Most kit zooms have a slow and variable maximum aperture, typically F3.5 to 5.6. Slow and variable maximum apertures are not ideal for low light or rendering pleasant bokeh. Plus, designers cut corners on kit lens quality. If you prefer the wide to short telephoto range of a kit lens, but crave better optical and low light performance, there's hope: the Canon EF-S 17-55 2.8 IS USM.

Dragon Dance | EOS 50D, EF-S 17-55 2.8 IS USM, 55mm, F3.5, 1/125, ISO 100

Canon EF-S 17-55 2.8 IS USM

The EF-S 17-55 2.8 IS USM was released into the wild early in 2006. The big deal was the constant F2.8 maximum aperture. In other words, set F2.8 in manual mode and it stays at F2.8 regardless of zoom setting. The downside is this lens is as large and heavy as a mini bazooka.

A three-stop image stabilizer (IS), ring-type USM, and 3.24x zoom range round out the feature set. The zoom range of 17 to 55 on APS-C is equivalent to 27 to 88mm coverage on full frame cameras.

Canon EF-S17-55 2.8 IS USM | APS-C bazooka | Photo courtesy Canon

During its heyday, the EF-S 17-55 2.8 IS USM retailed for $900 USD. Two decades later, this lens still maintains a cult following, commanding $500 to $600 for excellent-condition copies. Is it worth the hype?

Compatibility

The EF-S 17-55 2.8 IS USM is designed for APS-C (1.6X) Canon EOS DSLR cameras such as the Rebel SL3 and 80D. It may be used on R and M series mirrorless cameras with a mount adapter. Full-frame R series cameras such as the EOS R and R6 MK II automatically revert to 1.6X crop mode. This lens is incompatible with full-frame Canon EOS SLR/DSLRs and non-Canon cameras. 

Makeup Girl | EOS 50D and EF-s 17-55 2.8 IS USM at 55mm, F4.5, 1/60 and ISO 400. Body painting blended with the backdrop to look like an oil painting.

Construction

Due to the constant F2.8 aperture and image stabilization, this lens is a bruiser, and front-heavy on smaller cameras. It also boasts a good fit and finish, sturdy plastics, beefy switches, and a metal lens mount. There are no weather seals, and it has a tiny and somewhat stiff turning manual focus ring. The gold decorative ring and chrome-finished image stabilizer logo imparts a 1990s vibe.

The twist zoom action is quasi-smooth—slightly sticky—but doesn't creep. When zoomed to 55mm, the nested barrel extends, nearly doubling in length. A ribbed rubber surface adorns the ample zoom ring, making for a secure grip. Finally, a distance window in feet and meters helps users prefocus based on distance.

Southern Koʻolau Range and Nuʻuanu Valley | EOS R7, EF-s 17-55 2.8 IS USM and Mount Adapter EF-EOS R | 33mm at F4.5

Lens Hood

Canon does not include a lens hood with the EF-S 17-55 2.8 IS USM, although the lens is priced in L lens territory. Instead, the EW-83J Lens Hood is available as an accessory for about $45.

Canon EW-83J | Photo courtesy Canon

Incidentally, the slightly shallower Canon EW-83H Lens Hood for the EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM Lens fits perfectly, doesn't vignette, is just as handsome but priced a little lower. If you wish to save more money, knockoff EW-83J hoods are available from JJC and others on Amazon and Ebay.

Focus

A ring-type Ultrasonic Motor drives an internal lens group and AF is fast, silent and sure-footed on my 90D and R7 (with adapter). The front element doesn't rotate or extend during focusing.

The focus ring is narrow and coarse in pitch, so not ideal for video pulls but works. Although not a macro lens, it focuses close enough for head shots (35cm/.17x) and large flowers.

Door Handle | EOS 7 and EF-S 17-55 2.8 IS USM at 55mm and F3.5.

FTM

The full-time manual (FTM) feature of this lens allows manual focus without flipping the AF/MF switch. To use this FTM, leave the shutter button half-depressed during MF operation. Once satisfied with focus, press the shutter button all the way to take the picture. FTM works in one-shot mode and can't be used during AI servo.

Servo Focus

AI servo mode works well enough to keep up well with joggers, moving vehicles and wee critters. On an EOS R7, I can use AI servo to recompose while keeping AF locked on a static subject. This lens is compatible with Movie servo during video, but is not as smooth as STM or Nano USM. Although inaudible to most human ears, the sound of the USM drive is picked up by the camera's built-in mics during video recording (chirps). The workaround is to use an external mic and/or outboard audio. If video is your main thing, invest in a STM or Nano USM equipped lens.

Glitter Gulch Las Vegas | EOS 40D and EF-S 17-55 2.8 IS USM

Image Stabilization

Image stabilization employs tiny gyro sensors inside the lens to detect the degree and direction of camera shake and counteract it by moving a compensating optical group. I usually get a sharp picture, even three stops below my normal hand-held shutter speed. If I brace myself or shoot a volley of shots, I can get away with another stop. Combined with F2.8, I can snag images in dim museums and churches without resorting to extreme ISO settings.

Here's what Papa Canon says about IS in the 17-55:

...equipped with such features as the company’s high-performance Image Stabilizer (IS), which provides the equivalent effect of a shutter speed three stops faster, and full-time manual focus...

While an able stabilizer for general photography, it lacks panning mode and hybrid IS (correction in both the vertical plane and back-and-forth motions) common in Canon lenses during the second decade of the 21st century. However, it senses when mounted on a tripod and adjusts accordingly.

IS Sound

The IS mechanism of the EF-S 17-55 2.8 IS USM is pianissimo, but not silent. In a quiet room, I can hear a subdued hum after touching the shutter button. It's softer than my EF 70-200 4L IS USM but louder than the IS in the EF-S 15-85 3.5-5.6 IS USM. If shooting video, use an external mic as the hum may be evident during quiet scenes.

Rape of Sabine Women | Firenza, Italia | EOS 40D and EF-S 17-55 2.8 IS USM

Image Quality

The brightness of this lens is apparent through the viewfinder of a DSLR. After all, there's plenty of exotic glass within: three aspherical lens elements (one glass molded, two replica) and a UD (ultra-low dispersion) lens element.

When I bought this lens in 2006, I thought, “Great balls of fire, it's sharp edge to edge at F2.8 from 17mm to 55mm.” Of course, my 20D only had an 8MP sensor! With the brutal 32.5MP sensor of the EOS 90D and R7, I revised my verdict a bit. 

Shooting with my 32.5MP R7, this lens is sharp center frame at F2.8 at all focal lengths. However, my two copies of this lens were soft in the periphery and corners on the wide side of the zoom range, especially 17 to 19 mm. I've heard others claim their lens was sharp in the corners at 17mm, so performance may be subject to sample variation. At any rate, the periphery of my lens improved considerably by stopping down to F5.6 or F8. 

By 20mm, corners are much better at F2.8, but still a bit soft. As zoomed towards the telephoto end, corners tighten up until almost equally sharp across the frame from 35mm to 55mm and F2.8.

Honolulu Harbor | EOS R7 and EF-S 17-55 2.8 IS USM at 17mm and F2.8

100% Crops | Lower left corner and mid-frame (17mm at F2.8). Stopping down to F5.6 or F8 improves corners considerably at 17mm.

Flare

Flare is not apparent in most photographic situations. However, this lens doesn't do well in extreme flare situations such as a blazing tropical sunset. If I'm heading to the shoreline at sunset, I've learned to grab another lens. As a point of comparison, typical Hawaiian sunsets result in more ghosting and flare than my EF-S 15-85 3.5-5.6 IS USM, but less than my EF 28-135 3.5-5.6 IS USM. Flare can't be corrected later in software. You must prevent flare by using a lens hood, removing cheap filters, or avoiding the flare causing light source in the frame.

