Canon EF-S 17-55mm f / 2.8 IS USM review by Vladimir Kutenkov
In recent years, our editors have tested more than a dozen lenses, including absolute bestsellers and brilliant new products. It is impossible to embrace the immensity - the only way to explain the fact that the Canon EF-S 17-55mm f / 2.8 IS USM fell out of our attention. At the same time, the lens was well known to the publisher, with him we shot tests of many Canon cameras.
Check Price Canon EF-S 17-55mm f / 2.8 IS USM
The Canon EF-S 17-55mm f / 2.8 IS USM is a versatile zoom designed for Canon SLR cameras with an APS-C sensor. Its range of focal lengths is only one millimeter wider than the usual "whales". However, this should not be misleading to photographers: the capabilities of the EF-S 17-55mm f / 2.8 IS USM are significantly higher than those of budget optics. We are talking about a professional lens that did not receive the coveted red ring and the letter L only because it cannot be put on a full-frame camera, and dust and moisture protection are not declared in the specifications.
Its main advantages are a constant aperture of f / 2.8 (two steps lighter than the “whale” in teleposition!) And high optical quality. However, we will talk about this in the test, which was prepared jointly with the photographer Vladimir Kutenkov . Now the word is his, and on the next page we will talk a little more about the image quality of the Canon EF-S 17-55mm f / 2.8 IS USM and draw final conclusions.
Canon EF-S 17-55mm f / 2.8 IS USM review by Vladimir Kutenkov
My name is Vladimir Kutenkov. Recently, I graduated from the university with a degree in industrial engineering, but I consider myself primarily a videographer and photographer. I work at the London-based Dance Dance School in Moscow, rent dance master classes, videos, advertisements for various brands, and host Instagram accounts. I post all my work in the @kutenkov profile. I owe a lot to Instagram, because it was on this platform that I grew up, inspired, and still develop.
I don’t have any particular style, shooting rules. I'm just trying to see something new in familiar things, trying to catch the moment.
Canon EOS 77D / EF-S 17-55mm f / 2.8 IS USM Settings: ISO 400, F3.2, 1/60 s, 17.0 mm
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When Prophotos invited me to work with the Canon EF-S 17-55mm f / 2.8 IS USM in conjunction with a Canon EOS 77D camera, I immediately agreed, since from the age of 14 I’ve been shooting mostly only on the legendary “sprinkled” Canon 550D with a “whale” Canon Lens EF-S 18-55mm f / 3.5-5.6 IS II. Of course, I wanted to try something new, because before I didn’t even think about updating the optics park: I either felt sorry for the purchase of lenses, either borrowed from friends or rented in photo studios.
Canon EOS 77D / EF-S 17-55mm f / 2.8 IS USM Settings: ISO 400, F2.8, 1/50 s, 17.0mm
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Of course, this lens can not be called a novelty. It has been on the market for a very long time and is wildly popular. In short, the Canon EF-S 17-55mm f / 2.8 IS USM is a universal wide-angle zoom lens with a high and constant aperture for cameras with an EF-S mount (that is, for “cropped” DSLRs). This precludes its use with full-frame digital SLR cameras.
The first thing that catches your eye when unpacking is the dimensions of the lens. It is heavy - as much as 645 grams. But a lens with such aperture due to the large amount of glass simply cannot weigh less and have small dimensions. The body is made of polycarbonate, metal only bayonet mount. The front lens is massive, the diameter of the filter is 77 mm.
The lens has two rings: the first (wide) changes the focal length, the second (narrower) is responsible for manual focusing. The rings spin smoothly, gently and without play. There are also two switches: the first is for turning on the autofocus, the second is for turning on the optical stabilizer. Nothing more, everything is extremely simple.
