Gear Review: Canon EF 17-40mm f/4 L

April 12, 2008

I’d like to introduce you all to Sally. Sally is my 17-40mm wide-angle lens. She is, formally, a Canon EF 17-40mm f/4 L. But, she goes by Sally.

The technical bits: the “17-40mm” refers to the focal length, “f/4″ refers to the maximum aperture, and “L” stands for “Luxury.” This is part of the professional line of lenses that Canon makes, and it is quickly becoming one of my favorites. Between this one and the telephoto, I feel pretty confident in my ability to get the shot, regardless of the situation.

While in Uganda, I probably shot 80% of the time with this lens. On a crop-sensor body (like my 30D or 40D), this has an effective focal length of about 28mm to 65mm, which is a pretty useful range. On a full-frame body, this would be almost an ultra-wide, but on my bodies, it makes it a great wide-to-medium-range zoom. And, the “L” build quality, which photojournalists and other professionals have come to rely on, is amazing. While not as tank-like as the famous 24-70mm lens, this thing can take a licking and keep on ticking.

For those of you who may not have a good grasp of how focal length affects a shot (in terms of composition, how elements appear in the frame, etc.), I’ve cobbled together this very rudimentary chart, showing the same object (”Ducky”) shot from the same location, at various focal lengths. As you can see, 200mm gets you in very close, but 17mm lets you capture the object and a LOT of it’s surroundings.

The only drawback to this particular lens is the maximum aperture. F/4 isn’t incredibly fast, and it can be a hindrance in low-light situations (evenings, indoors, etc.), but that can be mitigated against by bumping the ISO, or using a tripod (for non-moving subjects). If I ever become a full-time photojournalist, with a paper providing the equipment, I’ll probably look in to getting this bad boy, but for the time being, getting one less stop of light for half-price is a pretty good deal.

Stop by B&H Photo and pick up one of these if you need a champion lens with incredibly image quality, superb construction, and a wider perspective.