The 18-55 IS is pretty sharp for a kit lens, so you don't lose a great deal out of using the DPP lens distortion correction and rotation tools. I usually compensate for them by bumping the sharpness up 1 point, though this can make the noise more obvious in low light shots. The 18-55 IS is at its worse at 55mm, no matter what F-number you use. You are mixing up two things: lens magnification and viewfinder magnification. The 18-55 lens has a maximum magnification of .34x at 55 mm. That just means that at 55mm focal length, if you photograph something that is 1" high, the largest it can be (depending on subject distance) is .34" high on the image sensor. 17-85mm is a terrible lens. The 15-85 is an awesome lens. Typically people don't do this comparison, they compare the 15-85 to the 17-55mm 2.8 - which are both similar quality lenses (with different strengths and weaknesses). ‎Canon : Camera Lens ‎18-55 mm : Has image stabilisation ‎Yes : Lens Fixed Focal Length ‎18 Millimetres : Max Focal Length ‎55 Millimetres : Min Focal Length ‎18 Millimetres : Model year ‎2007 : Plug profile ‎Canonbayonet : Part number ‎2042B005AA : Lens Design ‎Zoom : Focus type ‎Auto Focus : Photo Filter Thread Size The Three Lenses that are presented by Camera Labs as alternatives for the Canon 18-55mm Kit Lens are: Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 Image Stabilized USM Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM Ultra Wide Angle Zoom Lens. One more that you might like to consider if you have the budget and are looking for another great walk around Product Description. Designed for use with the EOS M Compact Systems Digital Camera, the new EF-M 18–55mm f/3.5–5.6 IS STM lens offers a compact and lightweight design for easy portability. Its image stabilization system provides up to four equivalent stops of shake correction to deliver stunning video and photos without blur. Best Canon EF-S lenses: 02 Canon 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM, £170. Very versatile, this will be your go-to lens for general shooting. Delightfully light in weight and seriously compact, this lens is a particularly well-balanced match for bodies like the 1300D and 750D. Canon have (once again) updated their kit lens for APS-C digital SLR cameras. Immediately you can see a difference in size and maximum aperture - are there a Max Format size. APS-C / DX. Focal length. 18–55 mm. Image stabilization. Yes (4 stops) Lens mount. Canon EF-S. Aperture. Canon EOS 2000D / Rebel T7 DSLR Camera w/EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 Lens 3 Lens Kit Bundled with 128GB Memory + Wide Angle Lens + Telephoto Lens + Flash + More (Renewed) dummy Canon EOS 2000D / Rebel T7 DSLR Camera with 18-55mm Lens, Creative Filter Set, EOS Camera Bag, Sandisk Ultra 64GB Card, 6AVE Electronics Cleaning Set, and More (International sS3g.