Hi to everybody!


Well, I'm back from my trips and experiments. I have to say, the 17-55 is really a good good lens. When I saw the first image from my journey at 100% size on my PC, I just said "What the...". The picture was nothing special, just a road with streetlamps in full daylight, but the sharpness and detail were astonishing, from the asphalt texture to the tip of the streetlamps. After about 1800 photos, I can tell this lens is superb, at least if coupled with a 7D. Detail is, as said, really fine. Fast aperture allows for decent (not excellent) pictures in the worst light conditions (including campfire and candlelight - yes, I finally shot in candlelight). With a monopod, you can shoot sharp images using a cheap torchlight as main light. You can catch stars' circular movement (you see bright short stripes) and shooting stars with a 30 secs exposure and a tripod. The 7D and the 17-55 can see many more stars than your eye. Hair and eyes are very detaliled and shiny. Colours are lifelike and there's no chromatic aberration. Halation is easily obtainable if you want it and often adds to your picture. Background blur is really nice even when stopped down (not to f/16 or you'll see eptagons). You sometimes get one or two flare artifacts in really bright daylight. The 7D balances well with this lens. It's not easy to go unnoticed using the 7D and a Ø77mm lens. AF is very fast and accurate, and silent. Zoom range is fine for almost anything - cropping is a viable option with so sharp images. The 70-200 will do for distant subjects: the question is: which 70-200?