Hello. I'm very glad this site exists. So much information, so little time. When I buy my new lenses for my XT, I plan on doing my part by buying through this site.


Background - I upgraded from a high-end Nikon P&S to a Rebel XT in December 2007, after I outgrew it. I have the 18-55 kit lens and I bought a 70-300mm IS USM lens for roughly $500. It had a mishap and has been sold, so now I'm looking for lenses. Instead of just buying a zoom lens, I'm going the whole way and evaluating all of the lenses to see which ones will be long term investments as I would add more to my collection at a later date.


I believe my optimum solution will be 2 solid multi-use lenses in the $1000-$1500 range, and possibly some others that are cheaper to fill in any gaps. The fewer lens changes in the field, the better. I lean towards nature photography, especially birds, and find that I always feel that I don't have enough zoom. And I am a graphic designer as well, so when I do post-processing, I dislike the lack of clarity with consumer lenses. So I believe these 2 things are leaning me towards the L line of lenses. In theory, I'd love a long zoom prime lens and a 70-200mm L lens (probably the f/4 IS USM), but no way am I ready to pay several thousand dollars on a single lens (and I doubt I ever will be unless I suddenly find myself making a living off of this camera -- not likely).


I know that no one can make the decisions for me, but I was hoping for a bit of a sanity check from people who know more about this. I'm currently leaning towards the "Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM Lens" for its IS, clarity, and range, and the "Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM Lens" for its ultimate zoom (and those test images look spectacular at 400mm).


Another set I am considering is the "Canon EF 70-200mm f/4.0 L IS USM Lens" with a similarly good wide angle lens that offers f/2.8. The 24-105 and the 100-400 doesn't include a fast lens, and I tend to get a lot of blur and ask people to turn up the lights so I can take pictures inside. I don't think I'm ready yet to start experimenting with external flashes and I don't like what the on-board flash does to my pictures. I am aware the problem here is the human not the gear, but I can only learn so fast.


What do you think? Am I on the right track? It'll be several weeks more of research before I'll commit to buy anything, but the more I work at it, the more I am leaning towards the 100-400 and the 24-105. And then later on reviewing the cheaper lenses to see if they should also be added (like the 55mm lens for $80 that seems so highly recommended).