Which lens to buy.....

[Stan_Lite]

Now that I'm kinda getting into this photography malarkey, I'm willing to spend a few quid on lenses.

Camera is a Canon EOS 40D.

At the moment, I have the 18-55mm kit lens (non IS) and a Sigma 55-200mm.

I'm looking to upgrade to some better lenses and one that I'm fairly set on is the CANON EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM. This looks to me like a very good, all-purpose lens which will give decent results in many applications. I'm pretty much certainly going to buy this lens - unless someone gives me a damn good reason not to.

I'm in a bit of a quandary about a longer lens though. I found an ebay seller who has the above lens for £289.95 (Warehouse Express price is £413.89). They also have the lens I'd pretty much decided on which is the CANON EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM. Most of the reviews I have read about this lens say it is an excellent lens and very good value for money. The seller has it at £355 (Warehouse Express price is £424.99).

Unfortunately, while I was looking at the stuff this seller stocks, I noticed they also had the CANON EF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM for £775 (Warehouse Express price is £964.99).

If I buy the 70-300, I can afford a decent tripod and a 430EX flash unit. If I buy the L glass, I can't.

From what I've read, the 70-200mm F4L is as excellent as you would expect from L glass but the 70-300mm is almost as good, using a UD lens element as used in the L range.

My quandary is, from what I've read, the image quality on the 70-300mm isn't far off that of the 70-200mm. The only differences I can see are the superior build quality of the L glass and the fact that it's good at F4 all the way through the range. The question is, is this worth £420 more AND 100mm less at the top end?

Personally, I'm inclined to think not and, as much as I would like to own a piece of L glass, I'm not sure, in this instance, the extra cost is worth it

I would really appreciate some input from anyone who has experience of these lenses.

I have a couple of weeks to make up my mind. I get off the rig 2 weeks on Wednesday and get home on the Thursday. I have two days at home before I go on holiday so I want to organise delivery for the Friday so I have them for my holiday.