Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM Lens

The Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM Lens is a great great lens. That's it. You can stop reading now if you want.

It's the lightest L series lens that Canon produce and with its high quality glass it produces super sharp images and the silent focussing is near instant thanks to the ultrasonic motor. The lens elements are enclosed in weather sealed body coupled with a beautiful smoothness of touch to the zoom and focus rings.

I guess the other stand out features is the price. It's nearly half the price of 16-35mm f2.8 and I have to be honest having used both I didn't miss the extra 2 f stops. Unless you are shooting in extremely low lighting conditions this is the lens to go for. As for distortion and chromatic abberation you will be hard to pushed to find any (particularly if you are on a x1.3 or x1.6 sensor).

If there is something that is missing it is a macro label on the side of the lens body. With a minimum focussing distance of only 28mm you can actually get some really great close-ups.

So there you have have it. It's got a great focal range, is built like a tank, is sharp as a needle and weighs almost nothing. In short, every camera housing should have one.