Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM Ultra Wide Angle Zoom Lens for Canon SLR Cameras
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM Ultra Wide Angle Zoom Lens for Canon SLR Cameras
Customer Review: My walkaround lens
Summary: 5 Stars
The walkaround lens. This very topic leads to a heated discussion among DSLR photographers.
First, determine your budget, focal length, and aperture needs.
If you frequently find yourself zooming out to get everything in a frame, you will want a wide angle lens such as this. If you frequently find yourself zooming in, this is not the lens for you. On a full frame body such as Canon EOS 5D, this lens becomes ULTRA wide angle. On an APS-C crop body such as Digital Rebel XTi (which I used for this review), it becomes MEDIUM wide angle. But thanks to 1.6x crop factor, this lens expands to more usable 35mm equivalent focal length of 27 to 64mm.
Second, audition the lens if you can.
By definition, a walkaround lens should be relatively portable. At 1.1 lbs., Canon's EF 17-40mm f/4L USM is neither super light nor neck breakingly heavy. In fact, it weighs almost the same as Digital Rebel XTi -- really nice balance. The lens feels very solid with supreme build quality that only L-series lenses offer. Although this lens is weather proof and therefore sealed against liquid and dust, I strongly recommend getting a 77mm filter to protect the front lens element. With it, this lens is made to last.
In terms of looks and feel, it doesn't get much better. Its rubberized full-time inner focus manual ring USM focuses smoothly, quietly, and quickly. Since it's inner focus, the lens will not extend beyond its metal casing whether you zoom in or out. The focus window shows focusing distance from 0.28 meter (0.92 feet) to infinity. The focal length marker indicates 17, 20, 24, 28, 35, and 40mm. The lens exudes quality from tip to tip.
You may tolerate heavier lens or may not mind lesser build quality of cheaper lenses. A walkaround lens will be used very often, so make sure you will be comfortable with it.
This lens is famous for saturated color and deep contrast. Its images are simply stunning. At 17mm wide angle, barrel distortion is noticeable but relatively mild. From 24mm to 40mm, its images are distortion free and perfectly suited at capturing people.
Vignetting (corner darkness) is minimal with mild chroma abberrations (color shadows). At f/4 aperture, details become noticeably softer toward the edges. The center region is very sharp and at f/5.6, edges remain fairy sharp. Thanks to 7 diaphragm blades, this lens can produce very nice bokeh at 40mm (blur effects).
One of the most cited weaknesses is the f/4 aperture. In my experience, a bump in the ISO speed and steady hands are all you need to take well focused images indoor. On the other hand, if you are shooting with very little amount of light, you might wish for f/2.8 or image stabilizer. Although the difference between f/4 and f/2.8 is just 1 stop, my other lens, Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM (too heavy to be my walkaround lens) easily outperforms in such challenging situations. But by and large, I was not handicapped by the f/4 aperture.
Some of the main competitions (sorted by price):
- Sigma AF 17-70mm f/2.8-4.5 DC macro: Good zoom range with macro, and generally solid performance if you can get a good sample. It does suffer from a bit slow focus mechanism, soft corner, and chroma aberrations. Works only with EF-S mount.
- Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8 EX DC: Very good value for f/2.8 aperture, but Tamron's 17-50mm is a bit better lens overall. Works only with EF-S mount.
- Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM: This "traveler's lens" has a wider focal range than most wide angle lenses (widest among Canon) and is equipped with an image stabilizer. While it is a Jack of many trades, it is the master of none. Every lenses on this list will perform better at particular focal length. Then again, none of the lenses on this list has as wide focal range. It is famous for extreme barrel distortion at 17mm and chroma aberrations. Works only with EF-S mount.
- Tamron SP AF 17-50mm f/2.8 Di II LD Aspherical (IF): This is the most direct competitor. It takes sharper images with faster aperture while costing less. Both the build and focus mechanism are significantly worse, but should be good enough for many. Works only with EF-S mount.
- Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM: This is THE reference, if you can afford it. Its images have razor sharp details and great performance all around (minus vignetting, which is typical of EF-S lenses). The build quality is worse than L-series but still pretty good. Works only with EF-S mount. This is the best EF-S lens hands down.
- Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L USM: One of the most expensive wide angle zoom lenses. It's larger and heavier, but has f/2.8 aperture.
This is how Canon EF 17-40mm f/4 USM stacks up.
Pros:
- Among the very best build quality.
- Excellent, buttery smooth, super fast front-focus system.
- Top notch color and contrast. Very sharp center resolution.
- Almost non-existent vignetting, generally low distortion, and well controlled chroma abberrations.
- Ideal weight and size for walkaround purpose
Cons:
- Edge softness at f/4 aperture.
- Narrower focal length than most competing lenses.
- Slower than some third party lenses.
All in all, this is an excellent wide angle walkaround lens. It may not offer the most bang for the buck, but if you value full frame compatibility (EF lens mount) and excellent build quality, this is the default choice. This lens comes with a nice pouch and a lens hood. I find the hood to be somewhat ridiculously shaped and because the lens is resistant to flare, I do not use it often when shooting outdoor.
Customer Review: The Best value of any L lens, period!
Summary: 5 Stars
I love buying the best value lenses from Canon like the blazingly fast 50mm 1.8 or the razor sharp 85mm 1.8. The 17-40 L is no exception; in fact it's the best value lens from Canon in my opinion, how so? Consider the following features.
RANGE: I use this lens on the Rebel XT. With a 1.6 crop factor this lens will provide an angel of view of 27-64. That's a great range for taking pictures in the forest preserve for example. It would have been nice if the lens was a little longer (more like 80mm on 1.6 a body), but with 8MP and Photoshop crop function does it really matter? Not really, I always crop to create beautiful animal pictures in post processing and still maintain excellent picture quality for prints up to 8-10 inches.
SIZE & CONSTRUCTION: Yes I list this second because this lens blows away all other canon lenses that I own in construction quality. Its solid as a tank and it balances the XT so well that I can hand hold it with confidence and comfort. Although it weight 1.1 pounds the lens never felt too heavy, just right.
SHARPNESS: very sharp at all apertures, but best by 8.0. I am close to affirming that this lens will produce sharpness at par with many primes at that aperture. That's very impressive if you consider that is still a zoom even if it's an L.
CONVENIANCE: Coming from using mostly primes its so much fun to use a zoom like this one. Now I pretty much own 4 lenses in one. Yes think of it as owning the 20mm + 24mm + 28mm + 35mm none L primes for half the price combined. The only draw back is that this lens is 1-2 stops slower than those lenses. Otherwise it's almost or as sharp and more convenient to use.
FOCUS DISTANCE: Did you ever see pictures where the foreground is dominated with a small object like a flower and then in the background there is a grand scene of open land? This lens gives you the ability to take those pictures because its closest focusing distance is under 1 foot. That means you will be able to get close to objects compared to other zooms. Don't over estimate the convenience of ultra zooms like 28-300mm. Those lenses restrict your ability to crop and create beautiful composition, because their minimum focus distance is higher. With the 17-40 however, all what you have to do is focus correctly, compose with tight crop, and then shoot at f11-16.
DISTORION CONTROL: This lens doesn't come free of distortions, especially so at the wide end where you can notice some barrel distortion. But overall its very capable at controlling distortion. That includes distortions like chromatic aberation, light fall off, vigetting, and flare. It doesn't eliminate those things completely, but controls them so well that such problems will go unnoticeable. I would love to have a distortion free lens. After all, with the challenges of getting lighting and composition right who needs lens distortions to deal with on the top of those two things? But the fact to the matter is that all lenses have some level of distortion and this lens is pretty good at controlling them especially if you take its price into account and that's what I will discuss next.
VALUE: At the $600 range this lens offers an incredible value. No other lens in that price range offers the same quality build, distortion control, and image quality. The best part however, is that this lens holds its value really well. You can sell it used if you ever have to for close to what you bought it for. Now that's a lens I can't refuse!