Coma

One of my photographic dreams was to shoot nightscapes: distant city lights, stars, and moonlit landscapes. Unfortunately, the wide side of the EF-S 17-55mm 2.8 IS USM renders off-axis points of light—streetlights and stars—with a comet- or wing-like flare—an aberration known as coma. Unfortunately, coma can't be corrected with a lens profile in Lightroom or DPP4. You have to prevent coma by stopping down or zooming to less coma-prone focal lengths during the shoot.

Honolulu | EOS 50D, EF-S 17-55 2.8 IS USM at 17mm, F2.8, 1/13 and ISO 1600. Coma is visible in the far left middle of the frame (see Coma Detail image).

Coma Detail | Crop from the far left middle of the frame shows “wing” coma.

Wide open at f/2.8 and 17mm, the center of the frame is clean, but coma is pronounced in points of light on the periphery. This wing-like flare also exhibits chromatic aberration, i.e., purple fringing. Coma and purple fringing are progressively reduced as the lens is stopped down: significantly reduced by 4 and nearly nil by f/5.6. Having to shoot nightscapes at F5.6 spoils the fun of having a F2.8 lens.

Fremont Casino | EOS 7D and EF-S 17-55 2.8 IS USM at 17mm, F8, 1/15 and ISO 160. No coma at 17mm when stopped down to F8.

Shooting wide open at F2.8, coma is reduced progressively as you zoom and is basically nil by 35mm. This lens is not my first choice for astronomy or city nightscapes, but will do a decent job if you stop down and/or zoom out. Most of my other zooms also exhibit coma wide open, so the EF-S 17-55 2.8 IS USM is average in this regard.

Distortion

I've never noticed distortion because lens profile corrections are automatically applied to RAW files in Lightroom and DPP4. For JPEGs, the profile is applied in-camera. If the lens profile is disabled, mild distortion may be observed. The wide end of this zoom has a little barrel distortion. The long end has slight pincushion distortion. With that said, distortion is less pronounced than the EF 24-105 4L IS USM and EF-S 15-85 3.5-5.6 IS USM.

Light Fall-Off

You won't notice light falloff because DPP4 and Lightroom automatically apply the lens profile to RAW files to remove vignette. In-camera JPEGs are automatically corrected as well. However, like most zooms, the EF-S 17-55 2.8 IS USM has a stop or more of light fall-off when shot wide open. I often prefer images with darker corners and edges and sometimes disable profile corrections for a natural vignette.

Chiesa degli Scalzi | Venice, Italy | EOS 40D and EF-S 17-55 2.8 IS USM

Shutter Shock

When used on DSLRs such as the 20D, 40D and 90D, I had no shutter shock issues. However, when used on the R7 in mechanical shutter mode, images were blurred due to shutter shock. Oddly, there is no shutter shock on the R7 when used with the kit lens, the RF-s 18-150 3.5-6.3 IS STM (or other RF lenses). I suspect that the EF-S 17-55 2.8 IS USM somehow amplifies vibrations from the mechanical shutter of the R7. There is a simple and highly effective workaround: use electronic shutter on the R7. No shutter, no shock. If you must use the mechanical shutter of the R7 for flash sync, first curtain sync suffers less shutter shock.

Popup Flash Blocked?

I was surprised to find the popup flash of my 70D, 80D, and 90D perfectly usable with this lens. I assumed such a bulky lens would completely block the popup, but such is not the case. At 17mm from 2 meters out, there is no shadow from the lens. At closer distances, there is a small shadow at the bottom of the frame. For daylight fill, a flash shadow is unnoticeable. 

Incidentally, the EF-S 17-55 2.8 IS USM transmits distance information to the E-TTL II flash algorithm to help improve flash exposure accuracy.

Dust Vac?

