Home Donate New Search Gallery Reviews How-To Books Links Workshops About Contact Canon 17-35mm f/2.8 L Intro Specs Performance Compared Usage Recommendations More Canon EF 17-35mm f/2.8 L (77mm and gel filters, 1.4'/0.42m close-focus, 18.8 oz./534g, about $800 used.) enlarge. This free website's biggest source of support is when you use these links, especially this link directly to them at eBay (see How to Win at eBay) when you get anything, regardless of the country in which you live. It helps me keep reviewing these oldies when you get yours through these links, thanks! Ken.
July 2012 Canon Reviews Canon Lenses All Reviews
Canon Ultrawide Lenses Compared
Canon 16-35mm f/2.8 L II (2007-today) Canon 16-35mm f/2.8 L (2001-2007) Canon 17-40mm f/4 L (2003-today) Canon 17-35mm f/2.8 L (1995-2001) Canon 20-35mm USM (1993-2007) Canon 20mm f/2.8 USM (1992-today) Canon 20-35mm f/2.8 L (1989-1995) Tokina 17-35mm f/4 (2011-) Introduction top Intro Specs Performance Compared Usage Recommendations More The Canon EF 17-35mm f/2.8 L is a lightweight full-frame f/2.8 professional ultrawide zoom for all Canon EOS digital and 35mm autofocus cameras. It's the same size as today's Canon 17-40mm f/4 L, but built tougher and a stop faster. This 17-35mm has instant manual focus override simply by grabbing its focus ring at any time. Used on a modern camera like the Canon 5D Mark III with a lens profile loaded, any color fringes are corrected in-camera. This gives better image quality today than we ever could get with this lens when it was new.
Compatibility and Formats This lens is optimized for 35mm film and full-frame digital, and of course works on all 1.3x and 1.6x Canon cameras. This Canon EF EOS 17-35mm f/2.8 works perfectly with every Canon EOS camera ever made, meaning every Canon DSLR and every Canon autofocus 35mm camera made since 1987. This means of course it works great on today's 5D Mark III and Canon 7D, but it works just as well on my original Canon EOS 620 from 1987! As a full-frame lens, this works on all Canon SLRs, regardless of format. As a full-frame lens, I will be reviewing this lens on full-frame.
Canon 17-35 2.8. enlarge.
Specifications top Intro Specs Performance Compared Usage Recommendations More
Name Canon calls this the CANON ZOOM LENS EF 17-35mm f/2.8 L ULTRASONIC. EF means "electronic focus," meaning that there is an autofocus motor in the lens itself. All Canon lenses since 1987 have been EF. L means expensive as L. ULTRASONIC means USM, which means you may grab the focus ring at any time for instant, silent manual focus override.
Optics top Canon 17-35mm internal diagram. Aspherical. 15 elements in 10 groups. The front element is a hand-ground glass aspheric, and another element is also aspherical for a total of two. Internal focus. Front and rear groups move inside the barrel as zoomed. FIlter ring never moves.
Focal Length 17-35mm. On 1.3x Canon cameras it will see angles-of-view similar to what a 22~45mm lens would see on a 35mm camera. On 1.6x Canon cameras it will see angles-of-view similar to what a 27~56mm lens would see on a 35mm camera. Clearly this is a silly choice for anything other than a full-frame or 35mm camera.
Angle of View (on 35mm and full-frame cameras) 104º ~ 63º diagonal. 70.5º ~ 38º vertical. 93º ~ 54º horizontal.
Close Focus top 1.4 feet (0.42m) from the image plane, specified.
Maximum Reproduction Ratio top 1:9.1 (0.11x).
Diaphragm top Front, Canon 17-35mm at f/2.8 and 17mm. enlarge. 7 blades, somewhat curved. Stops down to f/22.
Focus Scale top Yes. The ring turns from infinity to the closest focus distance in about 100.º
Depth-of-Field Scale top No.
Infra-Red Focus Indices top Focus Scale, Canon 17-35/2.8. Yes, marks for 35mm, 28mm, 24mm, 20mm and 17mm focal lengths. These marks are probably for the 800 nm wavelength.
Filter Thread top 77mm. Metal. Does not move, ever.
Size top Canon specifies 3.3" (83.5mm) diameter by 3.77" (95.7mm) long. It doesn't change size as zoomed or focused.
Weight top 18.840 oz. (534.1g), measured. Canon specifies 19.2 oz. (545g).
Hood top Plastic bayonet EW-83C II, included.
Case top LP1216 sack, included.
Caps top 77mm E-77U front, included. (ultrasonic cap with gold "ULTRASONIC" and silver "Canon" logos.) Standard EOS cap rear.
Quality top Made in Japan.
Price, USA top Box, Canon 17-35mm f/2.8. 2012 May: about $800 used.
Performance top Intro Specs Performance Compared Usage Recommendations More Overall Autofocus Breathing Color Distortion Ergonomics Falloff Filters Flare Lateral Color Fringes
Overall performance top The Canon 17-35mm f/2.8 is a well-made, great-handling, lens with optics easily corrected electronically in Canon's newest cameras.
Autofocus performance top Autofocus is as we expect from Canon, maybe on the slow side for an ultrawide simply because it isn't instantaneous.
Auto/Manual Switching Just grab the focus ring for instant manual-focus override. You never need to touch the AF-MF switch unless you want to lock-out autofocus.
AF Speed AF is relatively leisurely for an ultrawide lens.
AF Accuracy and Consistency AF accuracy is fine on my Canon 5D Mark III.
