One more consideration: the 70-200mm f/4L IS can be used as a decent "almost-macro" lens by using the Canon 500D close-up lens. The 500D doesn't come in a 67mm size, but you could get the 77mm and a step-up ring so that you could also use it on the 17-55mm f/2.8 IS lens. (Technically, the 250D would be better for the 17-55mm lens, but it doesn't come in the 77mm size.) You could do pretty much the same with cheaper "close-up lenses," but those are usually a single element, which causes some loss in quality compared to the double-element 500D. I'll try to get some photos with the 70-200mm f/4L IS and 500D in the next few days--the flowers are starting to come out. The combination can focus only in a fairly narrow range, but you can use the zoom to vary the magnification.