Lens Choice

With my upcoming purchase of a 40D....I have been doing research on glass for it. I was interested in the IS kit lens that came with it, but have heard others talking about glass that might do me better, so maybe the body only is the way to go.

I like the 17-40 F/4 L...The price is good plus its a good walk around lens. It appears to be sharp. What I liked about the 28-135 IS is the reach it provides. I know they have the 24-105 F/4 and the 24-70 F2/8 Ls but they are a bit more. Should I get the kit lens and then upgrade to the 24-70 over the 17-40. I should also mention that I am going to get a 70-200mm F2.8 around the 1st of April.

Let's talk wide / normal zooms.

In general people find 28-XX zooms very handy on FF cameras. They generally like 24-XX zooms even better.

On your camera, 17mm gives the same FOV as 27mm does on FF. This is why there are so many Canon and 3rd party small sensor only zooms that run from 17/18 - XX mm.

Many people find that using wide/normal zoom lenses designed for film / FF (24/28 - XX) leaves them wanting a wide range quite a bit. These people then find they need another wider lens to compliment their 24/28-XX zoom.

If you are inexperienced something like the Canon EF-S 18-55 IS might be a good starting place. This covers a very traditional focal length range given the small format sensor and will pair well with the planned telephoto zoom.

Other possibles in the same range (prices vary from affordable to not so much)

Tamron 17-50
Sigma 18-50
Sigma 17-70
Canon EF-S 17-55
Canon EF-S 17-85

The best lens pairing as a starter for the 40D is the 17-55 f/2.8 IS. It gives you a fast, sharp lens with IS and it's a great length as a walk around lens.

Many of the 40D's are now being supplied with the kit lens of 17-85 IS USM.

In order of my preference, based on your budget, and how much you care about image quality
canon 17-55 IS. The king
Tamron 17-50, sigma 18-50 2.8
Canon 18-55 IS
Canon 17-85 IS, Sigma 17-70, sigma 18-200 OS.