Looking for a New Lens, Need advice

I'm looking to get a new Lens but i cannot decide. I want a Wide Angle, But not to Wide and not too close to my 50mm 1.4, Meaning 28mm is kinda close and anything under 17mm is too Wide for my taste. I have been looking at the 17-40mm and 20mm f/2.8 but i hear the 20mm isn't that great and lacks: Contrast & Sharpness. So for almost $500, Is it really worth it? So my option right now is the 17-40mm. I was also recommended the 24-105mm which is a good walk around lens which is something i also need, But is that really worth it? Especially now since the price went from $890 to $1,000. My Budget is roughly $800.

This is slightly out of your budget, but the 17-55 f2.8 is a great lens. Unless I am doing sporting events from a distance or some nature shooting, it never leaves my 7D.
I have also heard that the 15-85 is good for a walk around lens. Don't have one so I can not say for sure.

you've got the 18-55 - what do you not like about it? i liked the 10-22, that'd one is pretty far from the 50mm, has great IQ but might be too wide for you.

the 18-55 is quite usable if you stop it down a bit. What do you want to take pictures of?

I have to put in a plug for the EF-s 15-85. Excellent piece of glass. It is THE reason I am not buying a 24-105 for my new 5Dc. I'll shoot primes with the 5Dc until I can afford the 24-70 II.

This kind of contradicts what you stated, but 28mm is hugely different than 50mm. You may want to consider the 24mm and 28mm f/2.8 lenses. I mean the old non-IS ones. They are inexpensive and quite good. I had the 24 2.8 and sold it because it was soft wide open. My 28 2.8 is much better at 2.8. Both are excellent at f/4 and smaller.

EDIT: My first paragraph seems to read that I am using a 15-85 on my 5Dc. Not true, obviously. I only mean to say that, for me, the 60D/15-85 combo is equivalent to the 5Dc/24-105 combo. I don't want to spend $1000 to repeat what I can already do.

DJHaze596 wrote in post #15330152
I'm looking to get a new Lens but i cannot decide. I want a Wide Angle, But not to Wide and not too close to my 50mm 1.4, Meaning 28mm is kinda close and anything under 17mm is too Wide for my taste. I have been looking at the 17-40mm and 20mm f/2.8 but i hear the 20mm isn't that great and lacks: Contrast & Sharpness. So for almost $500, Is it really worth it? So my option right now is the 17-40mm. I was also recommended the 24-105mm which is a good walk around lens which is something i also need, But is that really worth it? Especially now since the price went from $890 to $1,000. My Budget is roughly $800.

I shoot with the 17-40L mostly because I like my 5D3 that much and I like that focal range, however, I wouldn't suggest it to anybody shooting with a crop camera.

For whatever reason, Canon won't make any EF-S lens an "L" lens, which I sorta get for marketing purposes, but sometimes I think it makes people shy away from buying any EF-S lenses. The 10-22mm and 17-55mm are two great examples of EF-S lenses that have "L" image quality.

I would buy a lens that is optimized for your camera and forget about the L hype. If you aren't happy with your 18-55 kit lens, and you have the money, then get the 17-55mm f/2.8. I've never heard a single bad thing about that lens. Buy right, buy once.

SinaiTSi wrote in post #15333127
Buy right, buy once.

This is the best advice you'll ever get. I have bought and sold a flock of lenses because I didn't get what I wanted the first time. I managed to talk myself into something cheaper, then sold it to get what I really wanted. That is the wrong way to do it. Get the best glass you can afford, that does what you want done.