Canon EOS 77D / EF-S 17-55mm f / 2.8 IS USM Settings: ISO 200, F5.6, 1/500 s, 17.0 mm
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For me, having a stabilizer is a huge plus. It not only helps to avoid blur during handheld shooting, but also makes autofocus more confident, since the picture in the viewfinder does not shake during the construction of the frame. You can also force the shutter speed (for example, in manual mode) and take it off in the city in the evening or at night without a tripod. In my experience, it is permissible to work with shutter speeds of the order of 1 / 2–1 / 5 s, but the Prophotos edition gives the stabilizer an even more optimistic estimate.
Canon EOS 77D / EF-S 17-55mm f / 2.8 IS USM Settings: ISO 400, F2.8, 1/400 s, 17.0 mm
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It turned out to check the full work of this lens when shooting a rehearsal of the parade system of aviation over Moscow. I went to White Square - for me this is a place of strength, inspiration, calm. For four years now I’ve been going to shoot aviation before the Victory Parade here.
Canon EOS 77D / EF-S 17-55mm f / 2.8 IS USM Settings: ISO 100, F3.2, 1/1000 s, 17.0 mm
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Sometimes it’s very difficult to catch a beautiful and clear shot, because you have a maximum of 3-4 minutes for everything. You run between buildings to take the “same” shot, because it is never clear in advance where the planes will fly. Here, only one thing is required of the technology - so that it does not fail.
Canon EOS 77D / EF-S 17-55mm f / 2.8 IS USM Settings: ISO 400, F2.8, 1/2000 s, 23.0 mm
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The Canon EF-S 17-55mm f / 2.8 IS USM performed very well at that moment. I was constantly running, many shots were taken on the go. The stabilizer made it easier for me and the autofocus system, removing excessive shaking and vibration, even when building a frame.
I want to note that the lens has a very convenient range of focal lengths of 17–55 mm. This is a classic full-time zoom, the capabilities of which are enough for 80% of the plots. Below you can see two photos taken from one point. The first photo was taken at a focal length of 17 mm.
Canon EOS 77D / EF-S 17-55mm f / 2.8 IS USM Settings: ISO 400, F5.6, 1/500 s, 17.0 mm
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The second photo is a focal length of 55 mm.
Canon EOS 77D / EF-S 17-55mm f / 2.8 IS USM Settings: ISO 400, F5.6, 1/500 s, 55.0 mm
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Formally, the zoom ratio is small - 3.2x. But this is enough to find the key to most of the plots: when you need to - strengthen the perspective due to the wide viewing angle, and sometimes - on the contrary, grab one object and cut off the excess.
Canon EOS 77D / EF-S 17-55mm f / 2.8 IS USM Settings: ISO 200, F2.8, 1/800 s, 35.0 mm
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The main feature of this model is the f / 2.8 aperture, which is available at all focal lengths. Paradise for photographers! High aperture allows you to blur the background, getting a more voluminous, airy picture, as in a full frame, provides excellent results in low light conditions.
Canon EOS 77D / EF-S 17-55mm f / 2.8 IS USM Settings: ISO 400, F2.8, 1/50 s, 17.0 mm
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During testing, I noted for myself a very important feature of this model: in the evening you can take pictures with your hands without a tripod at a shutter speed of 1 / 2–1 / 5 s, which the “whale” 18-55mm f / 3.5-5.6 cannot boast of. There is no need to cover the aperture to increase sharpness, and shutter speeds at f / 2.8 are obtained sufficiently short for shooting at moderate ISO.
I almost forgot about autofocus. The Canon EF-S 17-55mm f / 2.8 IS USM is equipped with very fast and silent autofocus, as it has a USM ultrasonic drive. Manual focus is also very convenient, with the ability to adjust focus without putting the lens in manual mode.
Canon EOS 77D / EF-S 17-55mm f / 2.8 IS USM Settings: ISO 100, F2.8, 1/640 s, 17.0 mm
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You can always safely turn the focus to the desired state. I used this mode in two cases of lens test. The first time - the moment of shooting a view of the Moscow City through the grid.
