This compact and fast-focusing lens provides real freedom of framing in a lightweight
The EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5
6 IS USM is an excellent all-purpose lens for EF-S mount EOS cameras
| | | | | Product Description | | Canon EF-S zoom lens - 17 mm - 85 mm | | | | Lens System | | Zoom lens | | | | Intended For | | Digital SLR | | | | Mounting Type | | Canon EF-S | | | | Lens Aperture | | F/4.0-5.6 | | | | Focal Length | | 17 mm - 85 mm Readmore Technical Details - EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM
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"Barrel Distortion" 2010-07-18
By J. Street (U.K.)
Not a bad lens but very poor for architecture photography due to extreme barrel distortion at the wide end, as has been reported by another reviewer. I know that this can be fixed in photoshop to some extent but I would much prefer to have better results straight out of the camera.
"Shabby optics at widest settings" 2010-06-28
By F41 (Worcestershire, UK)
This is a decent enough all round lens, and certainly an improvement over the kit lens, but I bought it to use primarily in the widest end of its zoom range and at 17mm, the image quality is quite poor. It's a strange one because zoom in a bit, and it's a really good lens, producing clear images, but at 17-18mm, there is significant distortion and chromatic aberration to the point that some images have needed significant Photoshop work to remove the colour fringing.
The image stabiliser doesn't seem hugely useful in a lens this wide and I think I'd be better served by a bigger aperture. If I was in the position to make the choice again, I'd probably forego the extra mm and get the Sigma 18-50mm f2.8 EX DC instead for similar money.
"Fantastic kit lens replacement." 2010-05-10
By C. Gabbitas (Notts, UK)
I bought this lens as a replacement for the kit lens on my 400d and i couldn't be happier. After weeks of searching the right lens i chose the canon above the sigma and am happy i did. I'm sure the sigma produces good quality images but i just felt the build quality of this lens was worth the extra.
"Good walkaround lens but there are better alternative" 2010-04-03
By Claude L. Sadik
I bought this lens to replace my Canon 550D 18-55mm IS kit lens. I've only been using it for the last few days and mainly for video. The 17-85mm range, makes it a good walk-around lens.The USM is fast and discreet. The image stabilization is very efficient. However I would have prefer a wider aperture. 4.0-5.6 is barely enough. While filming the focus ring is pretty smooth which is not the case of the zoom ring - a bit choppy while used slowly. The overall construction quality is OK but could be better.
It does what I expect it to do but not more, I'll probably replace it as soon as I have enough money.
If you want to upgrade from the kit lens, there should probably be a better choice for the same price.
"A Great Upgrade and Big Improvement on the 18-55mm Kit Lens" 2010-03-08
By John H (UK)
This lens while quite expensive is a very worthwhile investment. Its 17-85mm zoom range will effectively upgrade your camera to a 5x zoom.
The kit lens offers 18-55mm (just over 3x) so with this in mind you are starting off from a slightly wider angle coupled with a much stronger zoom. Also you get image stabilization along with much better quality glass, the improvement in picture quality is very worthwhile. I would say my camera now spends over 90% of its time with this lens attached. The only downside is that this solid lens is much heavier than the flimsy plastic kit lens.
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Buy Cheap Nikon AF 70-300/4.0-5.6 G Black Nikkor Lens (not compatible with D40/D40x/D60/D5000) 
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"Great deal" 2009-07-01
By Mandar Kharkar
Got a perfect lens as per my requirenment that too for a great price.
Worth deal..
Thanks Amazon.
"not compatible with nikon d40" 2009-04-13
By G. Donnelly (lanarkshire)
autofocus does not work with nikon d40
(worth checking which cameras are compatible for auto focus)
ok if you are happy to manual focus
"Did not auto focus" 2009-03-28
By Mr. J. L. Lindsay (England)
Although the lens is advertised as a Nikon Af there was no information as to which Nikon cameras auto focus will not work, the popular D60 is one.I had to return it and purchase another lens.
"Nice Lens" 2008-09-30
By K. Gadsby
This lens is really nice, lightweight compared to the £300 one.
However, just beware that there is no Auto focus with the Nikon D40.
Every other version works, just not the D40.
"Cheap construction, but amazing value for money" 2008-07-02
By Mr. Clg Bell (Tiverton, Devon)
First the bad points: the construction of this lens is lightweight plastic, it feels cheap, it drops down to f5 or below fairly rapidly as you zoom in, and being a Nikon "G" series lens it has no aperture ring so you can't use it on a trusty old manual camera. But for £75 what do you expect?
Then the good. Other reviewers say that it is not sharp, or is "soft", but looking at the shots I have just taken on my 10 MegaPixel D200, at between 70mm and 200mm focal lengths, blown up to 100% magnification on the screen I have absolutely no complaints, as it is pin sharp to my eyes; and the images are good and contrasty too.
On a moderately bright over-cast day I set the camera to ISO 200 and let it worry about exposure, which resulted in shutter speeds between 1/150th and 1/320th and apertures from about f6 to f9 as the clouds came and went. Hand-held results were very slightly blurred at the longer focal length/slower speed end of the range, but otherwise the fact that its maximum aperture is f4-5.6 proved not to be a problem at all.
