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View Full Version : "L" is spelled "anticipation"


topeju
29th of June 2004 (Tue), 14:39
Whee, one more candidate for the L team. I just placed an order at AC Foto (http://www.ac-foto.de/) in Germany for the Canon EF 17-40 f/4 L. Even with shipping, AC Foto was well over 100 euros cheaper than the stores in Finland.

I had been considering a wide-angle lens for my 10D for quite some time, but after I did a quick study of 2500 of my latest photos I found that almost 1/2 of them were shot at the widest angle I have available at the moment (28 mm on my 28-135). A further study of a random selection of 20 photos taken at 28 mm showed that I had had to frame too tightly in several images.

I also considered the 16-35 f/2.8L, but it was way too expensive. The Sigma 17-35/2.8-4.0 would have been cheaper, but I've read in various places that the Canon is sharper. Also, with the problems I've had with my Sigma 70-200/2.8, I'm a bit reluctant to buy more Sigma lenses. The Sigma 12-24 and 15-30 were also on my short list, but I decided against the former because I would have to switch lenses too often, and the 15-30 is the same price as the Canon, and I felt I don't really need the extra 2 mm in the wide end - sooner or later, I'll probably end up buying a DSLR with a crop factor less than 1.6x anyway.

I was rather surprised at how easily I was able to sell the new purchase to my wife. I just outlined showed her the image statistics referred to above, explained how much I need a wide-angle lens, and listed the alternatives, starting at the 16-35. :-)

I hope the lens is delivered soon - in a week and a half I will be at a convention, and expect the lens to be very handy there. I don't think it'll get here that fast though, but one can always wish...

roanjohn
29th of June 2004 (Tue), 14:43
Wow!!! I was just in the same boat as you.......and decided to go with the 17-40 f4 L as well!!!

Except in my case, I didn't have to go through a WIFE's seal of approval :-)

Enjoy it!!! Its truly a wondeful lens.

Ro1

theflyingkiwi
29th of June 2004 (Tue), 15:16
Well I can say from personal experence, that you will not regret buying this lens. I have got it it is a very nice lens to use and it even takes some nice quality photos.

will look forward to some photos.

blinking8s
29th of June 2004 (Tue), 15:22
i want one :(

2new
29th of June 2004 (Tue), 18:53
This is how it starts... a simple step into L. Prepare to go broke :wink:

This was my first L glass. After only shooting for a couple of days with the 17-40 and loving the results, I immediately purchased the 70-200 f/4 and had the lens shipped to my hotel on vacation. (Nuts)

What's so crazy is that before I bought the 17-40 I kept thinking how the hell am I going to pay for this? Days later I bought the next one...and I want more. I NEED MORE!!!! Damn it it never ends.

Congrats - you'll love it!!

SWPhotoImaging
29th of June 2004 (Tue), 20:11
Wow, that wife factor must be quite an issue for you, if you have to prepare statistics, presentations and justifications just to buy a lens.

I feel for you, man.

I do remember the days when I got chastised for buying a CD or a six-pack, and don't ever want to go back to that chapter of my life.

May your future be filled with purchases that require no authorization, and result in no guilt.

ron chappel
29th of June 2004 (Tue), 20:14
Rap music is allways misspronounced too
somewhere along the line they dropped the ' C' :lol: :lol: :lol:

topeju
29th of June 2004 (Tue), 23:40
Wow, that wife factor must be quite an issue for you, if you have to prepare statistics, presentations and justifications just to buy a lens.

Well, no, not really. When I got the 10D she was somewhat alarmed because she didn't have enough time to adapt to the purchase - I just kind of dropped it on her that I'd just ordered a 10D, but she's now come to fully support that purchase. :D

The statistics etc were really for my own benefit (helping me to choose the lens), I just showed them to her too and described my own thought process for the choice. She can often provide good counterpoints to me, forcing me to think things through and not jump for the first option I see. In this case, she agreed with my choice (which may or may not have benefited from the apparent budget cut from around 1800 to 800 euros for choosing the 17-40 instead of the 16-35 :lol: ), so there were no problems. I might get some objections if I suddenly do choose to buy more L glass though... :-)

Overall, I think she was just mostly entertained by my detailed statistics and my presentation of them, both being quite typical of me - I tend to do pretty thorough pre-studies (and then jump to conclusions) which she finds amusing.

Patrick 10D
30th of June 2004 (Wed), 01:38
I hope the lens is delivered soon - in a week and a half I will be at a convention, and expect the lens to be very handy there. I don't think it'll get here that fast though, but one can always wish...

Congrats on the purchase! That was the first lens that I ever bought and it has been great.

If yours does not arrive in time, send me PM and you may borrow mine for your convention! :D

topeju
6th of July 2004 (Tue), 02:54
The lens ("finally" - it was a long wait although much shorter than I expected, the lens was delivered less than a week after I ordered it) arrived yesterday. I only had the chance to take it out for a very quick test drive in the evening at the river next to our apartment, so I don't have any good sample photos ready. Nevertheless, here are a couple of rather boring photos:

http://topeju.badzilla.net/photo/halinen1.jpg
17 mm, f/5.6, 1/60 s, ISO 100 (should have used a higher ISO speed to get a smaller aperture).

http://topeju.badzilla.net/photo/halinen2.jpg
17 mm, f/16, 1/15 s, ISO 100.

I really should have taken my tripod along - I'm not too good at handholding and using a tripod would also have slowed me down a bit, which tends to help me think a little.

In any case, our rather cramped apartment now looks a whole lot bigger. :lol: