My first shots with 400D and 17-40.

The 17-40 is a great lens and f/8 would give plenty of DOF at the distances you're shooting. Take a look at these. They were all shot in RAW, Av mode at f/8, and under exposed about 2/3rds to get the sky color. The only PP was with levels & shadows to bring the foreground back up, and some sharpening.

Make sure you put the hood on and keep trying!

Nice but soft, like the other said, some PP will do wonders. I had a 17-40 for a day and returned it because I felt most pictures were coming out on the softside. Might be the lens.

First off - great job on saving the lens and sacrificing the body.

nice shots -
#1 lens flare
#2 love the shadow contrast between the sides
#3 seems a bit dark
#4 bad angle - need to straighten the building - right now it looks ready to fall over.

Need to number pictures - makes for easier C&C