Please don't take the Amazon star rating too serious every lens has its pros and cons that I wouldn't want to squeeze into a single one-dimensional figure...
A quick note about me: I have been into SLR cameras and lenses for more than 20 years as a hobby in the beginning and professionally later. Maybe because of my technical background I started testing my own lenses quite a while ago. I have a (no longer so) little test lab of my own where I do 6 different image quality tests (after taking a lens out for a while).
The EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM is one of quite a few Canon standard zoom lenses for APS-C cameras. "Standard" of course refers to the focal range of this lens rather than its build and image quality which is certainly above standard. Made from high-end plastics and featuring a metal lens mount the EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM does have a very solid feel. The ultra sound focus motor is very fast and acurate and even more impressive is the modern image stabilizer that compensates 4 exposure values.
While the resolution of the EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM is really good and rivals some L series lenses other image quality factors are not as good. Distortion is a serious issue at the wide end of the focal range but well under control for longer focal lengths. Color errors ("chromatic abberrations") are quite intense but only in focused areas of the image ("transverse CA"). Out-of-focus areas fortunately do not have color fringes ("axial CA") and the bokeh is very even as well. There is also some curvature of the focal plane ("field curvature") and a still healthy amount of corner shadow ("vignetting").
Overall the EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM is certainly one of Canon's high-end offerings and has its price tag for a good reason. Some might prefer the EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM over this lens for its better maximum aperture and image quality. But of course that lens is bigger, heavier and has a much narrower focal range which limits one thing that's very important for a general purpose standard zoom lens: versatility. I have taken the EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM on many trips with no regret...
A much more detailed review of this lens together with all test shots, sample images and technical data is available on my website LensTests_com.
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