moving to 17-40mm from 17-85, good move?

Currently I have a Canon 30D with a 17-85mm and a +4 diopter in an Ikelite housing, 6" dome port. I want to upgrade to a 7D (which I already have) and upgrade the lens. I don't want to use a diopter lens, so need to choose something that will focus to less than 12". I'm considering a Canon 17-40mm and a 6" dome.

I have Ikelite DS125 and DS160 strobes, so I should have plenty of light.

Next part, more of a comment, since I will now have the ability to shoot video, I plan on mounting my two L&M SOLA 2000 video lights to my strobes, will look a little funny but will give me both options, I'm giving up using a seperate video camera.

Is anybody else using the 17-40mm lens, and if so, any comments or suggestions? I would like the 16-35mm but I need to cut some costs.

Jim

I have that lens for land use, and don't really like it. Plus you will need a bigger dome than 6 inches. I think you will be much happier with the Tokina 10-17mm, and a 60mm macro. I use mine for video and stills with my 70D. There is no one lens that does it all, at least well.. I use the solas and strobes with a 3 way clamp. Kind of awkward, but it works.

Hal

I ended up going with the Canon 17-40 L lens. I purchased a 6" dome, and have been very happy with it. The reason I left the 17-85mm is that it had to use a +4 diopter, which eliminated any above water shots. The only negative thing with the 17-40 is I wish it was longer than 40mm, for small targets I have to do a lot of cropping. Now that I've used the 17-40 for a couple years, I'm going to try a Sigma 17-70mm, but it will require an 8" dome. The lens is on order and will order the dome soon.

Reviews say the 17-70 isn't a good wide angle nor a good macro, but I think it will give me a little more reach. I'm also thinking of a macro, 60mm or 100mm soon.

Jim

I received the brand new, latest version of the Sigma 17-70mm F2.8-4 DC Macro OS HSM lens. According to Ikelite's lens chooser, this lens will not work because the diameter of the barrel is too large, although there are work-arounds. The new lens has a barrel diameter of 2.825" and an extended length of 4.860". It works fine with their #0073 zoom sleeve kit. With an 8" dome, it will require an extension a little longer than what Ikelite recommended for the original 17-70mm. I believe their 8" kit 5511.5 will do the trick, just confirming with Ikelite.

Looks like I hijacked my own thread ...

Jim