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Known issues with 17-55/2.8?

Started Jul 2, 2014 | Discussions thread
GammyKnee Contributing Member • Posts: 985
Re: Known issues with 17-55/2.8?

I owned the 17-55 twice while I had crop cameras (sold it, regretted it, bought it again). It's a really fine lens. Cons from my perspective:

- Dust. My second copy picked up dust more effectively than my vacuum cleaner. That's an exaggeration obviously, but I generally kept a filter on the front specifically to reduce dust accumulation.

- Flare susceptibility. Definitely not as resistant to flare as other zooms such as the 10-22, even without the filter.

- "Grittty" feel to manual focus. Quite common, not a problem, just not pleasant.

- IS not recommended for panning (no mode switch)

- Bokeh quality sometimes disappointing (subjective, but I found busy backgrounds, especially those involving foliage, could look rough)

- No hood included. Trust you'll want one, but there are good quality cheap alternatives to the OEM hood.

The zoom action loosened a little on my second copy over time but never became problematic. A while back (good few years now) there was a spate of IS failures on the 17-55. I think I read somewhere - maybe on LensRentals? - that problem kind of went away with newer copies. Something to think about if buying used.

 GammyKnee's gear list:GammyKnee's gear list
Canon EOS R Canon EOS R6 Canon EF 85mm F1.8 USM Canon EF 135mm F2L USM Canon EF 17-40mm f/4.0L USM +4 more
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