Every Canon EF Lens: Read the Reviews, See the Specification & Check the Price
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Overview

The 15-85mm lens offers improved performance over the standard 18-55 kit lens supplied with many crop sensor EOS bodies.

15mm gives a 'full frame equivalent' of 24mm at the widest setting compared with 29mm equiv. for the 18-55.

If the additional bulk of the 15-85 isn't a problem, it's a much more versatile lens.

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Lens specifications

Focal Length & Maximum Aperture 15-85mm, 1:3.5-5.6
Lens Construction 17 elements in 12 groups
Diagonal Angle of View 84° 30' - 18° 25'
Focus Adjustment Inner focusing system with USM
Closest Focusing Distance 1.15 ft./0.35m
Filter Size 72mm
Max. Diameter x Length, Weight 3.2 x 3.4 in./81.6 x 87.5mm, 20.3 oz./575g

A quick guide to MTF charts (which only measure contrast and resolution. Canon's guide to their MTF charts)

Black lines reflect lens performance at widest aperture.
Blue lines show the performance at f/8

Thick lines indicate lens contrast
Thin lines indicate lens resolution

Dashed lines: Lens performance with meridional lines.
Solid lines: Lens performance with sagittal lines

Closer sagittal and meridional chart lines indicate more 'natural' out of focus areas.

Remember that MTF charts are good for comparing similar lenses, so comparing ones from the 14mm f2.8L and 300mm 2.8L won't tell you much at all, whilst comparing the EF14 2.8L with the EF14 2.8L II will show meaningful differences. Note that other manufacturers may have different ways of displaying such information that may or may not match up with the Canon figures.

EF-S15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM reviews and articles

Written a review? Contact us and we'll add it to the list.

Sample images

None available at present.

Product launch

London, UK, 1st September 2009: Canon today strengthens its EF-S series of lenses with the launch of two powerful standard kit lenses for EOS EF-S camera owners: the EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS and the EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM.

Both lenses match the style and performance of Canon’s new APS-C sensor camera – the Canon EOS 7D.

The high performance standard zoom lens
The high-quality EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM is equivalent to a 24-136mm focal length lens (5.6x standard zoom). Designed for EOS EF-S mount bodies the lens covers wide angle and portrait focal ranges. It also offers a 4-stop Image Stabilizer as well as a close focusing distance of just 0.35m throughout the zoom range.

Versatile super zoom lens
The EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS is a powerful all-in-one lens for EOS EF-S mount bodies. It features a 4-stop Image Stabilizer and a 7.5x super zoom range (approx. 29-216mm equivalent focal length). The lens covers a wide range of focal lengths with a 0.45m minimum focusing distance. A general-purpose zoom, it is ideal for photographers looking to make the step up from a standard kit lens.

Easy-to-use impressive image quality
Both lenses offer great low-light performance due to the inclusion of a 4-stop Image Stabilizer that automatically detects panning and tripods, responding accordingly to help photographers take steady shots in any situation. The addition of ultra low dispersion (UD) lenses and aspherical lens elements - as well as lens coatings optimised to combat ghosting and flare - ensure high quality throughout. Both products also include a circular aperture for beautiful background blur (bokeh).

Both lenses feature Canon’s improved exterior lens design that offers an improved high-grade look and feel compared with previous EF-S lenses.

Offering a wide range of focal lengths both EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS and the EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM are ideal all purpose lenses, suitable for the photographer looking for a walk around lens or those with many lenses who on occasion wish to travel lighter.

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Every Canon EF Lens: Read the Reviews, See the Specification & Check the Price
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