Anyone use this lens?

[ik631]

I was thinking about upgrading my kit lens to Canon's EF-S 15-85 IS USM. I really want a super fast autofocus to help with the kids. The kit lens can't keep up. Also I recently upgraded to Tamron's 70-300 from my smashed 55-250 so this would give me back the in between range I lost plus a little more. I've seen very little discussion on this lens and wondered if anyone has any experience with it. I would rather go with this one as I have heard the 17-85 has some build quality issues and is also slightly slower (f/4 v. f/3.5) but I have heard very little from actual users.

Thanks

[Glenn72]

I haven´t actually used this lens but it was on my short list of planned lens purchases and I have researched it extensively so I think I can comment.
Focus should be extremely fast as it is USM and should make a great walkaround lens because of the wide range that it covers. It is quite a bit better then the Canon EF-S 17-85 lens that it replaced and many other users have compared the image quality on a crop camera to as good if not better then the Canon EF 24-105L lens.
Furthermore these guys do a really good review on it and seemed to like it.

Canon EF-S 15-85 mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM review - Introduction - Lenstip.com

Some users have reported lens creep, but I don´t think this would be a determining factor for me.

For a walkaround outdoor lens I think it would be an excellent choice but if low light or shallow depth of field is important to you then you might save up for a Canon EF-S 17-55 f/2.8.

[inkista]

When I'm looking for user reports on a lens, I go to fredmiranda.com's review section. Their user base seems just that wee bit more knowledgeable than the dpreview folks, who will fixate on the weirdest things about a piece of kit, and kind of forget to mention if they're getting good photos out of it.