Canon 17-35mm f/2.8 USM L EF Review Round-Up

If you own or have used this lens, let us know what you think! Leave your comments and thoughts below.

Find more information and user reviews on Amazon: Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM Ultra Wide Angle Zoom Lens (NOTE: Links to the II version)

Photo Zone:

During my days with this lens I was actually quite fond of the performance of the Canon EF 17-35mm f/2.8 USM L but I usually limited the usage to focal lengths beyond 20mm. A good idea also confirmed by the MTF tests which showed a quite poor border resolution at 17mm. However, in the 20-35mm range the performance is very good and comparable to what we’ve seen from modern Canon ultra-wide zooms. Same goes for the other image characteristics. The barrel distortions are very pronounced towards the wide end of the zoom range but pretty decent otherwise. Typical for most full frame lenses vignetting is no big issue on an APS-C DSLR. CAs are quite high but about average for a lens in this class. All-in-all the lens had its time but there’re better alternatives available today. … READ FULL REVIEW

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

Luminous Landscape

For several years I used the Canon 17~35mm f/2.8L wide zoom and was never been totally happy with the overall image quality. I found that the 17-35L can sometimes produce soft images when certain focal lengths are combined with large apertures. Although the short ranges of the lens perform well, there are serious problems with distortion at 17mm. (about 6%). This makes the lens unsuitable for architecture photography. READ FULL REVIEW

Ken Rockwell

The 17-35mm f/2.8 D AF-S is a solid professional lens. It’s got great optics, mechanics and performance, and you pay for it. The 17-35mm is the wide-lens ticket for the D700, D3x and D3. The 17-35 works on DX, it’s just bigger, costs more and works less conveniently than lenses designed to for DX. It works great on manual-focus cameras. The focus action feels great. It’s continuous close focus abilities open up new creative avenues that previously required extension tubes for bug’s-eye views. The biggest limitation is your ability to get light on your subject, since it focuses up to a few inches away from the front of the lens. Most professional photojournalists and travel photographers who use 35mm or FX cameras carry one of these on one body, and the 70-200mm VR on a second body. Nikon didn’t screw around here. If you need the best, don’t mind the weight on your shoulders and the lightness in your wallet, this is for you. READ FULL REVIEW