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Decision between Canon EF 17-40 mm / F4L and Canon EF 35 mm / F2 USM

Started Apr 16, 2014 | Discussions thread
arty H Senior Member • Posts: 1,546
Re: The 17-40 / 4L is a poor choice...

I have the 35F2 IS and the 17-40. Both are good lenses, sharp, with very fast and accurate AF. I use the 35 more than the zoom, but I use them for different purposes.

The 35 is great at F2 for indoor low light shots, and will work under very low light. It gets lots of use as a general purpose lens. I often like to go light, and this lens is relatively light and compact. It works well for a birthday party or candid snaps.

The 17-40L has better color and contrast than the 18-55 IS. AF on the 17-40  is very fast and has proven accurate on my cameras. While I like my Sigma 50 macro lens, I am not willing to give up Canon AF on a camera body that doesn't have microadjust....especially when the risk of AF problems rear up. If size and weight don't matter to you, then other options can be considered.

It is hard to compare the zoom and prime lenses, as they are very different animals. I found that I added a lot of possibilities to my photography when I started using fast primes.

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