What to get for 40D. 17-55 or 24-105.

Santa has delivered this year again.
I will be getting one of the two lenses listed above.
I know this has been discussed before, but hey it doesn't hurt to ask and look for advice from all of you.
For my 40D both of these lenses are an upgrade from my list below.
17-55 IS f/2.8, great for low light, sightly wider for cropped camera.

24-105 L IS f/4. Longer focal length, L build.
Part of a 5D bundle that customer did not want. I can get this under a grand with hood and soft case included. Less money than the 17-55.

Thanks again and Merry Christmas to all.

I'm fairly sure everybody here will send you in the direction of the EF-S 17-55 f/2.8 IS. It's faster and wider. You have other lenses to cover the long focal length and 24 really isn't that wide an aov on a 1.6 crop such as the 40D. 17mm is vastly wider, not just slightly wider

I'd go for the 17-55 unless you're planning on buying a 5D in a couple of weeks or something. 24-105 is a great lens, but the 17-55 is just more appropriate out of the two.

I find that 24 is a bit short for the crop body. I use the 17-55 2.8 IS and use it in preference over the 24-70L As I want the 2.8, I have not tried the 24-105 but it is the same focal length at 24. I much prefer the 17 and since I have 100 mm lens and 100-400L I do not miss the length on the upper end. Indoors the 24 is just toooo long for me. I also have thhe 28-135 much too long on the wide end but is nice at the 135 end, however not the same quallity level of either of the other lenses. I find the optics of the 17-55 regarding picture quality, to be as good if not better than any of my L lenses. Fortunately, I have not had any problem, of any kind with my 17-55.

The 24-105 fills most of my needs. When I really need wider, 17mm is not enough and I use the 12-24. If I really need faster, f2.8 is not enough and I use primes.

17-55. Best walkaround lens for a crop camera, period.

17-55 f/2.8 for a crop camera and either the 24-70 or 24-105 for a full frame camera.

But as you asked which lens for the 40D, my recommendation is the 17-55.

17-55. None of that nasty "but think of when you 'upgrade' to full frame" nonsense.

I'm considering buying one of these lenses too..What is the lowest price from a reputable dealer?

For a 17-55mm f/2.8: Amazon at $850 - $70 rebate = $780
For a 24-105mm f/4 : Amazon at $963

Can anyone find any better deals?

I was weighing this up when i got my 40d and went for the 17-55, couldn't be happier with it

I got the 17-55, and I had the same question as you. After reading and reading, the 17-55 won out. Never regretted it. If it were a full frame, the 25-105 would have been my choice.

aeroblade wrote in post #6944542
I'm considering buying one of these lenses too..What is the lowest price from a reputable dealer?

For a 17-55mm f/2.8: Amazon at $850 - $70 rebate = $780
For a 24-105mm f/4 : Amazon at $963

Can anyone find any better deals?

The 17-55 for $780 is a great price

OP,

In your gear you currently own what lens do you use the most?? Do you tend to use the long end vs wide end?

If you need 17-24 I'd imagine you can always swap the lens to what you already have (17-85IS). For group shots or if you need anything in the 17-24mm range you'd be stopping down the lens alot for a landscape/large group shot photo.

I vote 24-105L. 17-55IS is faster but short for a versatile walk around if you want the long. Even with a crop camera 24mm is quite wide and the 105mm is very handy.

If you tend to shoot with you 430EX the f/4 zoom will not be an issue in most indoor photos. The long end it will give you great bokeh even at f/4.

If I had to do alot of no flash photos a f/2.8 zoom even with IS will NOT be a go to lens. This is when theres a calling for your fast primes.

With my Sigma 18-50EX I get excellent keeper rates and its significantly cheaper than the 17-55IS. Not in the exact same league as the 17-55IS but I'd prefer a 24-105L for more versatility (I use my 24-70L compared to my 18-50EX). I do not miss the 17-24mm range when I have the 24-70L on the camera. I wish I had the 24-105L aswell for a great all round versatile lens.

+1 for 17-55IS. On crop boby, simply no comparison. I currently have both because I got 5D kit. Even when comparing 5D+24-105L vs 30D+17-55IS, the later still get some edges over the first. But I still cannot convince myself to sell my crop stuff because of this lens.

it seems like you could almost stretch both if you get rid of all the overlapping lenses that you have right now...if you go for the 17-55 2.8 no need for the 17-85IS, or 18-55IS...so you sell those, and free up close to 500...then sell the 28-135IS, and have close to 750 or so...and you're almost at the price of the 24-105IS...and if you really needed you could get rid of the 70-300, although i could see you wanting to keep that when you want a nice walkaround lightweight zoom...

just a suggestion as it seems like you have a lot of overlap in your lenses currently...

Dre.
Thank you.
We think alike. I do have a lot of overlap.
Time to deplete the inventory for a good price.