I’m headed to Banff later this summer and I needed to add a landscape lens to my equipment bag. I have a cheap 14mm manual focus fisheye lens that I used a number of times this winter in Hawaii but it has a couple of drawbacks.
- Its heavy
- It has a lot of distortion
- It has a weird lens cap
- Can’t use filters with it.
My other wide choices currently is a Canon EF35mm f/2 IS USM
fixed focus prime lens which has become my standard go to lens and the Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM Lens for Canon EOS SLR Cameras
“kit” lens which came with my Canon EOS 6D 20.2 MP CMOS Digital SLR Camera with 3.0-Inch LCD (Body Only)
and is suppose to be an L quality lens but it has failed me a number of times. Its extremely soft in the far end for my tastes and its reach isn’t that far anyway. Besides its heavy and huge. Attracts a lot of attention for its trouble. Its not far enough to catch any wildlife in Banff so that lens will sit home to be replaced by the reasonably priced 70-300. Besides, 24mm isn’t all that wide. So in comes the Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM Ultra Wide Angle Zoom Lens for Canon SLR Cameras
which can replace my 35mm for this trip. So the two lens, the Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM Ultra Wide Angle Zoom Lens for Canon SLR Cameras
for landscape and the Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM Lens for Canon EOS SLR Cameras
for wildlife and closeup landscape I should have a nice light rig for hiking around Banff.
The Canon EF 17 – 40mm in a nutshell:
- 17-40mm ultra-wide-angle zoom lens with f/4 maximum aperture for Canon SLR cameras
- 3 aspherical lens elements and super UD glass element create superior optics in all conditions
- Powerful ring-type ultra-sonic monitor (USM) produces fast and silent autofocusing
- Focuses as close as 11 inches; supports screw-in 77mm filters or up to 3 gel filters
- Weather-resistant construction; measures 3.3 inches in diameter; 1-year warranty
- $839 – $850
- Lowest price lens in the “L” or red ring Canon line up of professional level lenses.
From one of my first test shoots using my new Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM Ultra Wide Angle Zoom Lens for Canon SLR Cameras
Canon 17-40 f4 AF-100 Lens Test from Erik Naso on Vimeo.
Normans Bay 5d mkII + Canon 17-40 from duncan sharp on Vimeo.