Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM Ultra Wide Angle Zoom Lens for Canon SLR Cameras
by Canon
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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: Sharp, colorful, beautiful photos
Summary: 5 Stars
[Impression of the lens and photos]
This lens is light, short, very well made, and ultra fast. It takes sharp, colorful, beautiful photos.
[Consideration 1]
On most "prosumer" digital cameras (20D, 50D, etc), the 17mm is not 17mm but is really more like a 28mm. However, on a Canon 5D MkII it is a true 17mm.
[Consideration 2]
f4 can reduce the quality of the shot in low light level shots. To overcome this, I will higher the ISO setting, but noise will result. That said, f4 is not a show stopper and will degrade only a few shots. If you have the cash, the 2.8 version should be a serious consideration. Also, I bought 2 cheaper, fast primes for those times where low noise counts more than convenience.
[Consideration 3]
If you shoot RAW (and you should), it's not just the lens and camera that matters. The Canon manuals do not stress the nature of RAW but RAW may require sharpening, depending on the subject matter. If you shoot portraits and some landscapes, you will probably not need to sharpen too much and might even want to soften focus. But, for other subject matter, you will probably have to apply some sharpening to RAW images. You will also probably have to apply lighting level and contrast adjustments too, to bring out the life in the shots.
[Consideration 4]
AF. I give the AF performance of this lens 4.99 stars and MF is 5.0 perfect. The speed, noise level, and accuracy of the AF is superb. Consider the body you have as part of the system as some cameras do now focus as well as others do.
[Perspective]
My favorite glass of all time was a Nikon manual focus 24mm (on an F3) - a masterpiece combo. That was sold so this lens is my current favorite and I would recommend it as a small, light, and well made zoom.
Customer Review: Better than expected with APS-C DSLR
Summary: 5 Stars
When I purchased this lens for my Canon Rebel xsi, I knew it would give me a cropped image equivalent to 27-64mm. I already have a 28-70 lens, that becomes about 44-115 on my Rebel. I wanted to get back the 28mm (semi-wide) view but did not want a lens that would not work on a full-frame camera as I expect to upgrade at some point. So I opted for this lens. What I didn't realize, or had forgotten, was that this lens has a close focus of 11 inches. Which means that even though on the wide end it is equivalent to 28mm, it still is capable of producing an image with a much wider perspective than a standard 28mm on a full-frame. The distortion of angles at the 17mm setting with objects up close is still significant enough to get some really unique shots. F/4 doesn't cause me any problems because when I'm indoors I just set ISO to automatic and it really doesn't impact my shooting at all. Outdoors, who needs f/2.8 with a wide angle anyway.
I haven't seen any reviews that have mentioned how the close focus ability impacts the perception of wide angle. Anyway, I'm very pleased with the purchase. Only thing that could be better would be an all-metal body on the lens. It feels a bit less luxurious due to the plastic barrel.
Just my 2 cents. **Also** Sounds crazy...but true...somehow my copy of this lens is close-focusing at 5 or 6 inches rather than 11. Not sure if this is normal on an APS-C camera or not, but I'm a little mystified as to how this is happening!
Customer Review: This lens completes XTi (or 30D).
Summary: 5 Stars
Although this lens is considered as ultra wide lens, for XTis and 30D's, this is really a 28-65mm lens (not "ultra" but regular wide). I purchased this for about $700 at Amazon to replace the kit lens 18-55mm the XTi came with. I am very pleased with the photos that I am taking. The focus is quick. The images are sharp, and the color is beautiful. I like the lens a lot. Because it's a F4 lens, I do need to use the flash. With 430EX flash I am getting pleasing shots in low light situations as well. I suppose a lower F stop might be better but I don't think Canon makes a lower F stop lens of comparable build. I did consider 28-70mm F2.8L (45-112mm on the XTi), but then it's no longer a "wide" angle lens. Compensating for the crop factor, getting a wide angle lens meant 17mm or less. So, this was really the only choice I had for an L quality build at this price range. Over all, I am very satisfied with the build quality and the results. The 40mm (64mm on the XTi) is a bit short, and I wish it were longer. However, giiven that this lens costs only (did I say "only?" lol) about $650, I have no complaints about the lens. Something's gotta give. It's weight is nicely substantial (not too heavy), and since I use my XTi with a battery grip all of the time, the combined weight balances well in my hands. To me, the battery grip and this lens are perfect companions to make the XTi's complete. I like this 17-40mm f/4L USM Wide Angle Zoom Lens for my XTi.Customer Review: Great walk-around lens!
Summary: 5 Stars
Figuring out which lens to buy turned out to be more difficult than which camera to purchase! At least for me. I want my lenses to be a reasonable size (rules out the superb 70-200 f2.8 IS L), acceptably fast (at least f 4.0), preferably black (so that they are inconspicuous), not outrageously priced (admittedly this last factor being entirely subjective), and preferably a zoom for the additional flexibility.
Primes are absolutely fantastic values, reasonably priced, fast, and inconspicuous, BUT offer limited flexibility which, in my mind overrides the other factors.
I purchased this lens for the wider end of my shooting needs and I couldn't be more pleased. It takes beautiful pictures, sharp, beautifully saturated, with no discernable vignetting and little flare under normal circumstances.
This lens has beautiful bokeh IMO and is every bit the equal, again IMO, of the 16-35 f2.8 L in every respect other than speed (f 2.8 vs f 4.0). With the new digital SLR cameras you can easily make up for the loss of speed by cranking up the ISO.
The construction quality is fantastic and it is a lens that you will be able to use forever. It is an ideal lens for the current crop of 1.6 size sensors, but will also serve you well into the future whether you stick with the current size sensor or move up to larger sensors as they become more afordable.
I heartily recommend this lens.
Customer Review: Best lens in my line-up
Summary: 5 Stars
I was hesitant to spend $650+ on any lens, L-glass or not. I'd already purchased a 50mm/1.4, a 75-300mm USM IS, and the Rebel came with an 18-55mm. But I was missing a good, wide lens. After much hand-wringing and research, I settled on the 17-40mm piece of L-glass. I haven't regretted it.
The 18-55mm EFS lens that comes with the Rebel is...ok. It falls out of focus easily and feels cheaply constructed. On the other hand, the 17-40mm lens is as solid as you can hope for - metal mounts, feels extremely well put together. Its not especially fast, but its quick enough. I've not missed a shot yet.
I mostly use the 17-40mm for outdoor photowork and some indoor portrait work provided the lighting conditions are favorable, otherwise I use my 50mm/1.4. The 17-40mm is good walk-around lens. The addition of a lens-hood and a case is a nice bonus.
Yes, the 10-22mm EF-S will get you an extra 7mm, something us digital SLR users would kill for given the 1.6x conversion. But again, the build quality difference between the 10-22 and the 17-40 is glaring. Not to mention that should you need to resell the 10-22 later, only 20D and Digital Rebel customers would apply, unless Canon expands the line-up of EFS-compatible cameras.
And...this is L-glass. The pictures are impressive. The bokeh is pleasing. Given favorable lighting conditions, this lens pretty much dominates my Digital Rebel 80% of the time.