I wanted to put the focus in the background on my own so that it was on the buildings, because in automatic mode the camera gives priority to the focus in the foreground.
And the second time - a shot of cherry blossoms.
Canon EOS 77D / EF-S 17-55mm f / 2.8 IS USM Settings: ISO 100, F3.2, 1/200 s, 55.0 mm
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It was necessary to focus on a particular flower in the foreground. Even if the automation chose a different flower, thanks to the possibility of adjusting the focus, it was possible to make the desired frame without putting the camera in manual mode.
And a little about the quality of the pictures. The picture is very beautiful. It could not be otherwise, since the lens is fast. The EF-S 17-55mm f / 2.8 IS USM produces a very nice bokeh on the open aperture. The aperture is 7-bladed, so the bokeh is pretty nice even at values ??other than f / 2.8. You can verify this yourself by looking at the photo below with cherry blossoms at the Moscow State University building. The frame feels volume and lightness, the main object is separated from the background. Bokeh is soft, no scale effect. Unfortunately, more budget zooms, including “whale” lenses, do not give such a picture due to the variable and lower aperture ratio. The bokeh on the same 18-55 mm looks stiffer.
Canon EOS 77D / EF-S 17-55mm f / 2.8 IS USM Settings: ISO 100, F3.2, 1/125 s, 17.0 mm
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I love taking photos of distant objects, so I want them to be always in focus. On the first day of the test, I went to my favorite Krasnopresnenskaya embankment. He photographed a lot, but most of all he paid attention to the Ukraine Hotel and the Radisson motor ships. I wanted to check the detail of the photo. The result was very impressive. The picture is quite sharp, and when approaching, you can see the smallest details.
Canon EOS 77D / EF-S 17-55mm f / 2.8 IS USM Settings: ISO 200, F3.5, 1/125 s, 17.0 mm
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The sharpness is excellent across the entire field of the frame, at all apertures, even at f / 2.8 - in fact, this is the strength of the lens. This is a high-quality model that did not become the legendary “Elka” just because it is not full-frame.
Chromatic aberrations are visible only at 17 mm at f / 2.8 aperture. They do not interfere and are very easy to correct in the converter, especially if you use the RAW format.
Canon EOS 77D / EF-S 17-55mm f / 2.8 IS USM Settings: ISO 200, F2.8, 1/500 s, 17.0 mm
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Distortion at a wide angle of 17 mm is present. I do not consider this a minus, because it is barely noticeable, and it can always be removed almost without losing the viewing angle.
Canon EOS 77D / EF-S 17-55mm f / 2.8 IS USM Settings: ISO 200, F2.8, 1/640 s, 24.0 mm
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Canon EOS 77D / EF-S 17-55mm f / 2.8 IS USM Settings: ISO 100, F2.8, 1/400 s, 17.0 mm
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The moment that I would like to draw attention to is dust and moisture protection. She is not declared in this model. Therefore, the photographer should think in advance about planning extreme shootings.
Opinion
Almost two weeks of shooting on the Canon EF-S 17-55mm f / 2.8 IS USM showed me that it is very predictable, easy to use. It affects, of course, the speed of autofocus, the stability of focusing. Strengths - a wide range of focal lengths and high aperture.
The lens is comfortable and well thought out. In my opinion, the Canon EF-S 17-55mm F2.8 IS USM is the best lens for Canon “cropped” cameras in its range of focal lengths, so this is an excellent choice for enthusiastic amateur photographers.
Canon EOS 77D / EF-S 17-55mm f / 2.8 IS USM Settings: ISO 400, F2.8, 1/800 s, 42.0 mm
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If you have the opportunity to switch from a “whale” lens to the EF-S 17-55mm f / 2.8 IS USM , and you want to achieve great results in photography, feel free to do it.
High aperture will open new horizons in creativity.
Of the minuses, I want to note the considerable size, weight, lack of protection against dust and moisture, a hood in the kit. Maybe the price ... but you have to pay for the pleasure.
