When a 28-135mm camera lens is actually 46-216mm!
May 6th, 2008 by Todd B
I’ve had my Canon 17-85IS lens for about 3 years now. It’s focal length is nice if you want to travel light. This is a lens designed to be used with Canon’s digital single lens reflex cameras that use the APS-C chips. These cameras include the Digital Rebels, 20D, 30D, and the 40D.
APS-C cameras use a smaller chip to record the image information than a film camera that uses 35mm film. Since all the camera lens focal lengths are based in 35mm film terms this can cause some confusion as to what the actual focal length is when the lens is placed on an APS-C camera. To determine what a focal length would be on a APS-C camera multiply the focal length of the lens by 1.6. So the 17-85 on my 20D is actually 27.2mm- 136mm. If I had a 28-135mm lens my actual focal length on the Digital Rebel would be 44.8mm-216mm.
So APS-C cameras give you more telephoto (better ability to pull subjects in from a distance) but less wide-angle (able to include more of a subject in close proximity). And that is what I like about the 17-85. Its focal length gives me a little of both. The lens is not known for it’s optical performance but I have a wall portrait as big as 20″x30″ and achieved satisfactory results. It is a great lens for the family photographer or student photographer. A professional though would probably opt for Canon’s 17-55IS 2.8 lens for better optical performance.
If you don’t already own a camera a great way to get the 17-85 lens is buying it in a kit with the Canon 40D. The kits can be obtained for around $1399 with a toll-free call to OneCall. A great place to see what other people think of this lens is Fred Miranda. Just on this lens alone over 200 people have left feedback as of this writing.
