$700 to spend: what to buy?

I'm gonna be getting a 40D body soon, and I have $700 to spend on whatever glass I want for it. Right now all I got is the nifty fifty, so I definitely need to expand a bit.

Wide Angle? Mid-Range Zoom? Telephoto? Aperture requirements? Brand specific?

You're leaving out a lot of critical information here.

Tamron 17-50 or sigma 30 as a good walk around lens. Or the 18-55 is kit lens and add something else like the 55-250. Depends on what you like to shoot.

Jeff81 wrote in post #7992917
Tamron 17-50 or sigma 30 as a good walk around lens. Or the 18-55 is kit lens and add something else like the 55-250. Depends on what you like to shoot.

I was going to suggest similar, go either Tamron 17-50mm 2.8 + Canon 55-250mm IS OR pick up a Tamron 17-50mm 2.8 & a flash

I don't know if yet possible, but 17-55mm.. Get $100 more and it will be easy to find, for one of the best lenses on the market! If you can't get more money, Tamron 17-50mm + a flash.

A few ways to go...

FIRST:
If you lean toward the wide angle ranges; combine a 12-24mm Tokina f/4 ATX (Adorama has the original version on sale for $399 with free shipping) with the neat 28-75mm f/2.8 Tamron (around $350 or so). This combination will provide an equivalent 19mm to 120mm range with excellent image quality and with f/2.8 aperture in the 45mm to 120mm equivalent range. I'll admit that it is a smidgen over your budget.

SECOND:
For more general shooting; combine the 17-50mm f/2.8 Tamron with a longer lens. The Canon 55-250mm IS would be well within your budget while the Canon 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS lens would be just over your budget. This would give you an approximate 27mm to 400mm or 480mm depending which long lens that you chose. I use 17-55mm f/2.8 IS and a 70-200mm f/4L IS lenses as my go-to combination for general and travel photography and I love the focal range of these lenses. Either of the first two suggested combinations would pretty well mirror my focal lengths.

THIRD:
A third possibility would be the 17-50mm Tamron f/2.8 lens and a Canon 430 flash along with a diffuser/reflector (such as the Joe Demb - Flash Diffuser Pro

http://www.dembflashpr​oducts.com/diffuser/mo​dels/

Along with a camera flip bracket

http://cgi.ebay.com …%3A0%7C293%3A1%​7C294%3A50

Canon off-camera sync cord (this one is a Chinese knock-off model)

http://cgi.ebay.com …%3A1%7C293%3A1%​7C294%3A50

This setup should be well within your budget and start you towards professional style shooting.

JoeyinVT wrote in post #7992830
I'm gonna be getting a 40D body soon, and I have $700 to spend on whatever glass I want for it. Right now all I got is the nifty fifty, so I definitely need to expand a bit.

I'd put the money in the bank and when it doubles, get a 70-200 f2.8 L series.