Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM

• Specifications
• Reviews
• Sample Images
• Initial launch information.

The 17-40mm f4L wide angle zoom offers good performance at a reduced price compared to the 16-35 f2.8L. Very popular with the EOS 5D, it's a good lens to look out for used, if moving to full frame and wanting more width than the usual 24mm wide zooms.

Available from: Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk | B&H | Adorama

Lens specifications

Focal Length & Maximum Aperture	17 - 40mm; 1:4
Lens Construction	12 elements in 9 groups
Diagonal Angle of View	104° 57° 30'
Focus Adjustment	Inner focusing system with USM
Closest Focusing Distance	0.9 ft /0.28m
Zoom System	Rotating type
Filter Size	77mm
Max. Diameter x Length, Weight	3.3" x 3.8", 1.1 lb. / 83.5 x 96.8mm, 500g

A quick guide to MTF charts (which only measure contrast and resolution. Canon's guide to their MTF charts) Black lines reflect lens performance at widest aperture. Blue lines show the performance at f/8 Thick lines indicate lens contrast Thin lines indicate lens resolution Dashed lines: Lens performance with meridional lines. Solid lines: Lens performance with sagittal lines Closer sagittal and meridional chart lines indicate more 'natural' out of focus areas. Remember that MTF charts are good for comparing similar lenses, so comparing ones from the 14mm f2.8L and 300mm 2.8L won't tell you much at all, whilst comparing the EF14 2.8L with the EF14 2.8L II will show meaningful differences. Note that other manufacturers may have different ways of displaying such information that may or may not match up with the Canon figures.

EF 17-40mm f/4L USM reviews and articles

• Canon UK | US info page
• Amazon
• Northlight Images
• Canon CPN article
• Fred Miranda
• Lens Tip
• Digital Picture
• PhotoZone
• SLR Gear
• Lens Review
• ePhotozine

Written a review? Contact us and we'll add it to the list.

Sample images

Product launch

Pre-PMA 2003, 14:00 GMT: Canon has today announced a new 'L series' EF lens. The 17 - 40 mm F4.0 L is designed to be a high quality, lightweight lens for both film and D-SLR cameras. On the new EOS-10D this lens would produce a field of view range equivalent to a 27 - 64 mm zoom lens. For film SLR or EOS-1Ds users this lens provides ultra wide-angle zoom. Other features include a constant F4.0 aperture and minimum focus distance of 28 cm across the entire zoom range.