Best Buy Ratings and Reviews

Best Buy Ratings and Reviews

Customer Reviews for Canon 17-40mm f/4L USM Ultrawide Zoom Lens for Select Canon SLR Cameras

Canon 17-40mm f/4L USM Ultrawide Zoom Lens for Select Canon SLR Cameras

Model: 8806A002
SKU: 7163669
UPC: 013803028058
A picture is worth a thousand words and this ultrawide zoom lens captures wide, close-up views, so you get the whole story. Learn about different types of lenses ›
Average Customer Rating:
4.857 out of 5
4.9
 out of 
5
(14 Reviews) 14
Open Ratings Snapshot
Rating Snapshot 14 reviews
5 stars
13
4 stars
0
3 stars
1
2 stars
0
1 star
0
100% of customers would recommend this product to a friend 
(
14 out of 14
)
Customer Reviews for Canon 17-40mm f/4L USM Ultrawide Zoom Lens for Select Canon SLR Cameras
Review 1 for Canon 17-40mm f/4L USM Ultrawide Zoom Lens for Select Canon SLR Cameras

Great Wide Angle lens for the Price

Customer Rating
5.0 out of 5
5.0
Posted by: stince
from Carlisle, PA
on 05/04/2012
Value for Price
5.0 out of 5
5.0
Image Quality
5.0 out of 5
5.0
Ease of Use
5.0 out of 5
5.0
Durability
5.0 out of 5
5.0
What's great about it: Speed, Sharp, Price
What's not so great: Wish it was 15mm
I love my 17-40. I basically live off this lens on my camera as of late.
It’s fast on the focus, solid canon build, and did I mention L glass?
Its my go to wide, whether shooting sports, weddings, even strobbing snowboarding events.
Pick it up. You’ll love it!
Side note, it’s pretty water resistant, or shall I say champagne resistant, as I had some champagne from a sports event spilled all over the lens & 1D Mark III body it was on during a celebration – both of which perform flawlessly together!
I would recommend this to a friend!
0points
0out of 0found this review helpful.
Review 2 for Canon 17-40mm f/4L USM Ultrawide Zoom Lens for Select Canon SLR Cameras

Fantastic lens.

Customer Rating
5.0 out of 5
5.0
Posted by: BicycleFlower
from Beaverton, OR
on 03/21/2012
Value for Price
5.0 out of 5
5.0
Image Quality
5.0 out of 5
5.0
Ease of Use
5.0 out of 5
5.0
Durability
5.0 out of 5
5.0
What's great about it: Overall quality of buld as well as images.
What's not so great: F4. But then again, 15-35L 2.8 costs twice as much.
This is wonderful lens, and complements my other two lenses, 24-105L IS, and 100-400L IS. Also, they share all 77mm filters/attachments (ND filters, circular polarizers, close-up lenses).
I would recommend this to a friend!
0points
0out of 0found this review helpful.
Review 3 for Canon 17-40mm f/4L USM Ultrawide Zoom Lens for Select Canon SLR Cameras

17-40/F4L is Awesome

Customer Rating
5.0 out of 5
5.0
Posted by: SPUD603
from Southern California
on 01/18/2012
Value for Price
5.0 out of 5
5.0
Image Quality
5.0 out of 5
5.0
Ease of Use
4.0 out of 5
4.0
Durability
5.0 out of 5
5.0
What's great about it: Weight, Quality, Price
What's not so great: Nothing - It's perfect!
Kept on thinking of getting the F2.8 but the cost, size, weight was way out there. LOVE this F4 version. It balances very nicely and is VERY, VERY sharp.
This lens is quiet, powerful and looks hot with that giant sunshade.
Definitely made the right choice in picking this versus the 2.8.
I would recommend this to a friend!
+4points
4out of 4found this review helpful.
Review 4 for Canon 17-40mm f/4L USM Ultrawide Zoom Lens for Select Canon SLR Cameras

Don't listen to the nay-sayers

Customer Rating
5.0 out of 5
5.0
Posted by: d3jg
from Denver, CO
on 01/15/2012
Value for Price
5.0 out of 5
5.0
Image Quality
5.0 out of 5
5.0
Ease of Use
5.0 out of 5
5.0
Durability
5.0 out of 5
5.0
What's great about it: Very affordable. Superb quality build - durable, beautiful, silent, intuitive, and delivers excellent quality images.
What's not so great: Best suited for full-framed sensor cameras, but still well worth the investment even if one has a cropped sensor camera.
This lens is of superb quality. I was blown away at how silent the AF is, not to mention the excellent width of angle (even for the cropped-sensor camera I use). It comes with a great lens hood and case and costs around the same amount for a comparable EF-S lens (which I would emphasize does NOT work on higher-end, full-frame cameras). If you're like me and you plan on upgrading to a more expensive, likely full frame camera, I would go ahead and invest the extra money in this reasonably affordable Luxury class lens. I would absolutely recommend it to anyone.
I would recommend this to a friend!
+6points
6out of 6found this review helpful.
Review 5 for Canon 17-40mm f/4L USM Ultrawide Zoom Lens for Select Canon SLR Cameras

