Canon 18-135 IS or 15-85 for T1i walkaround?

I purchased the 15-85mm last year with not so good results. It was not noticeably better than my 17-85mm on my 60D. I shot a bunch of stuff with both lenses side by side to look for the difference. It also had a ton of zoom creep right out of the box. I sent it back after a few weeks. I later purchased the 17-55 f/2.8 and couldn't be happier. It cost about $200 more on sale, and was well worth the money.

BroncoAZ wrote in post #15128183
I purchased the 15-85mm last year with not so good results. It was not noticeably better than my 17-85mm on my 60D. I shot a bunch of stuff with both lenses side by side to look for the difference. It also had a ton of zoom creep right out of the box. I sent it back after a few weeks. I later purchased the 17-55 f/2.8 and couldn't be happier. It cost about $200 more on sale, and was well worth the money.

Sorry you weren't happy with yours. Generally, the 17-85 is much softer once you get away from the center of the image. Even much more expensive and heavier lenses suffer from zoom creep. Its not unusual with heavy front elements. Certainly the 17-55 is a great lens. I use my 15-85 mostly for daylight landscapes where a fast aperture is less critical. The extra 2mm on the wide end and the extra 30mm on the long end make it much more versatile for landscapes and a a general walk around lens.

I used the 15-85 for years and was very pleased with it, but found that I wanted a wider aperture. Traded up to the 17-55 and have been much happier with the degree of DoF control it allows. Since bokeh is a point of emphasis for the OP this is worth considering.

I don't miss the long end much. The extra 2mm on the wide end is mildly more noticable, but in both cases it's usually not a problem to just move the feet. I have the 10-22 for times when I want the ultra-wide.

My copy of the 15-85 had pretty significant zoom creep between 24 and 50mm. Anyone buying that lens used should be sure to ask the seller about it, though it seems that the majority of these have the problem. I occasionally had issues with it, but it was more of a psychological problem than a practical one for the kinds of stuff I was shooting.

If Canon were to make a 15-85 f/4 (or whatever) it would end up as an L, an expensive and heavy one!

CaliWalkabout wrote in post #15130595
I used the 15-85 for years and was very pleased with it, but found that I wanted a wider aperture. Traded up to the 17-55 and have been much happier with the degree of DoF control it allows. Since bokeh is a point of emphasis for the OP this is worth considering.

I don't miss the long end much. The extra 2mm on the wide end is mildly more noticable, but in both cases it's usually not a problem to just move the feet. I have the 10-22 for times when I want the ultra-wide.

My copy of the 15-85 had pretty significant zoom creep between 24 and 50mm. Anyone buying that lens used should be sure to ask the seller about it, though it seems that the majority of these have the problem. I occasionally had issues with it, but it was more of a psychological problem than a practical one for the kinds of stuff I was shooting.

If Canon were to make a 15-85 f/4 (or whatever) it would end up as an L, an expensive and heavy one!

I can understand wanting the wider aperture, but I would really miss the long end. I don't have a 10-22, so I really utilize the 15 mm wide end of mine a lot. Zoom creep between around 24 and 50 mm seems to be almost "normal" for this lens. I implemented a non invasive solution that eliminates or reduces the creep and does not call attention to itself. Its documented in another thread.