Canon EF 17-35mm f/2.8L USM Reviews

Rating
Reviewed by: filmbuster
(Professional)

Review Date
December 15, 2003

Overall Rating
5 of 5

Value Rating
5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5,
2 votes

Review 1 of 40

Price Paid: $2000.00 from adorama

Summary:

First thing I noticed off the bat is how well it fits on the 1N. Crystal sharp slides.17 is wide enough for most applications,why spend more on that 16-35 2.8 L lens. I'm a photojournalist so I NEED A FLEXIBLE ZOOM.

Strengths:

lightweight,balances well on bigger EOS cameras,a fast 2.8 aperture

Weaknesses:

Similar Products Used:

Canon EOS 50 2.5 macro,life size converter,17-35 2.8 L,28-70 2.8 L,70-200 2.8 L,(Non IS version), 1.4X converter 300 2.8 L (Non IS version),,,,, 400 2.8 L (IS Version)

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Rating
Reviewed by: Steven
(Intermediate)

Review Date
April 8, 2003

Overall Rating
5 of 5

Value Rating
5 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5,
1 votes

Review 2 of 40

Price Paid: $1100.00 from penn camera

Summary:

What a great lens. As sharp as my old FD prime lenses and the 17 mm is great.

Strengths:

perfect range, quiet, speedy motion

Weaknesses:

none so far

Similar Products Used:

FD 24mm, FD 28 mm, sigma 17-35

Customer Service:

n/a

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Rating
Reviewed by: Ron
(Professional)

Review Date
December 4, 2002

Overall Rating
4 of 5

Value Rating
4 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Review 3 of 40

Price Paid: $1300.00

Summary:

very sharp lens, I had very good resolts with slide films. I try not to use the 17mm - there is some distortion as you expect. I use it on EOS1n and digital Canon D2000- i have to use the 17mm option for this camera.

Strengths:

a real work horse for digital press photographers and photojournalists.

Weaknesses:

A bit heavy, the AF-MF switch on the two lenses that i have used in recent years came off after 1-2 months of use !! - not expected from this kind of lens.This lens is very sensitive to vibrations and drops.

Similar Products Used:

I had one lens for 3 years , then got another one a year ago.

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Rating
Reviewed by: Tomasz Oszmian
(Expert)

Review Date
September 27, 2002

Overall Rating
5 of 5

Value Rating
4 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
1.50 of 5,
4 votes

Review 4 of 40

Price Paid: $0.00

Summary:

This lens, although quite old, is one of the sharpest lenses I ever used. I upgraded from a Canon 20-35 3.5-4.5 and what a differance! This lens is sometimes too sharp! Small, fast and silent! Perfect for running around a city.

Strengths:

SHARP! fast, quick AF, relatively small and light.

Weaknesses:

Lens hood is quite large and bulky but I can live with that. You don't need that all the time anyway...

Similar Products Used:

Canon 20-35 3.5-4.5

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Rating
Reviewed by: dlinney
(Intermediate)

Review Date
August 29, 2002

Overall Rating
5 of 5

Value Rating
4 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Visitors rate this review
3.00 of 5,
3 votes

Review 5 of 40

Price Paid: $0.00 from eBay

Summary:

Just got the first results back using this lens that I bought used via eBay. I'm really pleased with the results. I expected some problems at extremes - 17mm and f2.8 - but the results are much better than I expected / feared. I have to say that for such a wide zoom the results are excellent. I did a series of test shots as well as general pictures and observed the following: there is some distortion at either end but not excesssive considering its a zoom lens and certainly not a problem. At f2.8 there is a little softness compared with f5.6 upwards but again not a problem. I initially thought there was more edge softness at 35mm f2.8 but suspect that what I am actually seeing is out of focus for objects at the extremes of the field of view since objects in the main subject plain are fine. I suspect that a lot of criticism of this lens actually comes from people who don't understand the perspective distortions of any 17mm lens. If your subject isn't absolutely square on to the camera you will see perspective distortions. This isn't the lens's fault its about physics.

Strengths:

Zoom range Constant f2.8 aperture Build quality Fine performance

Weaknesses:

Some distortion but no more than to be expected of a zoom lens.

Similar Products Used:

Canon EF 20mm f2.8 USM Canon EF 24mm f2.8 Canon EF 28mm f1.8 USM Sigma 17-35mm f2.8-4.0 Canon EF 20-35mm f3.5-f4.5 USM

Customer Service:

Not required on any of my extensive Canon gear.

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