A "must have" for lovers of (Canon) wide-angle lenses!

Back in the sixties (well before many of you may have been born), a number of top photographers like Horn and Griner (Steve Horn, Norm Griner), Bert Stern, Francesco Scavullo, Melvin Sokolsky, and Otto Storch were shooting fashion and illustration photos primarily using wide-angle lenses. It was the "look" of its day.

For some thirty years I made my living by shooting glamour and fashion photos (women) for some of the top magazines in the business. During that time, I may have owned nearly every lens made by a given manufacturer but, I primarily used (and loved) telephoto lenses. Every now and then, I would use a wide-angle lens to achieve a different look due to perspective. That, however, in my case, was the exception.

Today, I shoot mostly for myself and, perhaps, to have some photo prints to sell as art (well, really, as decor). I've taken to shooting the facades of small, interesting buildings…mainly restaurants and clubs (those with a colorful look). I shoot with a Canon 10D digital camera and till now, I've been using the 28mm - 200mm lens that I purchased along with the body.

I've found, however, that I occasionally needed a wider angle lens (particularly in view of the 1.6 "multiplier" of this digital camera) in order to get an entire facade within my viewfinder. Thanks, again, to an instant, on-line loan, I was able to buy the Canon 17mm - 40mm F4.0, L (professional designation) lens.

Canon also makes a professional lens of similar focal length 16mm - 35mm and at F2.8, a full stop faster. However, that bit of faster glass will cost you nearly twice as much as the 17mm - 40mm F4.0 lens.

The lens itself (17mm - 40mm F4.0) is a joy to behold. It has a solid feel to it and the zoom ring and focusing ring operate completely smoothly. This contrasts with my Canon 28mm - 200mm lens (a non-professional model) which has a bit of a wobble in the extended barrel and is given to the barrel extending on its own when the camera is hung, by its strap, from neck or shoulder.

The barrel of the lens is fixed but the front element of the lens goes through approximately a quarter-inch movement (back and forth, within the lens barrel) as the lens is zoomed. The lens accepts a 77mm filter at the front of the lens or can accept gelatin filters at the rear of the lens.

Image quality: my expectations for this lens were high and, happily, I was not disappointed. The images are very sharp and the tonality of the images seems quite amazing. Shadow areas appear to have extraordinary definition -- it seems that every nuance is delineated in the darkest areas of the photos. Similarly, the detail is all there in highlight areas, as well. However, what surprised me most is that I could see absolutely no distortion of straight lines at the edges of the frame (this contrasts markedly with my results using my 28mm - 200mm lens).

As is true of my Canon lenses, focusing is ultra fast and totally quiet. And, with respect to focusing, at its closest the lens will focus to within .92 feet.

So, if you were considering a Canon wide-angle zoom lens would you want to choose the 17mm - 40mm F4.0L or the 16mm - 35mm, F2.8L at twice the price? Mounted to a Canon 10D and using a 1.6 focal length multiplier, the 17mm would be the equivalent of a 27.2mm lens (on a 35mm camera) while the 16mm would be equivalent to a 25.6mm lens. With a digital camera (such as the Canon 10D) there is not as much need for a lens as fast as F2.8 as the ASA can be shifted on the camera for each and every shot, if necessary. If you are shooting at 100 ASA outdoors and suddenly go into a tunnel (or other dark area) you can compensate to a great extent by just altering the ASA on the camera (going up to 200, 400, 800 or even higher). In such a case, I don't feel a need to have the extra stop in aperture. If you are shooting with a film camera (where you would have to change film in order to change ASA), it could be a different consideration--particularly for a photojournalist.

The lens comes with both a bayonet-style lens hood and a lens pouch.

I expect to give this lens a considerable workout, using it to photograph building facades, some interiors and, likely, doing some experimental model photos along the line of what had been done nearly a half-century ago.

What's old is new…well, except for me!