The first step up Canon's ladder of standard zoom lenses, at least from the kit lens supplied with the 550D and 600D, is the EF-S 17-85mm. It's better built, with a much sturdier feel than the Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS kit lens for those cameras.

The pictures below illustrate the focal length range from wide to telephoto:

Decent build quality - much better than any of Canon's 18-55mm kit lenses; Very useful focal length range; almost ideal for a walkaround lens; Highly effective image stabilization; Excellent autofocus and manual override; Consistently high image quality across almost all of the range

Poor performance at wideangle; with marked barrel distortion; high levels of light falloff; and intense green/magenta chromatic aberration; Slow maximum aperture; Very average close-up performance

Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM was release in mid-August of 2004 and on APS-C type cameras, for which it was specifically designed, has a field of view equivalent to that of a 27-136mm lens on a full-frame camera.

The Canon EF-S 17-85mm f4~5.6 IS USM was announced in August 2004 as general purpose zoom for Canon digital SLRs with EF-S lens mounts; compatible bodies include the EOS 300D / Rebel, EOS 350D / Rebel XT, EOS 400D / Rebel XTi, EOS 20D and EOS 30D.

Useful 5x optical zoom ratio; Effective Image Stabilisation; Fast USM focussing motor; Polariser-friendly internal focusing

Visible light fall-off at wide and tele; Relatively expensive for specification; Lens hood not included; Only compatible with EF-S bodies

Boasting an impressive 5x zoom range this is a versatile lens.....

Solid feel and 5x zoom range

Barrel distortion; wide-aperture resolution

Another addition to Canon's slowly growing collection of EF-S lenses designed exclusively for the 300D, 350D 20D and now 30D cameras, this 17-85mm model is aimed at advanced amateur photographers as an extended standard zoom lens. We take a look at how it performs.

Excellent resolution holds up throughout the focal range; IS system helps a lot in low light; The lens makes a good replacement for kit lenses; The focal range ideal for a walkabout lens

Distortion is bad at the widest settings and a little CA creeps in; Front lip is prone to damage; Hood is an optional extra

The Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM Lens combines a very useful zoom range with image stabilization in a light and well-performing package . Keep in mind that the 17-85 IS is an "EF-S" lens and only works on EF-S compatible Canon EOS bodies such as the **D and Digital Rebel / ***D Series.

Another addition to Canon's slowly growing collection of EF-S lenses designed exclusively for the 300D, 350D 20D and now 30D cameras, this 17-85mm model is aimed at advanced amateur photographers as an extended standard zoom lens. We take a look at how it performs.

Excellent resolution holds up throughout the focal range; IS system helps a lot in low light; The lens makes a good replacement for kit lenses; The focal range ideal for a walkabout lens

Distortion is bad at the widest settings and a little CA creeps in; Front lip is prone to damage; Hood is an optional extra

Now it works again.

Very versatile for every day and travel use; Good picture quality and image stabilisation; Loved it till the cable broke and it gave me an error 99 while I was on holiday

After 4 years use the cable between aperture and camera house broke; Repair by Canon expensive; Managed to change it my self for 28 USD and 3 hours work following instructions on the internet; Distortion at wide end

The lens is often considered as an upgrade path from the basic EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS kit zoom. Obviously it adds quite a bit of range, a 2nd generation image stabilizer and a ring-type USM drive with full-time manual focusing.