What Should i Buy 17-40 lens Or the Kit Lens 24-105 ?

[Janabi79]

Hello Again , 

And after the successful support from the team here and advise , 

i am going to buy the Canon 6D this weekend .. 

i was thinking  based on my photography Style ( Architectural , CityScapes , Night Photography ) ( Attached sample of my works)

to buy the 6D body only + canon 17-40 F4 as affordable price for kind of wide angle , but the i got to know that this lens cam without image stabilizer , which really confused me and back to think again to buy the camera with its kit lens ( 24-105 ) as this comes with more range and image stabilizer , 

So the question , is image stablizer is a must ? which you advise to go with ?

thanks in advance for all who can advise in this decision .

Regards 

[ScottyP]

Hi,

I think you will really enjoy your 6d. Congratulations. 2 things about the lens:

1.). The nice night shot you took with the car headlights stretched out into light trails is the kind of shot people usually do with a tripod or with the camera resting on a solid surface, in order to get a long exposure time. You don't use image stabilization on a tripod. 

2.) That said, I do think the 24-105 would be a lot more useful lens than a 17-40. The focal length range is just a lot broader and more versatile and the image stabilization is handy. 

Remember that a 24mm lens is like a 15mm lens on your old crop camera due to the 1.6x focal length multiplier/field of view difference on a crop camera.  15 mm would be wider than the 18-55 or 18-135 lenses that most people use with a crop camera.  Unless you have a lens like a 10-20mm or a 10-22mm, the 24mm on a full frame 6d will actually be wider than what you have been using.  What lens did you use on your crop camera to make the night shot, and at what length did you have it zoomed?  

[Janabi79]

Dear Scotty , 

the image i took was in cropped sensor camera ( canon 7D ) Using Sigma 10-20 with below settings : 

10mm /ƒ11/ 13s/ ISO 100

So do you advise to go with the 17-40 ? 

[ScottyP · Accepted solution]

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@Janabi79 wrote:

Dear Scotty , 

the image i took was in cropped sensor camera ( canon 7D ) Using Sigma 10-20 with below settings : 

10mm /ƒ11/ 13s/ ISO 100

So do you advise to go with the 17-40 ? 

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Hi,

If you need the wider angles than what 24mm gives you I would strongly suggest spending just a little bit more to get the truly excellent newer sharper 16-35mm f/4 IS instead of the much less sharp old 17-40mm f/4.  The difference in image quality is significant.  And the 16-35 has IS. For $999.00 vs. $749.00 I think it would be the best $250.00 you could ever spend on equipment. 

Compare the image quality of both lenses side by side using the "tools" on The Digital Picture website. Be sure to look at both lenses at multiple focal lengths and pay special attention to the corners where the old 17-40 is soft and at the longer end of the focal range (35mm) where the sharpness is most notably weaker even in the center. 

[RobertTheFat]

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@ScottyP wrote:

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@Janabi79 wrote:

Dear Scotty , 

the image i took was in cropped sensor camera ( canon 7D ) Using Sigma 10-20 with below settings : 

10mm /ƒ11/ 13s/ ISO 100

So do you advise to go with the 17-40 ? 

---

Hi,

If you need the wider angles than what 24mm gives you I would strongly suggest spending just a little bit more to get the truly excellent newer sharper 16-35mm f/4 IS instead of the much less sharp old 17-40mm f/4.  The difference in image quality is significant.  And the 16-35 has IS. For $999.00 vs. $749.00 I think it would be the best $250.00 you could ever spend on equipment.  ...

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And as I pointed out in your earlier thread, you're already saving that much by choosing the 6D over the 5D3. 

[jrhoffman75]

If the majority of your photography with the crop camera was with the Sigma 10-20mm lens then the Canon 17-40 or 16-35 lens would be the equivalent on the 6D. Did you have another lens for the 7D?

[Janabi79]

@jrhoffman75

Yes i had the 18-135 as the kit lens came with 7D , however not all the time i used the zoom in it , Now i sold them all the 7D , Sigma 10-20 & Canon 18-135 to buy smthing sutable with the 6D .

[ebiggs1]

If you are buying only one lens get the ef 24-105mm f4L.  It will be more useful.  If you intend on extending your lens inventory, than either will work fine. But I would get the 24-105mil first, the 17-40 second.

IS, image stabilization, is a nice option to have.  It is not a mandatory option.

[Waddizzle]

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@Janabi79 wrote:

@jrhoffman75

Yes i had the 18-135 as the kit lens came with 7D , however not all the time i used the zoom in it , Now i sold them all the 7D , Sigma 10-20 & Canon 18-135 to buy smthing sutable with the 6D .

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If you're saying that you are down to no lenses and are looking to buy a 6D, then the EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM is a good start.  Just be aware that it is not wide enough to capture the image you posted.

To capture an image similar to what you posted, then you would need a wider lens.  The EF 17-40mm f/4L USM and EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM are good choices. 

Image Stabilization is not a "must have" on an ultra-wide angle lens, not unless you are very close to your subject.  As previously noted, when capturing shots from a tripod, you would typically turn off the Image Stabilization function, anyway.