Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 usm & 17-40mm f/4 L

[John Griffin]

October 24, 2006 at 5:24 pm

Hi,
Looking at buying these, Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 usm & 17-40mm f/4 L, any body have either, and if so what do you think of their performance.

John.

[SteveFE]

October 24, 2006 at 7:43 pm

The 50’s widely renowned as a great portrait and low light lens, fabulous bokeh etc. I have seen several reports that it breaks easily if treated roughly. I have the 50mm f1.8 so can’t speak from direct experience about the f1.4.

The 17-40’s a solid worker, great build, rocket USM focus, wide enough on a 1.6x crop camera and freaky wide on a full frame. Superb colour and contrast, not that sharp at the edges but OK and still much better than cheaper wides. The 16-35/f2.8’s wider and faster but it costs way more too.

[gerard]

October 24, 2006 at 8:01 pm

Hi depends on your camera and what you’re shooting. If your camera’s a 1.6 crop dslr and you want to shoot landscapes, then the 17-40’s a great lens.

For a bit more money how about a 24-70 f2.8L, a good bit extra at the long end, an extra stop of light and you could save most of the extra cash by buying a 50mm f1.8 instead of the 1.4; it’s a lovely lens and cheap as chips.

I’m not advising you what do do but it’s something I’d think about, but then I never do landscapes so what do I know!!

Gerard

[Thorsten]

October 25, 2006 at 12:01 am

I have an EF 50mm f/1.8 which I picked up used for ?70.00. It’s the best value lens I’ve ever owned. I also have the EF 17-40mm f/4.0 L and whilst it’s not as sharp as the Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 lens I have, it does have superior colour balance and contrast characteristics.

[earthairfire]

October 25, 2006 at 7:21 am

I have the 17-40 F4L, and it’s virtually always the lens that’s on my camera! Got a bag of other lenses, but I find for general use, the 17-40 is great. The 16-35 opens the aperture up to 2.8, but it’s a lot of extra cash. If you can cope with F4, then it’s a cracking lens that I’d thoroughly recommend.

Tim

[John Griffin]

October 25, 2006 at 1:44 pm

Thanks for the advice guys, I’m really looking for a landscape lens and a low light portrait lens so thats why i’m lookin at these two, I’ve read a bit about the 50 f/1.8 and it sounds like great value, I’m basically looking for a nice L lens for landscapes and being very careful about which one i get, you simply can’t beat the L lenses, I have the 100-400 IS USM L and it is fantastic, especially on the 1.6x crop of the 20D, saving now for a 5D or what ever replaces it by the time i have the money for the landscapes too.