Quote Originally Posted by HDNitehawk
if I could only have one I would pick a Canon's top prime in that lens range over a Zoom of any other range

Well, I am prime fan, too, but if it comes down to the 70-200/4 IS I'd say it is so sharp that it meets the quality of a good prime. Only my EF 100/2.8 IS beats it in terms of sharpness in that range of focal lengths - but that's a macro and certainly one of Canons sharpest lenses.