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I bought this lens new and it sucked in a lot of dust on multiple
occasions. I had it sent in for service more then once where I
requested them to clean out the duct. I'm even had a UV filter on it
and it still did it. In my opinion this lens is junk if can suck in
dust so I sold it. I agree that small amounts of dust won't affect
image quality but its very disheartening to see your 1150 dollar lens
including the extra 50 dollars for the freaking lens hood. I am a
photo-journalist and freelance guy so my equipment see's a lot of
extreme situations like surrounding air full of dust and some rain
use when a shot has to be taken. I ended up buying the 16-35mm
series II lens and it blows away my copy of the 17-55mm IS lens plus
it feels 1000 times better when zooming, focusing, and just holding
it in your hand. In my opinion the images shot with my 16-35mm
lens are considerably better then with my 17-55mm IS. One cool thing
that I found while browsing the Internet on 17-55 lens was a post
where a guy opened up his own lens and cleaned out the dust himself.
I tried it before I sold it where it was scary at first but then I
was very glad that I did it. I cannot remember the web page that I
saw this on but I can tell you just as easily how to do it. Instead
of sending it in to canon and being without it for a month try this.
If you need to clean it once then you will have to clean it again and
again as the dust never stops.


-First, lay out a soft cloth and get some of those little
sliver/metal screwdrivers that come in the very common little kit
from any hardware store/radioshack.


-Second, the portion of the lens that you will be dealing with is
right there by the front element. Take a little screwdriver and
just wiggle up the panel/sticker/ring that surrounds the lens
element. Just be careful, work slow and it will not be damaged. don't
touch the sticky side as the oil from your finger will make it less
sticky.


-Third. once you have this off, you will then have access to three
or four small screws. Before you do this, set the lens back on the
end that fit onto the camera and work on it as it sits there. This
way once you loosen the screws the element won't fall out. It
is bigger and heavier then one would think and avoid touching it as
much as possible. Tip it into a soft cloth to get it out of the lens
body.


-Fourth, I tried to remember exactly how the element was seated in
the lens plus I put each screws back into its original place just to
make sure there wasn't any alignment issues.


-Fifth, clean behind the lens element with a soft micro-fiber
cloth or use your blower that you use to clean your sensor.



-Sixth, Replace the front lens element and make sure not to leave
any finger prints. Next, tightened the screws and then replace
the panel/sticker that says canon 17-55mm on it. -Major Note Here- I
am a perfectionist and I found this out the hard way. Just set
the panel/sticker/ring back on to the lens and push it down with your
soft part of your finger only(no back of the fingernail run around
the boarders). Don't use anything to push it down or it will leave
depression marks.


It is very easy to do and its free especially if your warranty is
out on the lens. Other then that I've sent in lenses to canon repair
where they have been returned with scratches and tool marks on them.
If you take your time and do this on a table with a soft towel or
matte down with good lighting then any semi skilled person can do it.