There are many great value lenses, but each comes with a weakness. For example, the 50mm is very cheap in construction and the 85mm is soft on the wide end. The 17-40 L on the other hand is just amazing! It did not disappoint me in anyway except possibly its limited reach on the upper end (40mm only). Otherwise I see no weakness in this lens. Some people may consider the 4.0 maximum aperture too low, but it served my landscape and nature needs incredibly well. If you need an extra stop for portrait or no flash concerts get the 16-35 2.8. Otherwise this is the lens!
Customer Review: Must-Have for APS-C Cameras
Summary: 5 Stars
If you're shooting an APS-C Canon and you've decided that you only want EF full-frame lenses for future use on a full frame camera, the 17-40 is a must-have. The focal range on the cropped sensor is 27 to 64mm which covers a large range for the majority of shots most people are likely to take. I've found this lens is perfect for social gatherings and essential for group shots. The size and weight is perfect on the 7D, making this my favorite lens for handling (compared to the 24-70 f2.8L and the 70-200 f4L). The build quality is superb. The focus and zoom rings couldn't be smoother and AF is fast. While this is a sealed lens, I hear that it's not fully sealed until a filter is fitted. With one in place, the zoom extension is completely internal, so there's no change in length when zooming from wide to the long end.
This lens is a fixed f4. If you buy the lens with the understanding it is not an f2.8 and will not get you the lower ISO and/or faster shutter speed of an f2.8, the lens does very well in most shooting situations. On the 7D it's even better with the excellent high-ISO performance of that camera (I can shoot at ISO 3200 to 5000 without much concern). While it is reasonably sharp at f4 across the focal range, it is not as sharp as when stopped down to f5.6. Also, boarder sharpness falls-off a bit wide open and close to 40mm. However, these are not big issues. Contrast and color with this lens is excellent. My only caution from experience is to be careful when adjusting the point-of-focus to depth-of-field balance with the micro AF adjust on the camera (if you have that feature). What may appear to be a correct adjustment with a focus scale sheet that uses the center of the field, may end up causing excessive edge softness of your images due to the edge of the frame starting to fall out of the depth of field. I believe this may be due to the field curvature characteristic of a wide angle lens where the focal plane is not equidistant from the camera lens but slightly curved. I spent some time setting the correct AF micro adjustment by photographing a large bulletin board with very small lettering and symbols across both dimensions while making sure the camera was pointed square to the center so that all corners were equal distance from the camera. Once you have this dialed-in, you can test the center-to-corner sharpness of your lens at different focal lengths and apertures and determine whether you may have any sharpness issues with your copy. Initially I thought I had a bad lens copy that was soft and de-centered, but after getting this procedure right, the lens proved to be sharp.
While there are other excellent options such as the Canon 17-55 EF-S f2.8 lens, this one is full-frame compatible, it's weather sealed, it has superior build quality, it's an L lens with that unmistakable red ring at the end, and it's the next greatest lens bargain second to the 70-200 f4L. While the hood may look odd, remember that it was intended for a full-frame camera where this lens would be a true 17-40mm - making a shallow hood necessary.
Customer Review: My favorite lens!
Summary: 5 Stars
I purchased this lens to use on a Canon EOS5D, full frame 12.5 Megapixel digital camera. This is my favorite lens! The expressiveness of pictures taken with it is beyond description. It bring the viewer fully into the scene, almost as a virtual reality setup. I think the best next thing would be an IMAX type lens with the appropriate displays... but that is beyond the scope of us mere mortals.
I use the lens for aerial photography and for taking pictures of my favorite subjects: airplanes. In Airventure 2007, at Oshkosh, WI, I didn't have this lens and I lost several very interesting pictures for the lack of it. I purchased it shortly thereafter. On a recent trip on a Cirrus SR22 with a friend, I took dramatic pictures of my pilot friend doing his preflight, and once in the cockpit, doing all his clearance and pre-flight chores. The pictures do do justice to the reality of the scene, even when you take a composition of the airplane panel with the view outside the cockpit on the same picture. Some Photoshop - Shadows and Highlights - is all that is needed to bring it all into the dynamic range of the photographic papers we use.
