Canon EF 28-135 / EF-S 17-85 / EF-S 15-85

[TomTom]

Thanks everyone for your replies.  Will definitely be going for the 15-85 a bit later in the year.  A friend of mine lives in the states so will look into getting a refurb there to be brought over. 

Thanks again.

[wickidwombat]

for what the 15-85 costs i would say go with the 24-105 f4L

[neuroanatomist]

for what the 15-85 costs i would say go with the 24-105 f4L

...which means no wide angle on APS-C.

[MK5GTI]

i didn't read the whole thread, but the op can consider the Sigma 17-70 F2.8-4, especially the newer one just announced in photokina.

or perhaps Tamron 17-50 F2.8, you can good optics but loos a bit range, but you already have those cover

[awinphoto]

stay away from the 28-135

[TWI by Dustin Abbott]

I'm a newbie on this forum, but not as a photographer.  I have a bag of lens, primarily L, and a 5D MK2 and 60D bodies.  When I went FF I cleared out my kit of crop exclusive lens, but my two favorite EF-S mount lens were the 15-85mm and the Tamron 17-50mm (non VC).  Two different lens for different purposes.  The 15-85mm is one of the best general purpose/travel lens that I have ever used.  That is a fantastic focal length and it has great IQ throughout that range.  Great color rendition and sharpness.  My closest equivalent would now be the 24-105mm, and, yes, the build quality is better on the 24-105mm, but in a head to comparison the 15-85mm more than held its own.  Not to mention it has better reach (roughly 32mm) when compared with the 24-105mm (on a FF body). 

Bryan Carnathan over at The Digital Picture said that the 15-85mm and the EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 are his hands-down favorite EF-S mount lens.

[greg30127]

New here but I'll chime in on the 15-85.  Borrowed a friends for my 7D and it was noticeably better than my 28-135, but as others have said, quality control varies.  Over time I accumulated three (!) 28-135 lenses from Canon.... two of them developed I.S. problems, and you can actually see image quality differences between all three if you look at their images side-by-side, with one of them being obviously sharper than the other two.

But the 15-85 I tried was still noticeably sharper than even the better of the three above.  Not as good as a prime of course (my 60mm macro is excellent), but I'd consider it an excellent daily walk around lens, and am considering buying one myself.  With the holiday season about here, I'd watch for sales like someone mentioned - they pop up without warning and only last a short time, so keep checking.