17-55mm F2.8 CANON EF-S IS (77) AUTO FOCUS STANDARD ZOOM LENS (LN) 

The absolute best zoom lens in this range for cropped canon bodies. The Tamron and sigma equivalents provide good alternatives, but if price is not a big issue, the 17-55 IS is still definitely the best, not just in terms of image quality being abit superior than the 3rd party brands, its USM motor also gives real silent focus, and of course, the extremely fast focusing speed associated with canon's USM motor lenses. The tamron 17-50 may have already came out with their VC version, but from our own tests and experience, canon's IS is still superior in field usage.

Comparing this to other canon L lenses, its image quality in terms of both sharpness, contrast, 3D feel, is all comparable to the canon 16-35F2.8L markII, which goes for more than 2.4K new now, but doesnt even sport IS, and has a lesser zoom range, not to mention it uses 82mm filters, which is definitely more expensive and harder to find. The only, and main advantage offered by the L lens, is that its a fullframe lens. So simply.. if you do not intend to use a fullframe camera body anytime soon, then this lens is definitely a much more value buy, over both the 16-35F2.8L markII, and 17-40F4L.

This lens is highly sought after in the 2nd hand lens market because everyone knows how good it is, but dont really want to spend the full amount on a brand new piece, in case they were to upgrade to a fullframe body anytime soon. Thus buying it 2nd hand would mean you can sell if off after a few months or even years without lossing much in terms of its value.

In recent times, this lens has also been discovered to be a godsend for handheld video with the 7D and 550D, the IS remains working in video mode and really gives some stabilized video, as though multi thousand dollar steadycam setups were being used. Lens had been sent to canon for service and calibration. Rest assured to be getting the best resolution and sharpness possible with this lens.

Image taken with lens by LENS.sg staff:

Lens in MINT condition with box and packaging.