Originally Posted by Ricky
The 24-105/4 is a wonderful complement for the 7D. Cap off the front with a good filter to seal off the system. I no longer bother to bag the camera when coming in from the cold. The IQ, contrast and sharpness in particular, are in my opinion better than 17-55/2.8, but it does seem to depend which I looked at last. I own both. The 17-55 is my favorite for indoors and night scenes. The 24-105 is the walkaround lens the rest of time. I have a polarizer on it as often as not. I'm wondering now how much that influences my impression of color and contrast, not to mention the better light.
The zoom ring position is reversed compared to the 17-55 and somewhat smaller. I'm forever grabbing the focus ring by mistake the first few minutes on either when I switch. The 17-55 has a suitably big ring and easy to get your hand on when you want. The -105's, being in the rear, is already in hand by just cupping the camera body naturally and wrapping the thumb and finger around the lens.
The IS motor on the -105 is noticeably louder and clunkier sounding than the 17-55. IS on the 17-55 seems to be a bit more effective, maybe due to its shorter FL range, but more likely just due to the newer design.
I bought the 24-105 after being frustrated too often with the limited reach on the 17-55. The -105 is comfortably long, and I seldom bump its zoom limit.
The 15-85 IS got good ratings in its review here and is worth considering. Pairing it with a fast normal prime might be an answer. I didn't set out to own both the 17-55 and 24-105. I had wanted a no-compromise lens to pair with the 7D, and thought I could live with the jump from 55mm to 70mm. As it turned out, the -105 is a better match at any time I might want the 70-200, so much so that I haven't even mounted the -200 in quite some time.
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