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: Fabulous Travel Lens
Summary: 5 Stars
I purchased this lens as my primary landscape lens on a 1.3 crop body, but since I've owned it, I've found tons of great uses for it. I use it often as a great upper body and fully body portrait lens. I have recently used this lens as a travel lens while traveling through Spain, and on a 1.6 crop body, this makes a perfect traveling lens. It's lightweight. The front element doesn't extend during zooming or focusing. It's wide enough to capture whole street scenes or buildings. The color saturation is just wonderful. It's sharp as a tack especially stopped down to f/8 or so. Even wide open, the lens is decently sharp and crisp. I have been incredibly impressed with the quality of this lens since day one. I love that it's so light and easy to pack up and carry with me all day long. The lens hood fits nicely and is easy to store and remove. Barrel distorion is minimal even at 17mm on a 1.6 crop body. On larger sensor cameras, however, barrel distorion is much more noticeable but this can be corrected for in post processing fairly easily.
I debated between this lens and the 16-35mm f/2.8 II for quite some time, but decided for budgetary reasons to go with the 17-40, and I have not been at all disappointed with my decision. I've yet to be in a situation where I needed f/2.8 on this lens, although for some, this would be more important.
I highly recommend this lens to anyone needing a good wide angle.
Customer Review: 10-22 vs 17-40
Summary: 5 Stars
I traded in my EF-S 10-22 for this one, realizing how often I switched back and forth between 10-22 and 24-70. I took some stats in fact, and it turns out I stay mostly between 17-35 range, and never really go any wider than 15-16 even with the 10-22. The wider range of 10-22 certainly gives you a lot of freedom, but I found it to be a bit too artificial due to the unavoidable barrel distortion.
Now, 10-22 is certainly a solidly built piece of glass, but 17-40 does deserve its L label and the red ring. It feels a little heavier than the 10-22, and the focus ring turns with sufficient weight (10-22 feels a little on the lighter side) you can actually fine-tune the focus with greater accuracy. Being an L-series lens, it comes conveniently with a lens pouch and hood.
Under darker conditions, the focus seems a little slower than my other faster lens, but even at f4, it takes crisp shots. I highly recommend this for anyone with a Canon dSLR. If you're planning on moving on to the 1:1 crop bodies (1d or 5d, a less expensive sibling coming out in October) 17-40 can be a good piece of glass to have, as you're going to have to let to of the 10-22 anyways.
I did have a chance to try the 16-35L, but at the smaller aperture range, the difference seems nominal, especially considering the price difference.
I use Canon EOS 20d and Elan 7, and they both pair up nicely with 17-40 4L.
Customer Review: Amazing on a 40D
Summary: 5 Stars
What an amazing lens, this works perfectly as my walk around lens. I know it is not the most versatile zoom lens but it does everything i need it too do, and it does it well. If i need a longer range then i will pop on a 70-200 or if i need something to handle low light i will switch over to a Prime lens, that way i do not sacrifice quality.
A zoom is a zoom and they are built to be handy they are built to be easy, they are not built to be the sharpest lens ever or to handle low light situations. If you need a lens like that then buy one that is built for that purpose like a Prime lens. If you want a lens that can handle multiple focal lengths, if you want a lens that wont break the bank and you don't need that extra stop for something specific then you want this lens because its everything you need to have fun.
Not to mention it looks awesome on the front of my 40D.
Positives:
*Great quality
*Versatile
*Solid
*I do not need a lens that handles every focal length like a 12-500mm super duper whatever, i need a lens that handles wide to medium and this is the one.
Negative:
*Only thing i can really think of is that the lens hood is a little too bulky, i like the hood and i use it all the time. The new coating on the inside to reduce glare is great, but it just takes up to much room so i need to pack it separately.
Customer Review: Great Lens and very sharp
Summary: 5 Stars
I have had this fabulous lens for 2 months now. This is my second lens in Canon's line up of L lenses. I have a 70-200 f4 non-IS also. This is my first wide angle zoom L lens and i have come to know what i have been missing. Till now the widest lens i had was a 50mm f2.5 macro and 50 f1.8. Although on a 1.6x sensor like 20D which i own, this lens is not so wide it performs excellently. The focusing is very fast, sharp crisp images and consistent quality as the aperture range remains the same throughout the entire zoom. This may not be suitable for some the semi-pros or pros since its a little slow being f4, i would recommend this to anyone who does serious photography as a hobby. In indoors too it performs flawlessly. Most of the time i dont use a tripod and its difficult to maintain a fast enough shutter speed especially with aperture more than 8. so if you are like me, then you may want to take a look at the 17-85 IS or the 17-55 IS since the IS compensates atleast 2 stops in low light for hand holding. But if its outdoor then u can easily handhold this and shoot some great photos in good lighting conditions. Also i would like to mention that being a L lens this is a little heavy because of its solid construction. Its also big compared to the other startup lenses. It takes 77mm filters and it can be used even on full frame cameras like 5D. hope you enjoy this lens as much as i am doing.Customer Review: makes you better
Summary: 5 Stars
photography is my hobby. i do enjoy it and wanted to improve. i bought this lens to give more range to my lens. i have, the kit lens for my 30D and a 70-200 f2.8L. the telephoto was just too heavy for everyday/walk around use. the 17-40 fits the bill. i have shot about 2000 pictures. i would say about 20% are keepers (because i am learning). focusing at such a wide perspective (i got the hang of it about 250-500 shots) does take some getting used to. the lens does teach you a lot about f stops, lighting, and composition when in full manual. overall, the quality of the lens is outstanding. sunsets and "vista in the southwest" are when i appreciate this lens. i was most surprised at how good it works in close quarters. for example, my kids walking around the mall. it is expensive, but the EF 16-35 f2.8L, was simply out of my range. it is better than the kit lens for sure. i would agree with the majority of the positive reviews. the only drawback is the price, but i feel it is well worth it. AMAZON did not get the product to me as quickly as promised, but they did wave the shipping when i pointed it out.
in summary, if you are wanting to improve your skills in photography, then this lens is a great addition. it will not take better pictures, it will make you a more refined photographer/artist. as with all things worthwhile, it will cost you something.