What you recommend for a good general purpose lens when I don't want to carry a backpack full of lenses around?
I want something in the Canon "L" series that I can take with me on vacations and such.
I have the following other lenses: EFS 18-55mm IS Kit Lens 50mm f/1.4 (my favorite lens now) 70-300mm Canon IS (great boat lens) 100-400mm L Series Tokina 11X18 Wide Angle
I am looking at this Sigma 18-200 F3.5-6.3 for my Nikon right now.. I have used one on my Bro in law's D200. It covers a pretty good bit of ground. Not too pricey. http://www.adorama.com/SG18200EOS.html
I have the 24-70 and it's a very sharp copy that always puts a smile on my face. Never used the 24-105 but the larger range would be nice but you lose the F2.8 for F4.
I had a 17-40 and hardly ever used it. Edge sharpness wasn't to good and wasn't as sharp as my other lenses.
My vote is for the 24-105L as well. Nice weight /balance on a 5D or 1 series, quite a bit lighter then the 24-70. Plus there is something about that 24-70 zooming backwards that I could never get used to.
On a 1.6X sensor the 17-40 is very nice.
17-50 f2.8 efs if you have an efs body.
Sigma 18-200 is relatively sharp but AF's like a dog on Canon bodies.