Canon EF L USM wide-angle zoom lens - 17 - 40mm F/4.0

This is a good quality product that offers good value for money in the very short term. Although as with most products of this type, the value will deteriorate over time and should be able to get a cheaper version next year. It's a great device with plenty of features that I would highly recommend. This really is a wonderful piece of kit that should go well with many accessories because it really looks good. After using this product for a few months I have not so far come up against any reliability issues but only time will tell. I therefore would recommend the product. However, always think ... more

Overview ------------- I bought the EF 17-40 f4 L about 3 years ago in order to take urban landcape pictures, as buildings often don't fit into a 28mm "frame". This optic is the widest in the f4 constant aperture series of zoom lenses in the trio that includes the 24-105 super-zoom and the 70-200 telephoto, all of which I now own. At the time, I owned a 20D body and the 17-40 was my first L Series purchase as the 1.6 crop factor on the sensor meant that you had to go for a super-wide angle lens to get even moderate wide angle shots (17mm becomes 27mm on an APS sensor). Now I own a 5D body and ... more

I bought this lens to use with my 40d before going to a trip in new york city. I needed a wide angle lens for my crop body and this did the trick. I travelled to chicago and I only had the 24-70 and 24mm wasn't enough on the 40d. 17 though is perfect for photographying tall buildings. Sharpness and colors are excellent, as with any L series lenses. Autofocus is very fast and quiet, as it is ring USM Build quality is top notch. If you plan on keeping a lens for a long time, the l series lenses are recommended because no dust will ever get inside the lens because of all the seals. If you buy ... more

Canon's budget kit lens is a let down to many DSLR's, but this lens is in a total class of its own compared to the kit lens. For a start, this lens features a manual focus ring which is very smooth. The zoom ring is also very well made and smooth, also when you zoom in and out of this lens' maximum and minimum focal lengths the element inside the lens retracts and expands, but nothing protrudes outside the original confines of the lens. The USM focusing motor is a marvel, with the kit lens the auto focus would sometimes search around for many seconds and struggle to find the right focus. It is ... more

There I was, working overseas, racking up the money, and I decided I needed a new lens, but I didn't know whether to for a long one, or a wide one.... I decided on the 17-40, because I like wide lenses, I have a Sigma 18mm (not zoom) that's a few years old, and it's been useful, but the images are a little soft, particularly at the edges. I've only just started using the Canon 17-40, but it looks and feels very competent, and the images are lovely, lots of contrast. I would have liked the 17-35 f2.8L lens of course, but there's the little fact of a few hundred quid more, even for a second hand ... more