To buy or not to buy?

Hey there!

A friend of mine is selling a Canon 17 - 55 IS 2.8 for approx 700 Euros (way cheaper than can be found here). I'm considering grabbing it...

About me:
- Right now, all I have is the kit lens (17 - 55), and the 50 1.8.
- I'm into documentary/photojourn​alism style stuff - a lot of outdoor/event shooting
- I'm planning to make a living at this at one point
- If I buy this, I likely won't be able to afford any other glass for a while.
- Am not going to be upgrading cameras for a while, but will be eventually. (eg - what if I buy a FF camera?)
- I plan to do some extensive traveling in the upcoming couple years, so am trying to own a few pieces of useful/quality glass to bring (maybe 2, 3 max?)

I know he takes good care of his stuff, and he's throwing in a lens hood.

I'm torn. It's a LOT of money... but I know that I can't keep trucking around with only my kit lens forever.

What are the most important lenses in your kit? If you could only have a couple, what would they be? Help?

17-55 is a great lens. I shoot weddings and I find it so valuable I have two, the second is in case the first breaks. Treat it right and it should be fine, but the IS unit is more prone to failure than most Canon lenses. If you upgrade to FF you'll want to keep a crop body just so you can use this lens, there's nothing like it in full frame right now - ie F2.8 standard zoom with IS.

If you shoot in low light this lens is useful. If not you could get a Tamron 17-50 or the similar Sigma one way cheaper. They're all sharp.

Do whatever you have to to get this lens. Love mine. IS that gives you 4 stops on a F/2.8 is great. Taken shots at 1/6 second that have come out sharp!

Get a good filter with the money you save though... she works beautifully, but she's a little prone to flare. This lens and my 50 1.4 are on my camera 99% of the time

I say go for it! If its in good condition and way cheaper than youre going to find it elsewhere then what are you waiting for! That opportunity wont come again!

Definitely buy...

I haven't looked at the USD-Euro exchange rate in a long while because the U.S. Dollars performance has me sick to my stomach.

However, if two things are occurring; buy that lens:

1. If the price of the lens is somewhere below what you can buy it for new. Note: Lenses don't depreciate very much - certainly not like cameras do.
The price of a new 17-55mm f/2.8 IS lens is $979 USD at B&H from New York. This is the version with the International Warranty.

2. If you know and trust your friend well enough to feel sure that the lens is in good working condition. It would be an added bonus if there was some time left on the warranty and if your friend had the sales documents.

IMO this lens is the very best choice for a 1.6x camera and again IMO, a photojournalist is very well equipped with a 1.6x system and a full-frame camera isn't needed for photo Journalism.

I pair this lens with a 70-200mm f/4L IS lens and they are a wonderful combination; especially if you have an extra body. I would definitely recommend a second body for photojournalism work. A photojournalist often doesn't have time or the opportunity to switch lenses between a single camera.

The 17-55mm f/2.8 IS lens provides superlative IQ, fast focus and, although it is not designated as an "L" lens, the build is very good. The advantage of IS with the constant f/2.8 aperture is that the lens becomes a very good low-light glass.

i'm sure you do know of the tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 which is also offers great image quality for much lesser price, assuming you can live w/o USM and IS.

but i guess in the end, only you have the answers as to buy or not.

Thanks for all the replies so far!

Has anyone had a bad experience with this lens? I hear it's kind of a dust magnet.

Well I dropped one onto a concrete floor and it busted, but that's not unreasonably really. I bought two more. One of them has a few specs of dust but you can't see them in the images. I wouldn't use it in the desert.