Other reviewers have criticised its auto-focus speed. Yes, if it is currently set at 5 feet and you point it at something 300 feet away then it takes a little while to get there; but if it is more or less at the right distance already it snaps into focus faster than I can blink. Also, unlike some AF lenses, the focus ring turns through quite a large arc so focusing it manually is easy.
It starts to get a bit tricky to use hand-held in the 200mm to 300m range, partly because the zoom barrel extends such a long way and partly because it is so light-weight; but that is not a criticism of the lens, rather a fact of life - if you want to use a long lens you need to use a tripod, or to shell out 5x as much money for a Vibration Reduction (VR) version.
Remember though that VR doesn't freeze your subject motion, only your camera-shake; if I were going to spend that much I'd save up a little longer and buy a non-VR f2.8 70-200m zoom instead.
Last saturday I was standing next to someone who had a monster Nikkor 70-400mm f4.5-5.6 VR zoom on his camera, about £900 pounds worth, and he was lamenting that he struggled with its intended use for wildlife photography because it didn't give him a fast enough shutter speed. I looked down at my little plastic toy which cost 1/12th as much, yet gives nearly the same focal length and aperture range ... and, I confess, felt rather smug.
In summary: not the best money can buy, but surely far and away the best value for money in its focal length range.
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Buy Cheap Canon EF 75-300mm f/4.0-5.6 III Lens 
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"which version of the lens?" 2010-02-23
By bddidier (Cambridge, UK)
There seems to be a few listing for this lens on amazon (at least 4!). It is not clear if this one is USM or not as there is two versions of this lens. The one at this link is definitively USM: Canon EF 75-300mm F/4.0-5.6 USM III Telephoto Zoom Lens. It makes a huge difference for the autofocus function.
"Almost as Good as a Tokina 80-400mm Lens!" 2010-02-04
By Philip Edwards (North Wales. UK)
I bought my Canon EF 75-300mm f4.0-5.6 III lens from an Amazon seller late last year. Used it on my Canon 1000D to take many photos of just about everything. It is surprisingly good. Yes it does "hunt" for focus in poor light (but so my much more expensive Tokina 400mm lens!). The lens isn't image stabilised (neither is the Tokina). My example has a nice smooth zooming action, and manual/auto focus. There is no focus lock on the barrel, so the lens does tend to "creep" open to it's full extent when being carried. It is a nice lightweight lens. I can carry the Canon all day with this lens fitted and hardly notice it. Photos with the Canon lens are crisp, with great colour rendition. I have not noticed any chromatic abberations yet. I find it takes clearest photos when at f8 to f16 range. (in otherwords, in summertime!). I will try and post some examples with this review. For the money, it is great value - and being a Canon lens, it is of good quality.
Regards,
Phil Edwards.
North Wales.
"Good buy for a beginner on a budget" 2009-05-28
By CD Mgbor
Good budget lens. You must use a tripod at night to get an average photo out of it. The auto-focus is a bit slow however I would recomment if you were on a budget.
"Good but not great" 2009-02-03
By Mr. P. A. Adamson
It's exactly what it says on the tin.
It's cheap, and has a good focal range.
You're probably looking at this lens instead of the IS version on the grounds of price. If you can afford it I would go with the IS version.
The standard focus doesn't exactly lend itself to wildlife photography.
But hey the price is fantastic!
"Great budget starter lens for the amatuer/hobbyist" 2007-11-14
By Sood (UK)
I bought this lens about eight months ago for my Canon 350D. If like me you bought the kit that comes bundled with the 18-55mm lens you'll notice there is a big gap when it comes to zoom/telephoto shots, this is a great budget tele-photo zoom lens that does what it says on the tin, and fills the gap nicely.
I am an amateur photographer at best and still learning, but after using the lens for a while I was disappointed to learn that the f stop values really do make a big difference - the widest aperture you will be able to set this lens to is 4.0 at 75mm and only 5.6 at 300mm, if your really serious you need a fast lens like f/2.8, and definitely with IS (image stabilisation) - the lens is not that heavy (for me), but during a long shoot it starts to feel like a cannon (pardon the pun), the lens really protrudes out at towards the 300mm end, and if you hold the camera pointing straight down, expect lens creep. Add an external flash onto the hot shoe and expect a real workout!
My wife complains its way too heavy - especially with a speedlite mounted on top, just carry a tripod if you expect to be on a long shoot, or mount the external flash on a tripod (you'll need something like a speedlite wireless remote for this, expensive, but its tiny and weighs next to nothing and gets the speedlite off the camera).
Having said all that, I have got some really great shots with this, and overall for the price you pay for this lens it's a real good value for money. If I'm going to a function, like a party within a hall, I would almost always use this lens (not to good for mid range shots - 50mm better for this, which is why I carry another camera to save swapping lenses about), great for candid photography where you can position yourself at the other side of the hall and take shots without distracting or letting your subjects know they are being shot - just have a strong arm, and good light conditions/flash. For portrait shots, and shots where you slow the shutter speed use a tripod, or you get too much blur/softness. If you also intend to pan the shot, a tripod with a panning handle is also essential.