The vents behind the front element retaining ring suck in dust during zoom and focus operations. However, dust problems mainly come from lenses lacking UV filters. The filter prevents most dust from being draw in. I've always used a UV or clear filter for protection and my EF-S 17-55 2.8 IS USM is clean after many years of use in deserts, streets, beaches and smoky bars.

Red Goose Shoes | Las Vegas | EOS 50D and EF-S 17-55 2.8 IS USM

If you went without a filter and find a barrel full of lint inside, you may find these dust images and fix enlightening.

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Who Is This Lens For?

DSLR

If you own a Canon APS-C format (1.6X crop) DSLR camera such as a 40D, 70D, 80D, or 90D, this lens is ideal for general photography, covering wide, normal, and short telephoto ranges. Although a bit front-on Rebels, it balances well on the XXD series of DSLRs. Mount this lens on your camera, and you're ready for sharp scenics, group shots, candids, and portraits. With the F2.8 aperture, you can venture into low-light situations without a flash and keep ISO and shutter speeds at a reasonable setting. 

R Series

If you're willing to use a mount adapter, it’s also a good choice for APS-C R series cameras such as the R7 and R10. However, there are caveats: this lens is heavy and bulky, the adapter increases bulk and weight, and electronic shutter is strongly recommended due to shutter shock with the mechanical shutter. If you can live without IS, consider the slightly sharper and much smaller Sigma 18-50 2.8 DN DC in RF mount. The new price of the Sigma is about the same as a used EF-S 17-55 2.8 IS USM in excellent condition. 

No lens is perfect, but once I learned the workarounds and avoided the pitfalls, I was able to bring home thousands of sharp and vivid images. 

Makeup Girl BTS | Canon EOS 50D and EF-s 17-55 2.8 IS USM at 28mm, F3.5, 1/60 and ISO 400.

Who is this lens not for? Dedicated video shooters: the ring-USM isn't as smooth as STM and nano USM. Also, astronomy buffs and city nightscape shooters should look elsewhere. For night photography with points of light, a high-quality prime lens, e.g., Samyang 14mm 2.8, will be much better corrected for coma.

Last Blurb

This is the big kahuna royale of normal APS-C EF-s zooms: beefy, well made, generally sharp and fast focusing. However, the demanding 32.5MP sensor of the EOS 90D and R7 revealed warts I hadn't noticed on older cameras: coma and soft corners wide open at F2.8 at 17mm. Nevertheless, this lens is still impressively sharp throughout most of its range even on modern high density sensors.

The combination of 3-stop IS and fast aperture make it ideal for available light shooting on city streets and in dim building interiors. I feel confident to shoot wide open in most situations and bring back sharp images. I bought this lens new in 2006 and loved it for travel, humping it from Vegas to Venice without a whimper or glitch.

Finally, please help support this website by purchasing this lens at Amazon.

More Images taken with the EF-S 17-55 2.8 IS USM (click to enlarge).

Specifications

• Focal Length: 17-55 mm
• Maximum Aperture: F2.8
• Minimum Aperture: F22
• Lens Construction: 12 groups, 19 elements
• Angle of View: 78° 30' - 27° 50' (diagonal) | 48° - 15° 40' (vertical) | 68° 40' - 23° 20' (horizontal)
• Min. Focusing Distance: 0.35 m/1.2 ft.
• Max. Magnification: 0.17x (at 55 mm)
• Filter Diameter: 77mm

Accessories

• Lens Cap E-77U/E-77 II
• Hood EW-83J
• Case LP1219

• Diameter and Length: 83.5 x 110.6 mm (3.3 x 4.4")
• Weight: 645 g (22.7 oz)

• $879 (new)
• $300-600 used depending on condition

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01/11/2007 | Revised 10/12/2026

Source Materials

Canon EFS Lens EF-S17-55mm F/2.8 IS USM Instruction. Tokyo: Canon, 2006. (CT1-7561-001).

©Copyright 2007-27 by Peter Kun Frary | All Rights Reserved