17-40mm F/4 or 17-55mm F/2.8 on a crop sensor?

[Seany88]

Hi guys,

I've been trying to decide the toss up for months now about this, have checked out numerous pictures etc and I'm still undecided.

Background - I have a 7D and a 24-70mm f/2.8 and 50mm f/1.4. I love the 50mm for the bokeh shots, but I find I hardly use the 24-70 as although its sharp, it is heavy and most of the shots I do with it don't really give much 'impact' - as in the pics look good, but not amazing and dramatic (might be a personal thing). I actually wanted to get the 17-40mm instead of the 24-70 but was talked out of it by all the reviews and my mates saying the extra stop and range was worth it etc...

Now my ex had a 17-40mm and I got to play with it for a bit, and I loved the extra width it gave me. I think I've grown to prefer landscapes, wide shots with a foreground focus such as a car etc...I don't want a 10-22mm or something as I think the distortion is too much, plus I want an L lens as I like to go out in all weather and not worry too much about babying my kit.

So I sound pretty sold on the 17-40mm I guess...but can anyone offer some opinions? I'm worried it might be too short and that the extra f stop might actually matter to me...!

[Mr Kitten]

Seeing as you've got a 7D, dare I suggest the EF-S 17-55 f/2.8?

I've heard some very good things about that apart from the EF-S snobbery...

<edit> I didn't read the post title at all... d'oh </edit>

[Phunk]

I would go with the 17-55mm, more range, IS and an extra stop, not to mention it is sharper then the 17-40mm. Unless you plan on going full frame soon, I would go for the 17-55

[Seany88]

When I originally got the 24-70 I did intend to go full-frame eventually...but when the 5D MkIII came out at that price my wallet didn't agree!! I'm so used to the controls on the 7D now and am very familiar with it so in reality unless the 5D comes down in price (by about half!) then I'll most likely stick with what I've got.

I've just read this thread about the 2, I think the 17-55mm will suit me well

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php...

[rottie102]

Seany88 said:

I want an L lens as I like to go out in all weather and not worry too much about babying my kit.

You may not be too happy with the 17-55mm then... Apart from the lack of weatherproofing it has a very annoying zoom creep. If you carry the camera around on a strap, you always carry it fully extended.

TBH 24-105L does it too, just not so easily. Why they didn't think of the hold switch?!