Most affordable 'L' lens

Customer Rating
5.0 out of 5
5.0
Posted by: kanehi
from Honolulu, HI
on 11/05/2011
Value for Price
5.0 out of 5
5.0
Image Quality
5.0 out of 5
5.0
Ease of Use
5.0 out of 5
5.0
Durability
5.0 out of 5
5.0
What's great about it: Everything
What's not so great: wished it had IS for the same price
I bought this lens specifically for my Canon 5DII and it works exceptionally well. The images are tack sharp, the colors are natural and focusing is fast and accurate. The focus ring is easy to manipulate in manual mode and everything works smoothly including turning the zoom ring. This lens compliments my other 'L' lens, the 24-105L. I wished the 17-40mm had IS but the cost would have been prohibitive. Since this is a 17-40mm on FF cameras it's equivalent to a 27-64mm on an APS-C camera. BestBuy had this lens for $20 less a week after I bought it and credited the difference due to their price match guarantee, way to go BestBuy!
I would recommend this to a friend!
+7points
7out of 7found this review helpful.
Review 6 for Canon 17-40mm f/4L USM Ultrawide Zoom Lens for Select Canon SLR Cameras

All the L benefits without the F/2.8 price.

Customer Rating
5.0 out of 5
5.0
Posted by: JelloShots
from Bakersfield, CA
on 09/01/2011
Value for Price
5.0 out of 5
5.0
Image Quality
5.0 out of 5
5.0
Ease of Use
5.0 out of 5
5.0
Durability
5.0 out of 5
5.0
What's great about it: Fast and smooth focusing.
What's not so great: L series lens...nothing.
This lens offers a very universal range at 17-40mm. The focusing is fast and extremely smooth.
I would recommend this to a friend!
+1point
2out of 3found this review helpful.
Review 7 for Canon 17-40mm f/4L USM Ultrawide Zoom Lens for Select Canon SLR Cameras

Great Wide Angle for Full Frame

Customer Rating
5.0 out of 5
5.0
Posted by: dmbpettit
from Colorado
on 08/29/2011
Value for Price
5.0 out of 5
5.0
Image Quality
4.0 out of 5
4.0
Ease of Use
5.0 out of 5
5.0
Durability
5.0 out of 5
5.0
What's great about it: Color Saturation
What's not so great: None as of yet
This is a great wide angle lens for a full frame camera. If you don't need the speed and extra stop of light, save yourself money and buy this lens instead of the 16-35L. Colors are nice and rich and very little distortion during landscape photography. But keep people closer to the center of the frame because faces tend to distort near the edges.
I would recommend this to a friend!
+2points
2out of 2found this review helpful.
Review 8 for Canon 17-40mm f/4L USM Ultrawide Zoom Lens for Select Canon SLR Cameras

Nice ultrawide angle lens

Customer Rating
5.0 out of 5
5.0
Posted by: Gerry2
from CA
on 09/20/2010
Value for Price
5.0 out of 5
5.0
Image Quality
5.0 out of 5
5.0
Ease of Use
5.0 out of 5
5.0
Durability
5.0 out of 5
5.0
What's great about it: Solid Construction, quality
What's not so great: none
Good quality, solid construction. A bigger aperture would be perfect but no complaint. Used for landscape and other general photographing.
I would recommend this to a friend!
+3points
4out of 5found this review helpful.
Review 9 for Canon 17-40mm f/4L USM Ultrawide Zoom Lens for Select Canon SLR Cameras

Outstanding clarity

Customer Rating
5.0 out of 5
5.0
Posted by: Javid
on 01/14/2010
What's great about it: Everything except the cost
What's not so great: The cost
Absolutely beautiful lens. Feels sturdy without being bulky. Perfect for any kind of shooting...my only regret is not buying this lens first. If you can afford it, go for the L series...no regrets! They are spectacular!
I would recommend this to a friend!
+9points
9out of 9found this review helpful.
Review 10 for Canon 17-40mm f/4L USM Ultrawide Zoom Lens for Select Canon SLR Cameras

