Yes....I finally got my wide angle

This is one of Canon's entry-level professional grades L series lens. The word entry level is usually associated with something affordable. Well in the Canon SLR world an affordable "L" means 700 bucks. A lot of cash for an enthusiastic hobbyist and I seriously considered a cheaper third party alternative like Tamron. However, I worried about future compatibility when I upgrade my camera. So when it was time to decide I went with the "L." Calumet Photo in Santa Ana took my hard earned cash and I walked away the proud owner of the Canon 17-40 F4L. I wanted a high performance wide-angle lens so bad because I shoot with a Digital Rebel with a reduced sized sensor. My 28-135 IS lens while great just didn’t cut it when I wanted a broader perspective. Several times I couldn't get back far enough to include everything I wanted in the frame.

This lens should include a hood, instruction booklet, and a soft storage pouch. The first thing I noticed before I put it on my camera is its construction. This Canon exudes quality craftsmanship. This is a far tougher than my 28-135 IS, and is a mesh of metal and high grade plastic. With a filter it is weather resistant from dust and moisture. Near the front is the manual focus ring, in the middle is a distancing scale, and the zoom ring is near the lens mount. It can take 77mm filters and there is holder for gel type filters in the back. The ring type USM is very fast and quiet. Handling is in a different class over my consumer zoom. The feel of the manual focus and zoom rings is very smooth and precise. The length does not change while zooming. It is basically the same size as my 28-135 but it balances way better on either my 300d or Elan 7N.

How are the pictures? This lens delivers great pictures and it should for the hefty price tag. This is my go to landscape lens or whenever I am in tight space. Sharpness on my copy is good wide open at F4 and razor sharp is only a stop down to F5.6. To tell the truth this isn't that much sharper than my 28-135 IS! But the color and contrast on the "L" is where it sets itself apart. I love the warm color rendition and I now wish every lens I have had the same vibrant quality. This lens is insane on 35mm! 17mm is truly wide on my Elan 7N. Is there a lot of barrel distortion? Yes and from what I have gathered it seems all extreme wide zooms exhibit some degree of it. This does not bother me much because it can produce some truly unique and dramatic pictures. I love shooting goofy close up portraits of my young nephew and nieces on Fuji Sensia slide film with it.

What about the bad? For my shooting style there isn’t much to write about. For others the constant F4 aperture might be restrictive in low light situation or for preserving ambient light. I never subject my lens to these types of shots. Most of the time I use it outdoors or on a tripod for long exposures. I do use it indoor but always with my 550ex. If you do purchase this lens make sure you get an external flash. If you use just the onboard flash (300D) there will be a black shadow at wider focal lengths. The biggest negative for myself is on Digital where this lens has a FOV of 27-64 (APS-C sensor). Which is just wide enough for my taste. Oh well I still got my wonderful 35mm, slide film and Epson 4180 scanner to bring that insane ultra wide 17mm to my computer. Lastly the included lens hood, which you should always use, is huge and tough to pack in a small bag.

The initial high price tag was tough to stomach, but I have never regretted this purchase. The 17-40L has more than made up for it with the countless memorable images I have captured with it. If you need the wide angle and put a high priority on image quality than definitely give this lens a spin.