Canon 28-70 2.8L or Canon 17-40 4L

FM Forum Rules
Canon SLRs, primes, and zooms lenses reviews

FM Forums \| Canon-mount SLRs \| Join Upload & Sell	Search Used
end

Archive 2008 · Canon 28-70 2.8L or Canon 17-40 4L

dbruce
Online
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #1 · Canon 28-70 2.8L or Canon 17-40 4L

I currently use a Canon 28-70 2.8L, but could use a wider lens. I'm going to be looking to trade the 28-70 for a 17-40, but wanted to see first if anyone has owned both of them and what one do you prefer between the two.
Thanks in advance,
bruce

Nov 19, 2008 at 06:00 AM

dcains
Offline
Dedicated FM
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #2 · Canon 28-70 2.8L or Canon 17-40 4L

I've owned them both at the same time. At least for my copies, the 28-70L was sharper at any comparable f/stop than the 17-40L, but not by all that much. And to my eyes, the 28-70L also won, by a larger margin, in both color/contrast and bokeh over the 17-40L. Finally, for my uses, these lenses had two grossly different purposes, and yours may differ. I used the 28-70L more for close ups and still life shots, usually at wide apertures, where the subject was isolated from the background. The 17-40L was almost exclusively a landscape lens, though, and for that, it excelled when stopped down to at least f/8.

Nov 19, 2008 at 06:14 AM

stromm
Offline
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #3 · Canon 28-70 2.8L or Canon 17-40 4L

That would be a Big mistake I had to 17-40L i didn't like either one of them. But a 28-70 2.8L is the bomb and tac sharp.

Nov 19, 2008 at 06:14 AM

freaklikeme
Offline
Dedicated FM
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #4 · Canon 28-70 2.8L or Canon 17-40 4L

I greatly regretted giving up my copy of the 28-70, so I had to replace it. My advice would be save and augment with the 17-40 later.

Nov 19, 2008 at 06:45 AM

Ian.Dobinson
Offline
Dedicated FM
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #5 · Canon 28-70 2.8L or Canon 17-40 4L

Why get rid of a great lens to go wider? what do you have above 40mm to make not haveing the 28-70 o.k.
I wanted wider than mine so got a Tokina 12-24 F4 to give me a set 12-24, 28,70L ,80-200L . All 3 great lenses and a joy to use.

Nov 19, 2008 at 08:18 AM

dbruce
Online
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #6 · Canon 28-70 2.8L or Canon 17-40 4L

Thanks for the responses everyone.
I currently use (in that range) a 24-105 4L IS lens and a 50 1.4 on the 1D and 1Ds series cameras. So that area is already covered, but there are times when your in the situation where the 24mm is a little tight on the edge of the frame.

Nov 19, 2008 at 02:30 PM

RobertLynn
Offline
Dedicated FM
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #7 · Canon 28-70 2.8L or Canon 17-40 4L

I wouldn't trade the 28-70 for the 17-40...Imho the 17-40 is a different lens altogether and sells for a bit less.

Nov 19, 2008 at 02:32 PM

Seth Tower
Offline
Dedicated FM
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #8 · Canon 28-70 2.8L or Canon 17-40 4L

RobertLynn wrote:
I wouldn't trade the 28-70 for the 17-40...Imho the 17-40 is a different lens altogether and sells for a bit less.

Yeah, you can't really compare an ultra wide zoom with a standard zoom. They're not even remotely similar.

Nov 19, 2008 at 04:11 PM

matonanjin
Offline
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #9 · Canon 28-70 2.8L or Canon 17-40 4L

Ian.Dobinson wrote:
Why get rid of a great lens to go wider? what do you have above 40mm to make not haveing the 28-70 o.k.
I wanted wider than mine so got a Tokina 12-24 F4 to give me a set 12-24, 28,70L ,80-200L . All 3 great lenses and a joy to use.

He said he is using 1dxx bodies. Tokina 12-24 F/4 will only work on cropped sensor.

Nov 19, 2008 at 05:34 PM

gheller
Offline
Dedicated FM
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #10 · Canon 28-70 2.8L or Canon 17-40 4L

I've got both 17-40 and 28-70. Totally different lenses for different applications.

both great (although the 28-70 is in a different league).

i wouldn't get rid of either.

that 50 f/1.4 will not give you 70/2.8, so it is not a good replacement for the 28-70

greg

Nov 19, 2008 at 05:37 PM

Jimbobp
Offline
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #11 · Canon 28-70 2.8L or Canon 17-40 4L

How about just adding the Sigma 12-24 to your kit? It's a tad slower than the 17-40, about the same price and gets you wider and you wont' be duplicating lengths. If you are really looking at just not using the 28-70 due to the overlap with your 24-105, I'd be happy to trade you the Sigma 12-24 for it.

Nov 19, 2008 at 06:11 PM

end
FM Forums \| Canon-mount SLRs \| Join Upload & Sell end