 It is praised as "one of the best general/multi-purpose lenses available", and ideal for available light photography on a Canon APS-C camera.The fast 2.8 aperture, combined with 3-stop Image Stabilization, makes the 17–55 very useful in low light compared to an un-stabilized 3.5–5.6 Canon EF-S 18–55mm lens, which is a frequent kit lens, and thus the 17–55 is much more suited for hand-holding and available light photography.Newer versions of the 18–55 kit lens include 4-stop Image Stabilization, but remain slower aperture, partly addressing this concern.