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Canon EF-S 17-85mm f4~5.6 IS USM lens review Gordon Laing, December 2005

Outdoor / Resolution / Corner sharpness / Fringe and macro / Geometry / Vignetting

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Canon EF-S 17-85mm purple fringing comparison

  To measure purple fringing caused by lens chromatic aberrations and sensor blooming, we photographed a test chart, left, with areas of very high contrast. We tested each lens at its widest and longest focal lengths with the aperture wide open using a Canon EOS-350D / Digital Rebel XT in Aperture Priority mode. The crops are taken from the upper left corner of the chart and presented here at 100%.

The three lenses performed roughly the same in this test throughout their focal lengths, although the 18-55mm exhibited slightly worse fringing at wide angle.

Canon EF-S 17-85mm f4~5.6 IS USM
Canon EF-S 18-55mm f3.5~5.6
Canon EF 17-40mm f4.0L USM
Canon 17-85mm lens at 17mm f4.0
Canon 18-55mm lens at 18mm f3.5
Canon 17-40mm lens at 17mm f4
17-85mm EF-S at 17mm f4.0
18-55mm EF-S at 18mm f3.5
17-40mm EF L at 17mm f4
Canon 17-85mm lens at 85mm f5.6
Canon 18-55mm lens at 55mm f5.6
Canon 17-40mm lens at 40mm f4
17-85mm EF-S at 85mm f5.6
18-55mm EF-S at 55mm f5.6
17-40mm EF L at 40mm f4




Canon EF-S 17-85mm macro comparison

To measure macro performance we photographed a custom chart using settings which delivered the maximum possible reproduction. The dark lines are 10mm apart. Each lens was tested with the Canon EOS-350D / Digital Rebel XT at f8 in Aperture Priority mode.

The three lenses delivered quite different macro performance, with the 17-85mm EF-S delivering the least reproduction with a maximum area of 104x70mm. The 17-40mm EF L did a little better, but surprisingly the 18-55mm EF-S performed best of all in this respect with a reproduction around one and a half times greater than the 17-85mm EF-S.

Canon EF-S 17-85mm f4~5.6 IS USM
Canon EF-S 18-55mm f3.5~5.6
Canon EF 17-40mm f4.0L USM
Canon 17-85mm lens macro test
Canon 18-55mm lens macro test
Canon 17-40mm lens macro test
17-85mm EF-S at 85mm f8
Max area of 104x70mm
  18-55mm EF-S at 55mm f8
Max area of 66x44mm
  17-40mm EF L at 40mm f8
Max area of 92x62mm

Canon 17-85mm results continued...

Outdoor / Resolution / Corner sharpness / Fringe and macro / Geometry / Vignetting


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