Optical Excellence (Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM Zoom Lens)

Name: Zmugzy

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Product:	Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM Zoom Lens
Date:	10/05/07 (420 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great versatile wide angle lens for indoor and outdoor

Disadvantages: Expensive

You expect a good quality lens from a quality manufacturer such as Canon to be of exceptional quality and I have always found this to be the case. The Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM certainly doesn’t let the side down. I purchased this lens a while back now to use with my Canon 400D and I have been really pleased with its performance. The 17- 40mm is probably one of the most popular lenses in the Canon line but at over £500 it is a bit on the expensive side and so might be a bit too ambitious a move for many people although you might pick up a good second hand one for less than £450. Nevertheless, for the price you still get a very well built lens that takes excellent pictures.

The Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM is an L-series ultra-wide-angle zoom lens that's ideal for both film and digital SLRs. The manufacturers lay claim to the superior optics that consist of three aspherical lens elements, in addition to a Super UD (Ultra-low Dispersion) glass element. Optical coatings are also optimized for use with digital cameras. This lens focuses as close as 11 inches (0.28m), and offers both Canon's full-time manual focus and a powerful ring-type USM for fast and silent AF. There is a constant and what some might consider a limiting f/4 maximum aperture, and a choice of either a screw-in 77mm filter or a holder in the rear of the lens for up to three gel filters. As with other high-end L-series lenses it has a weather-resistant construction.

I found this lens a good option for the likes of open scenery, architecture and tight spaces. I have also used it as all round lens at social gatherings but at 40mm the focal length is just not long enough and trying to take pictures of people on such occasions can be tricky because you have to get up quite close which can be rather intimidating. One important aspect I did like about using this lens in such settings is that it is nice and light.

I think that the lens is excellent for taking pictures outside. Outdoor landscapes can be especially impressive if you want to emphasize the sky or the scope of the land. The images have a lovely deep quality with beautiful colours and image sharpness. Here the lens manages to capture a lot of colour at the wider vistas. Only at the very edge of the frames will you see some curvature and this is only noticeable when you’re shooting tall thin objects.

I personally did not find the f/4 too limiting when combined with the great high ISO performance of my Canon 400D SLR. I was a bit surprised that it performed quite well for me as an indoor lens, especially when used with a bouncing flash. I also found uses for the lens indoors without the use of flash, but in this case a tripod is usually required. Some professionals might argue that because the aperture is limited to f/4, indoor shots are not favoured and that this aperture limitation is not acceptable for standard portraits. However, for my humble needs I really could not find fault with its performance.

Overall, the pictures I have managed to capture so far with this lens have been excellent. With black and white photography the contrast was excellent and with colour shots there was outstanding colour rendition. As always it is recommended to have a screw on UV filter as a permanent feature in order to protect the lens when working outdoors.


Important Technical Details

Mounting Type: Canon EF
Lens Aperture: F/4.0
Focal Length: 17 mm - 40 mm
Min Focus Range: 28 cm
Focus Adjustment: Automatic, manual
Lens Construction: 9 group(s) / 12 element(s)
Special Functions: Wide angle, zoom
Filter Size: 77 mm
Length: 9.7 cm
Weight: 500 g


Price £509.99 at Amazon.


© Zmugzy May 2007

Summary: Quality wide angle zoom

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