photo sharing and upload picture albums photo forums search pictures popular photos photography help login
Tim Swensen | profile | all galleries >> 1.6x Crop Sensor Walk-Around Lens Comparison tree view | thumbnails | slideshow

1.6x Crop Sensor Walk-Around Lens Comparison

Comparing the performance of various lenses compatible with Canon's 1.6x cropped-sensor DSLRs.
All shots taken in RAW and converted to JPG using Canon DPP with default settings for
"Standard" picture style: 0 for contrast and saturation, 3 for sharpness. Canon 30D, on tripod.
Note that the 17-55IS had the IS switched off and had a Hoya Super HMC Pro 1 UV filter on it.
All other lenses had no filter.

The kit lens and 16-35L MkI photos were shot three weeks later than the others, with a
much lower tide, hence the framing is not quite the same as in the others photos.

Images are best viewed in "original" size. For proper downsizing, copy the image to your computer
and view with Canon ZoomBrowser or some other tool that downsizes with proper sharpening.
17-55IS_17mm_f2p8
17-55IS_17mm_f2p8		 17-55IS_23mm_f2p8
17-55IS_23mm_f2p8		 17-55IS_55mm_f2p8
17-55IS_55mm_f2p8
17-55IS_17mm_f4p0
17-55IS_17mm_f4p0		 17-55IS_23mm_f4p0
17-55IS_23mm_f4p0		 17-55IS_55mm_f4p0
17-55IS_55mm_f4p0
17-50_17mm_f2p8
17-50_17mm_f2p8		 17-50_24mm_f2p8
17-50_24mm_f2p8		 17-50_50mm_f2p8
17-50_50mm_f2p8
17-50_17mm_f4p0
17-50_17mm_f4p0		 17-50_24mm_f4p0
17-50_24mm_f4p0		 17-50_50mm_f4p0
17-50_50mm_f4p0
17-40L_17mm_f4p0
17-40L_17mm_f4p0		 17-40L_24mm_f4p0
17-40L_24mm_f4p0		 17-40L_40mm_f4p0
17-40L_40mm_f4p0
17-40L_17mm_f5p6
17-40L_17mm_f5p6		 17-40L_24mm_f5p6
17-40L_24mm_f5p6		 17-40L_40mm_f5p6
17-40L_40mm_f5p6
16-35L1_16mm_f2p8
16-35L1_16mm_f2p8		 16-35L1_23mm_f2p8
16-35L1_23mm_f2p8		 16-35L1_35mm_f2p8
16-35L1_35mm_f2p8
16-35L1_16mm_f4p0
16-35L1_16mm_f4p0		 16-35L1_23mm_f4p0
16-35L1_23mm_f4p0		 16-35L1_35mm_f4p0
16-35L1_35mm_f4p0
16-35L1_16mm_f5p6
16-35L1_16mm_f5p6		 16-35L1_23mm_f5p6
16-35L1_23mm_f5p6		 16-35L1_35mm_f5p6
16-35L1_35mm_f5p6
1855kit_18mm_f5p6
1855kit_18mm_f5p6		 1855kit_25mm_f5p6
1855kit_25mm_f5p6		 1855kit_37mm_f5p6
1855kit_37mm_f5p6
1855kit_55mm_f5p6
1855kit_55mm_f5p6

post a comment
Guest 23-Sep-2008 09:02
Completely agree that 17-55 is the best in this competition!
Guest 10-Jul-2008 22:04
Looking at the original size images the 17-55 blows everything else away in sharpness and find the color of the photos to be the most realistic. My eyes must see things differently?
Ericson Calderon 10-Jul-2008 08:48
Looks like the 17-40 has the best IQ to me. It definitely has the best color rendition.
Tim Swensen 05-Jul-2008 07:28
24-70L photos removed.
Tim Swensen 15-Feb-2008 06:00
Added 24-70L photos for comparison.
Tim Swensen 11-Feb-2008 06:15
Thanks for posting your ranking. The 16-35L images were shot on a later date, so
that may have some effect on the color balance. Overall, the 16-35L does perform
quite well.
Regards, Tim.
Guest 10-Feb-2008 19:57
I looked at the 17mm f/4 and 23mm f/4 comparisons. Here's how I like them:
1. 16-35
2. 17-40
3. 17-55
4. 17-50

The Canon 17-55 IS shots look OK on their own, but the color temperature is much too cool (blue) when compared to the others. The Tamron 17-50 pictures are just yellow and trashy looking. I've seen other samples from both of these lenses that have left me with a better impression.
Tim Swensen 07-Feb-2008 08:33
Yeah, Tom, you could certainly make a case for that. I tend to prefer the look of
the 17-40L, but they are very close, and the 16-35 seems more even across the
frame. My overall preference is still the 17-55, neglecting its vignetting wide open.
Tom Kelley 06-Feb-2008 19:37
Not a pro by any means, but to me it seems like the 16-35 has the best IQ out of all these. Anyone else agree?
Type your message and click Add Comment
It is best to login or register first but you may post as a guest.
Enter an optional name and contact email address. Name
Name Email
help private comment
click on thumbnails for full image