I don't want to spend any more money on another walkaround lens 18-xxx next to my kit 17-55 / 70-300 so I decide to sell the 17-55 and buy a 15-85 from the money that i get from selling the 17-55.

currently I can get around 700 euro for the 17-55 in europe when sold 2nd hand and will buy the 15-85 in new york next month during a visit for 800 usd+tax, which is around 570 euro.

good enough for me.

bert300D said:

currently I can get around 700 euro for the 17-55 in europe when sold 2nd hand and will buy the 15-85 in new york next month during a visit for 800 usd+tax, which is around 570 euro.

good enough for me.

Click to expand...

that is only if you can find a copy instock at new york, many retail stores, camera shops sold out and don't have them in stock yet.
dont' know, maybe thing will change by next month

thanks, that's good to know.... before i sell my lens prior going to NYC

however. adorama and b and h photo, they show on their website that the lens is in stock actually .... is that incorrect info then ?

rgds bert

since you have the 24-70 already, why don't you take a look at the focal lengths you use the most.

I had a tamron 28-75, and switched to the 17-55 because I found out that I not only preferred the wide end more, but the shots I had from 55-75 weren't keepers, just me being too lazy to switch lenses. In other words, when I wanted to zoom, I needed at least 100mm or more.

If that's the case for you, I would go for the 17-55. The 2.8 with IS is insane, and 5.6 at 85 isn't all that great for the 15-85, especially if you're using this indoors.

15mm versus 17 is quite a bit wider, and indoors, you would not use 85mm, you would be using 15-30mm.

I think based on what you have said, the 15-85 teamed with the Sigma F1.4 30mm would be fantastic. I have the sigma and it's been great.

I have only used the kit lens once since I got the Sigma. I'll be replacing the kit lens with the 15-85 or maybe the 17-55. I have the 10-22 Canon, so I don't "need" the 15mm end of the 15-85. On the other hand, maybe I'll get rid of the 10-22 (15mm is wide enough).

For whatever it's worth, I just got my 15-85 tonight, and it is a really sweet lens.

The wide end is very impressive, crisp even when used at full aperture of f/3.5. The tele end is also excellent, and everything in between looks very impressive.

I need to do some outdoor photography tomorrow to see how well it handles flare, faster action focusing, and high brightness scenes. So far I don't see any chromatic aberration, only mild softening of the edges, and very little vignetting. I need to give it a thorough work-out to know for sure.

I must say that this is a wonderful range of focal lengths in a single zoom lens. The 15mm end is outstanding, and the range from 15-85 covers virtually everything I use when walking around with the camera, since the cropped values are about 24-132mm.

I am most impressed with how well this lens does near and at its wide open apertures. It makes low light indoor use a lot more practical than I ever imagined, since a lot of my indoor shots at f/3.5 or f/4 with 1/30th of a second at ISO 200 are sharp as a tack. The image stabilizer must be working well.

Larry

Hi Larry

Let us know how it goes tomorrow outdoors shooting with the new lens. I'm also considering between the 15-85 vs 17-55. Take care and happy shooting.

-Rob

Rob,

I am far less enthusiastic, having taken a ton of shots last night and this morning. I am returning the lens. See:

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/readflat.asp?forum=1029&message=33625492

Larry