best performance for landscapes : 28mm f1.8 or 17-40mm f4

[macgregor]

Yep, very different lenses but I´m wondering what´s the performance of one vs the other at the same given focal and aperture. The 17-40 seems exceptional and it´s also L glass, but a fast prime lense stepped down might also resolve a lot, and it´s always better to travel light.





Any inputs?

[Daniel Browning]

Here is an f/11 ISO chart comparison:


28mm f/1.8 at f/11 vs. 17-40 at 28mm f/11


As you can see, the 17-40 is sharper and has less chromatic aberration. I think the L zoom has a little less flare and distortion, too.


At f/4 it's a different story:


28mm f/1.8 at f/4 vs 17-40 at 28mm f/4


Here, the prime is noticeably sharper.


Since most people like to stop down for deep DOF in landscapes, I'd say that the 17-40 has the edge in image quality. (In fact, it's better in just about everything except price, weight, and wide apertures.)

[macgregor]

Yes I saw that ISO chart, but I´m not that sure that the zoom is better than the prime. Both have soft issues in the corners.


About price they are not that far away from each other anyway to represent a choosing factor.


Maybe i should just go with the 24mm f1.4 ...

[piiooo]

A few years back, I was looking for a 50mm full frame equivalent prime lens for my Rebel, and foundthe 28 f1.8somewhat disappointing due to softness andexcessive flaring.I wound up buying aSigma 30mm 1.4. The copy was decent and I have been happy with it. In my (limited) experience,in thenear 30mm prime category, the Sigma isthesecond best choice after the 351.4L. The downsides are: copy variation and usability limited to an APSC sensors.


Now between the 28 and the 17-40 for landscapes, I would choose the latter without hesitation.TheIQ is the best in the price category. The flexibility of zoom is veryhandy when it comes to landscapes. I amone happyowner of the 17-40 L.


Hope this helps.


Pete

[neuroanatomist]

It might be better to 'travel light' with the prime, if you're certain that everywhere you go, 28mm will give you sufficiently wide framing. There's a major difference in the angle of view between 28mm and 17mm. Many times, 28mm would not be wide enough for me.