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| Canon EF-S 18-55mm vs 17-85mm vs 17-55mm vs EF 17-40mm outdoor scene with Canon 400D / XTi | ||
To compare real-life performance we shot the
same scene with the Canon EF-S 18-55mm, EF-S 17-85mm, EF-S 17-55mm and EF 17-40mm lenses, all set to a focal length of 25mm and an aperture of f8. Each lens was mounted on a Canon EOS 400D / XTi set to 100 ISO and using its best quality JPEG settings. All images were taken within moments of each other.
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Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 Using Canon 400D / XTi |
Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 Using Canon 400D / XTi |
Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 Using Canon 400D / XTi |
Canon EF 17-40mm f/4 Using Canon 400D / XTi |
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1/250, f8, 100 ISO |
1/250, f8, 100 ISO |
1/250, f8, 100 ISO |
1/250, f8, 100 ISO |
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1/250, f8, 100 ISO |
1/250, f8, 100 ISO |
1/250, f8, 100 ISO |
1/250, f8, 100 ISO |
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1/250, f8, 100 ISO |
1/250, f8, 100 ISO |
1/250, f8, 100 ISO |
1/250, f8, 100 ISO |
| At first glance the crops from all four lenses appear quite similar, but look a little closer and some differences emerge. In the first row of crops taken from the upper left corner of the image, the EF-S 17-55mm is noticeably softer in the corners than the others. This is only apparent in the extreme corners though and this lens delivers very sharp results once you move in a little. Interestingly when you look at the third row of crops, taken from the bottom right corner, it's the EF-S 17-85mm which is softer than the others, although again the EF-S 17-55mm isn't far behind. The EF-S 17-85mm also exhibits greater coloured fringing in other areas of the image not shown here. The middle row of crops, taken from the centre of the image all show similar levels of detail, although the EF-S 17-55mm and EF 17-40mm appear to have slightly higher contrast. The EF 17-40mm certainly performs well here in all three rows, and we'd say it fractionally has the edge overall, but it's not the significant difference you may have been expecting for a lens that's corrected for a full frame body. It's also good to see a sample of the EF-S 18-55mm kit lens performing respectably here. Finally, remember this is a test performed with each lens focused to infinity with the apertures closed to f8. To see how the lenses perform under other conditions and in other respects, check out our other results pages listed below. |
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