Great Wide-Angle Solution

Customer Rating
5.0 out of 5
5.0
Posted by: UniquePhotographers
from Twin Cities, MN
on 12/08/2009
Value for Price
5.0 out of 5
5.0
Image Quality
5.0 out of 5
5.0
Ease of Use
5.0 out of 5
5.0
Durability
5.0 out of 5
5.0
What's great about it: Focal Legnth is perfect for full frame bodies
What's not so great: Slower maximum aperature (f/4)
The 17-40mm f/4L is a great wide angle solution for full-frame sensor cameras. If you have a cropped sensor in your camera (XTi, XSi, T1i, 40D, 50D, 7D) then you might rather pick up the excellent EF-S 10-22mm (sku 7170116) which will appear much wider for the same money.
Great for landscapes, portraits, fine art, etc. Wide angle lenses can be some of the most fun. I would recommend that keeping heads away from the corners in your portraits (especially at 17mm) or you'll see some pretty strange distortion. You can use Photoshop to correct the lines in wide images if need be.
The minimum focusing distance on this lens is great for doing interesting foreground (i.e. a flower) with mountains or hills in the background, however; at f/4 it does blur the background somewhat, so for better focused backgrounds you'll want to work with smaller aperatures (f/11-f22).
The build quality is what you would expect from an L ("Luxury") Canon lens, supurb. Autofocus is quick, and images are extremely sharp.
I would recommend this to a friend!
+43points
43out of 43found this review helpful.
Review 11 for Canon 17-40mm f/4L USM Ultrawide Zoom Lens for Select Canon SLR Cameras

A LITTLE DISAPPOINTING

Customer Rating
3.0 out of 5
3.0
Posted by: DUGGY
from PORTLAND,MAINE
on 09/13/2009
Value for Price
2.0 out of 5
2.0
Image Quality
3.0 out of 5
3.0
Ease of Use
4.0 out of 5
4.0
Durability
4.0 out of 5
4.0
Images for this Review
(click to see full-size image)
User submitted photo
What's great about it: LOOKS
What's not so great: NOT SHARP/NOT GOOD COLOR SATURATION
This lense did not meet the expectations of a Canon L series lense.The sharpness is mediocre,and also color saturation is not as sufficient as L series.
The Canon 18-55mm kit lense on my new Canon T1i,is just as good if not slightly sharper.
I would recommend this to a friend!
-79points
2out of 83found this review helpful.
Review 12 for Canon 17-40mm f/4L USM Ultrawide Zoom Lens for Select Canon SLR Cameras

Great Glass

Customer Rating
5.0 out of 5
5.0
Posted by: Jewleeuhn1
on 04/04/2009
Value for Price
4.0 out of 5
4.0
Image Quality
4.0 out of 5
4.0
Ease of Use
5.0 out of 5
5.0
Durability
5.0 out of 5
5.0
What's great about it: Super wide shots, minimal distortion
What's not so great: A bit pricey :P
Great lens. It's meant for full frame cameras (1Ds, 35mm film SLRs, 5D, etc.). Mounting this on a 1.6x crop factor camera like the Digital Rebels or 20D, 30D, or 40D would be pointless. You will get relatively the same effective focal lengths with the stock EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6, which is MUCH cheaper (and probably came with your camera).
But in general, this is great on full-frame cameras. I have tried it on a 5D and it is super sharp when stopped down, and the super-wide-ness really makes photos fun.
I would recommend this to a friend!
+7points
14out of 21found this review helpful.
Review 13 for Canon 17-40mm f/4L USM Ultrawide Zoom Lens for Select Canon SLR Cameras

Value priced

Customer Rating
5.0 out of 5
5.0
Posted by: Mudd
from Rochester NY
on 10/15/2008
Value for Price
5.0 out of 5
5.0
Image Quality
5.0 out of 5
5.0
Ease of Use
5.0 out of 5
5.0
Durability
5.0 out of 5
5.0
What's great about it: L lense from canon under $800.00 dollars
What's not so great: F-4 need tripod for low light shots
This is a great lense for getting into the l-class lenses from Canon. It has a great wide angle lense on a full frame camera (Canon 1 DS). The lense also works well on a 1.6 crop Canon (Canon 40D, Canon Rebels, and ect.) and 1.3 crop Canon (Canon 1D). The lense works well outside, it can take some wonderful shots, as this is what it was designed for. For using indoors a flash and, or tripod is a must. This lense was not intended for lowlight photos. Well worh the money...
I would recommend this to a friend!
+2points
3out of 4found this review helpful.
Review 14 for Canon 17-40mm f/4L USM Ultrawide Zoom Lens for Select Canon SLR Cameras

First "L" Series Lens Pruchase

Customer Rating
5.0 out of 5
5.0
Posted by: MikeyG
from New York, NY
on 08/30/2008
Value for Price
5.0 out of 5
5.0
Image Quality
5.0 out of 5
5.0
Ease of Use
5.0 out of 5
5.0
Durability
5.0 out of 5
5.0
What's great about it: Solid, Good Picture Quality
What's not so great: Overlaps with other lenses I have
This is my first "L" series lens purchases. I bought this lens based on advice from a friend. (He and I both have the 40D.) My sense is that I have not fully tested its capability out. It has been great for event photography and I enjoy using it. While I am not disappointed at all, I still wish that I purchased the 28-200mm L series lens before this one. But that is not materially important to this discussion. I did use it for a 50th Anniversary wedding celebration and took about 1,500 images. It worked great. (I also have the 10-22mm, so the ultra wide angle is covered there.)
I would recommend this to a friend!
+7points
8out of 9found this review helpful.