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I am about to take a trip of a lifetime to the Galapagos. I recently tried the L series 70-200 cannon but it is so heavy I hate it. I would like to find a zoom much lighter that give quality photos and has stabilization. Any suggestions?

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2  
Did you try the f/2.8 or the f/4? The f/4 is about half the weight of the f/2.8. – Stan Rogers Jul 29 '12 at 18:18
3  
1.Price 2.Weight 3.Quality - You can have two, but not three. – dpollitt Jul 30 '12 at 13:50
A "best" walk around doesn't exist. That is why so many options exist. You have to choose which trade off you are willing to deal with. To me, it sounds like weight is your major issue, so quality and price might not be high on your list. But if I was going to the Galapagos, weight would not be my primary concern, quality would be. Does that help? – dpollitt Jul 31 '12 at 0:23

1 Answer

Firstly, the 70-200 is not what I'd call a "walk around" lens It can be cumbersome and get heavy after a while especially if you have the f/2.8 version. As someone mentioned before, the f/4 version is a lot lighter.

For a regular all-rounder have you considered the following:-

EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM

EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM

EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L USM

The EF-S 17-55mm really is one heck of an upgrade from the standard kit lens, and being that your 40D has a crop sensor - it will accept the EF-S lenses. It has a constant f/2.8 aperture through the whole zoom range, really fast USM, and the image stabiliser you were after... I had this lens for over a year and was consistently impressed by the image quality. It also has the UD and low-dispersion glass elements of its bigger brothers in the L series, so the quality is high.

The EF 24-105mm is a chunky option but not overly heavy. It is a full L grade lens with all the build quality that you would expect from an L. It has a constant f/4 aperture through the zoom range, which is usually more than adequate for most work, especially daytime things. Although it has a smaller aperture than the 17-55 or 24-70 it still has the image stabiliser built in to give you a couple of stops extra leaway.

The EF 24-70mm does not have IS, but few users miss it. Another chunky peice of glass with a constant f/2.8 aperture ensures good shutter speed even in low light and good DoF. It can be quite heavy after a while, but it is a seriously good bit of L series glass. Canon have, this year, released a version II of it, though as I understand this has been subject to delays and is still in short supply; but what that means is that the old version of this lens (still fantastic) should be readily available and perhaps at a better price too (though it is still expensive!).

These are the lenses I would say would be good for a "walk around" lens. The 70-200 you mention would be a telephoto zoom great for if you can't get close to your subject, but you won't so easily be able to do landscape work with it (but it is possible -- I once did a landscape at 400mm!!). I hope those options help you out...

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