Help Selecting a Lens or Two

Hello all. Used to frequent these parts fairly often, but life and my primary career have kept me away for some time. Glad to see the community is still healthy and growing.

I have a question about selecting a lens. I have a Canon 60D that I love and it still fits my needs well. I mainly shoot family events, birthdays, travel images, landscape, wildlife (amateur), and the occasional informal wedding for family members who can't afford or don't want to hire an actual pro. I am looking at increasing the quality of my lens selection in an effort to increase image quality.

That being said, I am finding my lens selection lacking. I currently have many lenses, including a Sigma 10-20, Canon primes (28 f/1.8, 50 f/1.4, 85 f/1.8), and a Canon 55-250. I love the super wide and the primes. I am not crazy about the tele zoom focusing speed or image quality. I also desire to cover the 28-85 range, possibly slightly wider, with a zoom lens while maintaining a reasonble level of image quality. I find that switching out the primes is difficult during family events, especially with the small kids. I also like the low light capability and narrow field of view option of the primes. Is there a lens that you guys can recommend that covers that 18-85ish range, has a reasonably fast aperture, and has decent image quality? I am not looking for L-series quality per se, just something reasonably close to the quality I get from my primes.

I am looking at the 15-85 for general shooting. I know it is slower, but how is image quality compared to the primes? Other suggestions? I am going to double check the lens reviews for images using the 15-85. For my kids' eventual sports (they are young now), and for my limited wildlife needs, I am considering the EF 100-400mm F4.5-5.6L IS II USM.

Thoughts? Thank you in advance.

After some further research, I think those two lenses suit my needs adequately. Time to save the dough.

Feel free to add your thoughts for anyone else that may come across this looking for similar info.

I used the 15-85 as my general purpose lens on the 60D for 3+ years. Good range, fast USM autofocus, and above average IQ. The slow aperture did not bother me. I have some fast primes (28 1.8, 35IS, 50 1.4, 85 1.8) for whenever I need them.

I considered the 17-55 f/2.8 IS. It seemed like too much of a compromise to me. It offers neither aperture, nor range. Lots of folks prefer it to the 15-85. Depends on what you need.

I had a 15-85 for a few years, until I sold it when moved to full frame. It was a great lens, particularly good for travel with its wide range of focal length. There is a big difference between 15mm and 18mm at the wide end. Until I got it, I had to carry an ultrawide with me.

The 100-400 Mark II is one of the best Canon lenses. If you can afford it, get it.

Lbsimon wrote in post #17726356
I had a 15-85 for a few years, until I sold it when moved to full frame. It was a great lens, particularly good for travel with its wide range of focal length. There is a big difference between 15mm and 18mm at the wide end. Until I got it, I had to carry an ultrawide with me.

The 100-400 Mark II is one of the best Canon lenses. If you can afford it, get it.

Same here with the 15-85. My 10-22 got left on the shelf, mostly, after I got the 15-85.

You might consider that 18-135 STM, I given your requirements you'll likely end up back at the 15-85, but it's worth considering. I have found the extra reach useful, but my shooting style is not your shooting style.