[...] For weddings and outdoor photography, the focal length of this lens doesn't get any better. I had considered getting a comparable third brand lens (17-50 f2.8), but I ended up having to stop it down to f4 as it was soft wide open.

Consistent Output; Durable; Rugged; Strong Construction

Gary Wolstenholme takes a look at this popular lightweight ultra-wide angle zoom lens.

Superb performance in the centre throughout the range; Well built; Lightweight

Sudden softness in the corners may disturb full-frame SLR users; Distortion difficult to correct entirely at 17mm; Falloff at 17mm

Hey thanks guys. We are a private New Zealand newspaper group and have just bought a lens for our photographers from Smifu. Yes we were nervous and did as much checking as we could before paying. Guess what? All went well.

The only thing I would comment on is that there is not enough "blur" for some portraits, but I knew that when I bought it. It produces great pictures! The clarity is wonderful!

Easy To Use; Good price value; High quality pictures; Quality Construction

This lens has been my favorite lens for over a year now, being equivalent to a 27-64mm it falls into the perfect standard zoom range.

Compact; Build quality

"I would disagree with Josh. You can't compare 17-40mm lens to 14-24mm lens and rate them. You are comparing apples and oranges. 17-40mm L is a great glass for its value."

I own this lens for 3 years. It is simply great on crop. Dust and Rain is not a problem. Light weight make it possible for camera to be on your shoulders all the time in bike tours!

Build like a tank; Great lens for travel; You should try hard to broke it! Lowest weight for L lenses; Cool for APS-C

Distortion on full frame; My copy isn't sharp at corners (not a problem on crop

Using a test chart, I found the lens to be very sharp across the image at all focal lengths. The included picture is typical of my results and is a small part of the image from a Canon 5D Mark-II.

The lens quickly snaps into focus and produces good closeups at the 40 mm setting.

Fast / accurate auto-focus; Lightweight; Sharp at all focal length

Barrel distortion

Well worth the money compared to McBain's pricing,!!!

Smooth operation, and a great upgrade for the standard lens provided with the T3I Canon; Great clarity

A little tilt on the vertical structures; but acceptable

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