The other thing you need to bear in mind is the multiplication factor (of the focal length) of your camera. Unless your lucky enough to have a camera with the same focal length as a 35mm film camera, i.e. a full 35mm frame size, the camera may effectively crop the image to fit on the film sensor - the 350D has a factor of x1.6, this means this lens is effectively a 120mm - 480mm lens (!) This is great on the tele-photo side, you get more magnification than you pay for, but not so good for wide angle or down at the 75mm end, where you've actually got 120mm. (Because of this factor, if you want a wide-angle lens and you have a 350/400D then you'd be better off going for ultra wide 14mm).
Bottom line, it's a heavy lens, and no IS, but for the price of the lens very good value for money! I haven't regretted buying this, and unless you're a really serious photographer, and shoot within the limits of this lens you wont either.
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Buy Canon EF 75-300mm f/4.0-5.6 III Lens Now
Buy Cheap Canon EF 70-300mm f/4.0-5.6 IS USM Lens 
Buy Low Price From Here Now Technical DataDimensions & Weight / Weightg630Technical DataDimensions & Weight / Lengthcm14.3Technical DataHeader / Product LineCanon EFTechnical DataHeader / ManufacturerCanonTechnical DataHeader / Packaged Quantity1Technical DataLens System / TypeTelephoto zoom lensTechnical DataLens System / Special FunctionsZoomTechnical DataLens System / Lens ApertureF/4.0-5.6Technical DataLens System / Min Focal Lengthmm70Technical DataLens System / Max Focal Lengthmm300Technical DataLens System / Focus AdjustmentManualTechnical DataLens System / Max View Angledegree(s)34Technical DataLens System Mounting / Mounting TypeCanon EFTechnical DataLens System / Optical Zoom4.3Technical DataOptical System / Magnification0.26Technical DataOptical System / Image StabiliserOpticalTechnical DataDimensions & Weight / Diametercm7.7Technical DataLens System / System TypeLens Readmore Technical Details - EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM
- EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM
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"Image stabilisation (IS) alone is worth the money" 2010-02-23
By bddidier (Cambridge, UK)
I've bought this lens (used) to replace an old 75-300mm USM II and I do not regret it. This lens is sharper wide open, and the addition of IS make a huge difference. I was able to take pictures handheld at 300mm and in OK light (end of day) without blur, something impossible with my previous lens.
The construction is OK, not much different than the 75-300mm and there is a zomm lock (at 70mm) which is quite handy. My main grip is again the lack of ring USM, so the lens need to be use either manual or autofocus (no FTM) which is sometimes a bother, in particular at 300mm. But this is a highly recommended lens.
"Great value" 2010-02-15
By Jules (UK)
I use this lens all the time. Believe it or not it works pretty well in low lighting - because of the IS. Focus is not the best, especially at full zoom. It's excellent value for money (I've had it a long time and think I paid a lot more for it than it is now on Amazon) and I use it a lot. Not too heavy and no operational problems with it at all.
"Canon Power" 2010-02-07
By Mike (York, UK)
I purchased the EF 70-300mm lens through Amazon a few weeks ago, and so far I'm impressed, even though the dull winter weather has not permitted field tests in more favourable conditions.
The lens is solid, attractive, and has the benefit of an image stabilizer for those tricky hand-held shots of moving subjects, when a tripod is not suitable or available.
The only initial concern was the motor noise, although it isn't a real issue, and I'm already used to it.
Overall, I think that this is a first-class lens in this price range.
"Good value for money" 2009-10-15
By Johnboy24
As you have probably already read this lens' focus can be a bit "soft" at 300mm, however below that up to about 250mm it is very sharp.
Initially it feels a bit heavy but you soon get used to the weight.
Being a "snapper" I like its quick auto focus and coupled with the linear stabilisation facility it is excellent for action shots.
"A very good lens, but not perfect." 2009-02-23
By markh5682 (Lancashire)
I bought this lens to use with My EOS 40D last year.
For a lens with a maximum of 300mm focal length it is quite compact and is easy to use hand held, the image stablizer works quite well in all but poor light conditions.
Auto focus although generally good can be a bit hit and miss at times, searching back and forth to find the focus for a few seconds, but it usually focuses well in the end, it does work a lot better in bright light conditions though.
The picture quality is sharp and clear throught the zoom range and the fine detail is well rendered, on most pictures colour is also rendered well, but on some higher contrast subjects, slight colour fringing (chromatic abberations) is apparent especially when you zoom into the picture for a closer look, it is not a major problem, and you can remove it in post processing, but on a lens of this price I would have expected better than that from Canon.
Overall this is a very good lens giving you sharp clear pictures, and it has a good zoom range, it has no major faults and I have been happy with the vast majority of the pictures that I have taken with it, but it loses one star because the autofocus can be a tad slow under certain conditions, and colour fringing can affect some high contrast subjects.
Not perfect, but it is still a very good lens and it is recommended.
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Buy Canon EF 70-300mm f/4.0-5.6 IS USM Lens Now
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