Can the canon 17-40mm wide angle L lens be used on a crop sensor body of 550D? Some people recommend against it.
L lens on crop sensor body
- Thread starter Azhar Aziz
- Start date
why not. Unless you need the ultra wide and don't intend to switch to ff then get the 10 - 22 or tokina 11 - 16 or other alternatives.
1. Yes, it can work on the Canon 550D.
2. I usually do not recommend the lens because it is optically inferior, and in my opinion, unbefitting of its "L lens" status. I'd be happier with a Tamron or Sigma 17-50mm, the latter providing you with OS. The Canon 17-55mm f/2.8L IS is another strong contender.
Azhar Aziz, the reason why people don't recommend it is because of the crop factor.
So if you were to get 17-40, on your 550D it will became 27 - 64.
Get the EF-S 10-22 if you wanna use on your crop body, EF-S 10-22 is also a good wide angle lens which you can consider.
So if you were to get 17-40, on your 550D it will became 27 - 64.
Get the EF-S 10-22 if you wanna use on your crop body, EF-S 10-22 is also a good wide angle lens which you can consider.
Ask these people why they recommend against it. Either you will learn something about lenses and camera, or you will learn something about these 'some people' :bsmilie:
Totally agree :thumbsup:
I have tried the tamron 17-50mm non-vc, and it's a superb lens for its price.
If you need something wider, you can consider the tokina 11-16mm. I sold the canon 17-40L for the tokina 11-16, mainly for the f2.8 aperture and the better IQ
There are other cheaper and good options over the 17-40L on aps-c.
The lens provides a good range of focal lengths at a pretty fast f4 on FF. (UWA to a wide 'normal')
17mm is already very wide on FF. (need about a 11mm lens on aps-c)
But on aps-c, this is wasted due to the crop factor and its fov coverage becomes close to that of a kit 18-55 kit lens.
As mentioned by others, there are cheaper/faster options like Sigma/Tamron 18-50/17-50 f2.8 for aps-c.
For wider angles, you'd need to use a UWA like a 10-20, 8-16 or 12-24 too. (totally unlike the versatility of the 17-40 on FF )
So its not that its no good on aps-c, but that there are other options.
If you don't mind getting one and maybe will get a FF camera in the future, then its up for consideration too.
The lens provides a good range of focal lengths at a pretty fast f4 on FF. (UWA to a wide 'normal')
17mm is already very wide on FF. (need about a 11mm lens on aps-c)
But on aps-c, this is wasted due to the crop factor and its fov coverage becomes close to that of a kit 18-55 kit lens.
As mentioned by others, there are cheaper/faster options like Sigma/Tamron 18-50/17-50 f2.8 for aps-c.
For wider angles, you'd need to use a UWA like a 10-20, 8-16 or 12-24 too. (totally unlike the versatility of the 17-40 on FF )
So its not that its no good on aps-c, but that there are other options.
If you don't mind getting one and maybe will get a FF camera in the future, then its up for consideration too.
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Perhaps those mysterious 'people' were recommending against buying a FF lens for a crop-sensor body i.e. wasting money on coverage for a FF sensor that you're not using.
No reason you can't use it, but as many others have pointed out, there are more cost-effective options.
No reason you can't use it, but as many others have pointed out, there are more cost-effective options.
Thanks guys for the advice given. Learnt something there. Appreciate it very much.
Technically all EF and EF-S mount lenses (it can be from native company like Canon itself or third party manufacturer like Tokina, Sigma and Tamron) can be mounted onto a Canon DSLR (be it cropped sensor or FF). So there really is nothing wrong to put L lens to crop sensor camera like the 550D.
Reason for not recommending the 17-40mm might be as what everyone had mentioned or simply someone out there find that it is not worth to spend so much on a lens that was designed for full frame camera to be attached to a crop sensor camera when actually there are extremely good lenses that are designed specifically for crop sensor camera like the famed Canon 17-55mm, Tamron 17-50mm (both VC and non-VC), Sigma 17-50mm OS and soon Sigma 18-35mm f1.8.
Reason for not recommending the 17-40mm might be as what everyone had mentioned or simply someone out there find that it is not worth to spend so much on a lens that was designed for full frame camera to be attached to a crop sensor camera when actually there are extremely good lenses that are designed specifically for crop sensor camera like the famed Canon 17-55mm, Tamron 17-50mm (both VC and non-VC), Sigma 17-50mm OS and soon Sigma 18-35mm f1.8.
This video maybe slightly out of topic but show when L lenses ok for crop bodies
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hk5IMmEDWH4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hk5IMmEDWH4
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You can use it, but you won't be able to tap into the entire potential.
It will not be as sharp as mounting it on a full frame.
Like others stated, for the same price you can get a lens that's made for crops. They will be cheaper, sharper, and probably better.
It will not be as sharp as mounting it on a full frame.
Like others stated, for the same price you can get a lens that's made for crops. They will be cheaper, sharper, and probably better.
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I'm not sure if I'm reading it as intended... Same lens mount of FF = sharper???
Maybe it's just because the lens sits closer to the sensor..? What is the difference between a lens on 50D and 5D? Correct, it's a lens ...
But then, what's the point of all this resolution talk? Does anybody lose money when using an EF lens on APS-C body? On the contrary, check the distortion results and vignetting of any L lens when mounted on crop body and you will see why it makes perfect sens to use a FF lens on a crop body.
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