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Title: EF-S 17-85 vs. EF-S 18-200? Post by: olyduck on December 24, 2008, 03:41:52 PM This summer a picked up a 40D kit with EF-S 17-85. Shortly thereafter the EF-S 18-200 came out. Now I have range envy ::). Any comment on optical (or other) quality of the 17-85 compared to the 18-200?
Title: Re: EF-S 17-85 vs. EF-S 18-200? Post by: Bob Atkins on December 24, 2008, 07:55:54 PM The 17-85 is wider, smaller, cheaper and has a real USM ring motor with full time manual focus.
It's a pity that Canon decided to put a regular focus motor in the EF-S 18-200IS (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B001ET6QFY/bobatkinsphotogr). I haven't had a chance to look at the optical properties of the 18-200IS yet. From published reports it sounds like it's not bad, but like the 17-85, distortion at the wide end of the range is significant. It sounds like a reasonable choice for someone who wants one lens to do everything and doesn't mind if there are better (but less convenient) options. Title: Re: EF-S 17-85 vs. EF-S 18-200? Post by: MikeBinOK on December 29, 2008, 10:37:32 AM This isn't a direct answer to your question, but one option in your situation would be to add a 55-250 IS lens to your 17-85 IS. My 55-250 is EXTREMELY sharp and capable at the short end, falling off at the long end to merely adequate. The IS works well, and the lens is very small and compact. Autofocus is okay, but not impressive--More than adequate for walkaround shooting. You'd have to change lenses occasionally, but it might be an option for you.
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