Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM

[chunchma]

I have read some amazing thing about this lens and some down falls of this lens. But the price is a bit much, in the Tamron and Sigma line is there any thing that matches the Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM .

Please forgive a newbie in the world of lenses.

Thanks

[august23]

Tamron makes a nice 17-50. Other than that, no. Nothing matches this badboy. What downfalls have you heard?

[calicokat]

There is nothing out there in this focal range with F/2.8 and IS ;)

[jesusdelallata]

With f2.8, USM and IS, this baby is in a league of it's own. It's worth the money.

[nicksan]

17-55 is the only one of its kind, PERIOD!

The "downfall" would be solely based on the build quality compared to the "L" line of lenses.

It's not weather sealed, it's made of some plastic material (I never thought it was flimsy while I had the lens however) and some have reported dust issues.

I had mine for 3 months and I was very, very happy with it. No dust issues. Felt solid. Build not nearly as bad as people make it out to be. Best of the f2.8 plus IS...beat that!

[sootyvrs]

I used to read all the hype about this lens and then I decided to buy the, also hyped, Tammy 17-50.

The Tammy is great when it get's it right but I decided to buy the Canon 17-55 and got it delivered today and all I can say is WOW!

Believe the hype, better than my copy of the Tamron and the IS makes a real difference!

I should have got it from the start IMO....

[tony fanning]

I had two copies of the tamron and both of them sucked! Front focusing and way too soft wide open. I now have the canon and it is amazing! The IS is really handy. Combined with the 2.8 and you have an awesome bit of glass.
Yes it`s a bit too expensive but what isn`t in the Canon range?