Manual Focus Manual focus is easy; just move the ring.
Focus Breathing performance top Focus breathing (the image changing size as focused) is mostly of interest to cinematographers who don't want the image changing size ("breathing") as the lens is focused among different subjects. The Canon 17-35mm f/2.8 has almost no focus breathing. The only weird thing I see is at the wide end that the center of the image doesn't change, but the sides cave-in a bit as focused more closely. In other words, at 17mm, if you have two vertical lines on each side of your subject, their tops will move closer to each other as focused more closely!
Color Rendition performance top The color balance of this 17-35mm f/2.8 matches my other Canon EF lenses.
Distortion performance top This Canon 17-35mm f/2.8 has some distortion at every setting: barrel at 17mm and pincushion at 35mm. It's complex, so it never fully corrects with simple tools, but you can correct it with some of Canon's software, or in-camera with the 5D Mark III if you shoot CRW raw and then stop and convert to JPG in-camera in the PLAY menu. The distortion can be obvious at the ends of the zoom range, but rarely in the middle. Use these values in Photoshop's Lens Distortion tool to remove most of it:
© 2012 KenRockwell.com. All rights reserved. ** Waviness remains. For less distortion in an ultrawide zoom, chose the Canon 20-35mm f/2.8 L (1989-1995), which has less distortion than any of today's Canon ultrawides.
Ergonomics performance top Canon 17-35/2.8. enlarge. Ergonomics are the same as Canon's newest Canon 16-35mm f/2.8 L II and Canon 17-40mm f/4 L. The zoom flicks easily, with little to no damping. The zoom range is a little congested at the 17mm end.
Falloff (darkened corners) performance top Falloff is never visible with Peripheral Illumination Correction enabled, an option in the Canon 5D Mark III, Canon 5D Mark II and others, presuming you have data for this lens loaded into your camera. I've greatly exaggerated the falloff by shooting a flat gray target and presenting it against a gray background.
Filters, Use with performance top There's no problem with vignetting even with thick or rotating filters, but don't push your luck: you'll get vignetting on full-frame at 17mm if you stack filters. The filter threads don't move. My Hoya HD polarizer works fine, but don't use polarizers on ultrawide lenses. Gels can be cut and slipped into a slot over the rear element.
Flare and Ghosts performance top The 17-35 has almost no ghosts if you get the sun in your image. If you do, there may be a dot or two opposite the sun if the conditions are just right.
Lateral Color Fringes performance top Used on a modern camera like the Canon 5D Mark III, which corrects color fringes in-camera when a lens profile is loaded, there are no color fringes. Hooray!
Mechanics performance top Rear, Canon 17-35 f/2.8. enlarge. The Canon 17-35mm f/2.8 is made as well as the current 16-35mm f/2.8 L II and better than the Canon 17-40mm f/4 L.
Filter Threads Black anodized aluminum.
Hood Mount Black anodized aluminum.
Fore Barrel Metal.
Focus Ring Metal, covered with rubber.
Mid-barrel Plastic.
Internals Seem like metal.
Zoom Ring Metal, rubber-covered.
Zoom Cams Feel like metal.
Moisture seal at mount No.
Mount Chromed metal.
Markings Paint.
Serial Number Engraved into the bottom rear of barrel near the mount, and filled with paint.
Date Code Printed on rear light baffle. See Canon Date Codes.
Noises When Shaken Mild to moderate rattling.
Made in Japan.
Sharpness performance top In the center, the 17-35mm is always super sharp at every aperture. It's the same in the center as Canon's newest 16-35mm f/2.8 L II and 17-40mm f/4 L. On my 5D Mark III which correct color fringes, it's about as good at the sides and corners as the older 16-35mm L. It's not quite as good as the newest 16-35mm f/2.8 L II and 17-40mm f/4 L, but none of these lenses are all that great wide-open in the corners anyway! Unless you're a pixel-counter, I wouldn't worry about it. Far more of an obstacle to sharpness is that ultrawide zooms vary from shot-to-shot and sample-to-sample, and their planes of best focus are rarely planes, and often tilted! Spend too much time trying to compare ultrawides, and you can go crazy. If you worry yourself sick about sharpness, get the 16-35mm f/2.8 L II or Canon 17-40mm f/4 L, or just stop down to f/11 with any of these lenses for much better results.
Sunstars performance top At f/22. With the somewhat curved blades of its 7-bladed diaphragm, sunstars are muted. This is as much as I can get, and this is at f/22. The stars are asymmetrical 14-pointed.
Compared top Intro Specs Performance Compared Usage Recommendations More
See Canon Ultrawide Zooms Compared.
Usage top Intro Specs Performance Compared Usage Recommendations More
AF - MF Switch Leave this in AF. Set it to MF only to deactivate autofocus.
Focus Point I haven't had any problem with this lens, but with my other Canon ultrawide zooms I usually get the most accurate focus with the center AF area.
Recommendations top Intro Specs Performance Compared Usage Recommendations More This 17-35mm is lighter than any other Canon f/2.8 zoom, and performs almost as well as the newest. Get one, I did, and I already own the 16-35mm L II and 17-40mm. I like having f/2.8 in the same compact size as the 17-40mm! If you've found the time I've spent sharing this professional review helpful, this free website's biggest source of support is when you use these links, especially this link directly to them at eBay (see How to Win at eBay) when you get anything, regardless of the country in which you live. It helps me keep reviewing these oldies when you get yours through these links Thanks! Ken
More Information top Intro Specs Performance Compared Usage Recommendations More
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May 2012