This is my favorite lens because of its perspective, the reality view you get at the 17mm extreme. For my girlfriend, this is her favorite lens because it's the only L-lens I have that's below 1 pound!
NOTE: The lens hood is almost useless. Be careful with flare of the sun hitting the lens or a filter. The circular polarizer introduces weird artifacts because of the wide angle - part of the sky will be dark, part will be bright... better not use a polarizer.
The other lens I have, all L-glass from Canon:
* 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS - for the best airshow pictures you can fathom! Extremely fast lens, it works with the Autofocus on the 5D in the sub-second range, letting you use it almost as a point and shoot. Your only concern is the framing, everything else is done by the camera + lens.
* 24-70mm f/2.8 L - extremely fast, extremely sharp. Sharp as a tack! If you take portraits of women, you will need to use the "heal brush" in Photoshop a lot, this lens doesn't forgive any wrinkles, pimples, large pores on the skin. For night scene photography, just let the camera at ISO 800 and you can do without a flash, for indoors night photography, even in an extremely dim restaurant.
* 2x Extender - OK this is not a lens but it's an accessory that makes my 70-200mm into a 140-400mm f/5.6. AWESOME! At Airventure it's used to take pictures of the planes at the extreme end of the runway getting ready for take off. Or for capturing the vapor trails on the leading edge of the F22 Raptors as they defy the laws of physics. For daytime use unless you have a tripod and the scene accepts a 1sec or more exposure.
Customer Review: Vermeer wuld have used it
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a magnificent lens deserving of high praise. In general, I tend to shoot "available light" and towards wide angle, and EF 17-40 F4L is one perfect lens for someone like me. On an APS size sensor camera (mine is Rebel XT), it works approximately like a 28-70 mm zoom--a perfect walk-around lens, giving you decent wide angle and at the tele end, a pleasing perspective on faces you expect from a moderate telephoto. I spent two weeks with EF 17-40 on the coast shooting nature and street stuff in small towns. It performed perfectly. But I only realized what a real treasure I have when I began having second thoughts about it on the eve of a long overseas journey. I asked myself whether I would not have done better buying EF-S 17-85 F4-5.6 IS. After all, it gives you better reach - an equivalent of 28-135 mm zoom on a 35 mm camera. Would it not be a perfect lens on an overseas trip? A dilemma worhty of Hamlet. So I decided to order it from Amazon while I still had time to return EF 17-40. As soon as EF-S 17-85 came, I did some tests taking pictures of still life, flowers and a portrait at similar focal lengths and at full zoom. The results put 17-85 to shame. Color and light were flat and paled next to 17-40. But there was still the problem of reach. I took a portrait at full zoom of the same person (40 mm or 65 mm equivalent and 85 mm or 135 equivalent), cut out the critical focus area from both pix and equalized the two crops in terms of pixel numbers. Unprocessed, 17-85 produced a perfectly focused picture, the 17-40 crop was visibly softer, but in terms of tonality and richness of gradations, it was way ahead of its rival. Photoshop to the rescue! After I fiddled with sharpening and contrast in CS2, the focus softness in 17-40 was gone, and the result was a better all-around picture of the same portrait detail. In other words, if you wish to take a picture, say, of a building's detail or a monkey mug shot in a zoo--a situation calling for a telephoto of 135 mm that 17-85 is capable of--EF 17-40 F4 can do the job, in fact a better job in terms of textures and tonality--and focus, too, if you do a little post-processing in SC2. I am returning EF-S 17-85 and will stick with EF 17-40, taking it on my overseas trip. Unlike EF-S 17-85 F4-5.6, which is a feels like a decent consumer zoom, EF 17-40 F4L is built like a tank and has weather sealing. It should also come in handy if and when I decide to switch to a full-frame camera (EF-S lenses work only with the APS-size sensors).