Canon 17-85mm f/4.0-5.6 EF-S IS USM

From the press release:

The EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM is a lens for digital SLR cameras.

The lens is specially designed for serious work with Canon EOS 20D and EOS 350D digital SLR cameras. The focal length range of 27-136mm in 35mm film equivalent has been tailor-made by Canon for the growing range of serious digital SLR photographers. This lens features Canon's Ring Ultrasonic Motor (USM) for fast, quiet autofocus and a range of features that bring image quality closer to Canon's renowned professional L-series lenses.

standard lens

Perfect for shooting on the go, outdoors, or any general-purpose shoot, the EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM is a high quality, lightweight "standard" general purpose zoom lens. Its 5x zoom is the widest in its class, and Canon's latest image stabilization technology allows for up to 3 stops of shutter speed limited by camera shake. This excellent semi-professional lens has 17 elements in 12 groups, including one double-sided aspherical element, which allows you to achieve crystal clearness and contrast throughout the image field.

Mount EF-S

The lens has a Canon EF-S mount, matching the EOS 20D and EOS 350D digital SLR cameras. The APS-C sensor size of these cameras requires the focal length to be multiplied by 1.6. While an advantage for telephoto lenses, this limits the possibilities of wide-angle shooting. To meet the needs of photographers shooting with new digital cameras, Canon has developed a dedicated mount for the EF-S wide-angle lens. Both the EOS 20D and EOS 300D are fully compatible with all existing EF lenses, while the EF-S lenses only fit these two cameras.

Optimized for DSLRs with APS-C sensors, the EF-S mounts provide a cost-effective wide-angle solution for advanced photographers. The "S" in the EF-S designation stands for "short rear effective distance": the rear element of an EF-S lens is closer than usual to the image sensor in cameras with an APS-C format sensor. The white mark on the lens mount helps to distinguish them from regular EF lenses with a red mark. The rear rubber ring prevents damage if you accidentally try to mount the lens on an incompatible camera.

High speed autofocus

The use of ultrasonic vibrations in the ring motors of the lens provides record-breaking focus speeds. Precision motors focus the lens quickly and accurately: you can shoot without delays and misses. And to further improve accuracy and speed, both lens drives are specially tuned for the EOS 20D and EOS 350D cameras. At the same time, it is possible to perform manual focus at any time without the risk of damage to the motor.

Attractive background blur

The near-perfectly round electromagnetic diaphragm of both lenses helps create attractive background blur when the photographer minimizes depth of field to emphasize the subject.

A godsend for digital photography

By refining lens coatings, Canon engineers have effectively suppressed flare and ghosting that can occur in digital cameras as a result of reflections from the surface of the image sensor. The coating now reduces reflection from the back of the lens, resulting in a crystal-clear, undistorted digital image with natural colour balance.

Flash associated with distance

The lens can transmit distance information, making it compatible with the EOS 20D's new E-TTL II flash metering system. When used with Canon Speedlite EX flashes, this can significantly improve metering. A lens hood can be purchased additionally for the lens.

In harmony with the environment

As part of Canon's strict environmental policy, our optics use only lead-free glass.