17-55 Discontinued?

i doubt it means much...probably just an error...interesting to see they still list the 135mm f2.8 Soft focus...i thought that it was discontinued

Keyan wrote in post #17457151
The build quality could be better...and I wonder how many people buy it. It is a stretch for a lot of crop sensor users to go up to that price point, XXD and 7D owners are about the only people who are likely to consider it. If there was a version with sealing a a bit tighter zoom action I'd be all over it.

The bolded is probably right, but just as probably, Canon has figured that into their sales goals for that lens. Canon has always had pretty rigid concepts of what ranges of customers should buy specific products (even highly gender chauvinistic concepts), and I suspect they never intended any but xxD and 7D owners to buy that lens.

RDKirk wrote in post #17457648
The bolded is probably right, but just as probably, Canon has figured that into their sales goals for that lens. Canon has always had pretty rigid concepts of what ranges of customers should buy specific products (even highly gender chauvinistic concepts), and I suspect they never intended any but xxD and 7D owners to buy that lens.

And 7D2 owners.

I really like that zoom range on a crop sensor but would love better low light capability and better IQ than the kit lens (although for the money that lens is really nice).

I do agree that people that bought a $500 T3i/18-55 setup for Christmas probably won't be spending $850 to get a couple stops better light. It's definitely aimed at high end crop bodies only.

I replaced my much loved 17-55 with the 24L II. Sometimes I miss that lens, but not enough to but the 24-70mm lens.

DreDaze wrote in post #17457641
i doubt it means much...probably just an error...interesting to see they still list the 135mm f2.8 Soft focus...i thought that it was discontinued

I thought it was too but can still get the SF brand new at some stores near me.

Still listed here (out of stock though):

http://shop.usa.canon.​com …alog/standard-zoom-lenses

RDKirk wrote in post #17457648
Canon has always had pretty rigid concepts of what ranges of customers should buy specific products (even highly gender chauvinistic concepts), and I suspect they never intended any but xxD and 7D owners to buy that lens.

I bought it to use on a 550D where it did a fabulous job for portraits and sports. I'm glad no one told me it was only intended for high-end bodies.

GregDunn wrote in post #17457930
I bought it to use on a 550D where it did a fabulous job for portraits and sports. I'm glad no one told me it was only intended for high-end bodies.

According to Canon Japan thinking--and this was expressed by a Canon executive in a news conference about 10 years ago--you Greg weren't supposed to be using a 550D anyway. Canon explicitly designed the "Kiss" line for women.

msowsun wrote in post #17457475
No way you'll see a 15-60 2.8 USM or STM. It would be too big, too heavy, and too expensive.

STM is for lower end $300-$600 lenses not for premium $1000 lenses like the 17-55. Ring type USM is much better for stills because of the real full time manual focus and distance scale. (and no one likes the laggy focus by wire)

I love all my STM lenses, but only because they are sharp and because STM is better than Micro Motor or Micro USM.

I suppose it is possible they might release a new a 17-55 STM version for video, but I would expect Canon to continue with the 17-55 USM or maybe even an updated 17-55 USM II.

How much bigger would it be just extending it a bit in each direction?

While I have you, mind letting me know why you have both the 18-55 and 18-135 STMs? Is the -55 that much better over its range? Just curious.

Video. The 18-55 and 18-135 with the STM drives are lighter and are excellent for video.

The 17-55 is a great lens, and when mine hits, it hits well. It just likes to front focus a lot and it's at times pretty infuriating...I could also be doing something wrong.

Yeah my comment was to include the 7D line, including the 7D2.

What I really would like is a sealed version. I went out in the snow with my 7D2 and my 70-300L taking pics of the kids sledding down the back of our lot while it was still snowing and it was awesome to use the camera in that kind of situation.

Doesn't Canon leak new lens announcements quite a while before the lens is actually available?

Anyway, I sure would love to see them fix the couple small issues with this lens before spending the money on it...

Keyan wrote in post #17458564
The 17-55 is a great lens, and when mine hits, it hits well. It just likes to front focus a lot and it's at times pretty infuriating...

Erg, front focusing.

My copy has intermittent extreme front-focusing, making it intermittently unusable. Like, I focus on a distant building and the pavement 10 feet in front of me is in focus. Has been to Canon Service for this problem five times. I have not had the opportunity to test it properly yet after the last round in service - hoping for success this time.

It's just my general impression of the lens is that it's loose, or gets loose, over time. It's like the AF action just doesn't stop cleanly. Or maybe it's the fact that the zoom is so loose now that's shifting a little during use and throwing the AF off. Or it's all in my head. All I know is that even the 18-135 STM feels better as a lens. And the 70-300L is on another planet entirely - which considering the new price for the 17-55 it should feel more like an L and less like a kit.

I just checked Canon's website and it is listed as 'out of stock'.