Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

I have the 24-105 but for price point I personally would go the 18-135 for maximum versatility. It is slower though but outdoors in the sun for track and field it has the needed reach the 24-105 does not have. The 24-105 is a bit faster in focus department but you will not be underserved with the 18-135.
Remember the reach is needed and the 18mm is great for WA on the crop sensor. Great versatility. Enjoy the lens.

selwyntdavid

I would suggest a Tamron 16-300 - good carry around lens. In fact Im planning to get the same soon.

kbatschke Loc: Chicagoland-west

I purchased the 18 - 135 as a travel/walking around lens and am happy with it for this purpose (I take this plus my nifty 50 when I travel to EU for example). I also have the 18-55 and 55-250 kit lenses as well as the 24 - 70L and a couple of others that are not relevant to the conversation. While I love the image quality of the 24-70L, I find that 24mm on my 70D is not quite wide enough for indoors and some city and landscape applications. For this reason, I would recommend getting a wider lens; between 15mm and 18mm to start and then as much zoom as you want to carry.

Dave Kos

I have been happy with 24-105 as my walk around lens on a 7d.

Ramled Loc: Victoria, British Columbia

I have the 24-105 lens and really like it but I use it on a full frame camera. I would prefer the 15-85 lens on the crop sensor of a 7DII over the 18-135 as it is better at getting crisp photos especially around the outer edges. You should be able to pick up a 15-85 lens used for a reasonable price because they were included in some kits. I have owned both the 18-135 and the 15-85 and was more impressed with the latter. I hope this helps.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

Spend a little more and get a USM lens. You WILL need that, if you want to be able to shoot active sports such as track and field.

Canon has three types of autofocus drive mechanisms: micro motor, STM and USM.

Micro motor is generally found on the cheapest lenses and is slower, noisier and in some cases less reliable. It's okay for stationary subjects, but forget about tracking anything moving faster than a snail.

STM or "stepper motor" is faster and the quietest type of drive. It also runs the most smoothly, and it's "fly by wire". This all makes it most ideal for video work and a bit better for sports.

USM or "ultrasonic motor" drive is the quickest.... fastest to acquire focus and best tracking movement. It is typically 2X or more faster than STM (which in turn is a lot faster than micro motor). USM is what you will want and need shooting sports! (Besides Canon lenses, Sigma makes "HSM" and Tamron makes "USD" lenses, both similar to Canon's USM.) In general, USM is not ideal for video work... it's quiet, but not as quiet as STM. And it's not as smooth and usually not "fly by wire". However, Canon has recently introduced a new form of "Nano" USM on a few lenses that's said to be the best of both worlds... fast as other USM, but also optimized for video work.

There are relatively new "Nano" USM versions of both the 18-135mm and 24-105mm lenses available (also a new 70-300mm).

Between those, for a general purpose, walk-around lens, if it were me I'd opt for the EF-S 18-135mm IS USM. (There also is a unique PZ-E1 "power zoom" module available exclusively for use with this lens, which videographers might want.)

An inexpensive but highly capable "walk around" lens I've used a lot is the old EF 28-135mm IS USM. It dates back to the days of film but is still in production. If you don't need wide or have a separate wide angle lens to complement it, this lens has been widely sold in kit and is pretty easy to find lightly used for $200 or less. It rivals the 24-105L USM lenses in all respects... at about 1/3 the cost. It matches them for image quality, focus speed, stabilization, close focusing ability and more. The only way the L-series beat it is in apparent build quality... The L-series lenses seem better built and sealed, although the original 24-105L hasn't actually proven to be any more durable. (Can't say about the new II version... as a relatively new model, it hasn't got any track record to speak of). Want to save money and don't need to shoot videos with it, get the EF 28-135mm (especially if using a separate ultrawide such as Canon's EF-S 10-18mm IS STM, EF-S 10-22mm USM or any of the third party ultrawides such as the Tokina 12-24/4, Sigma 10-20mm, Tamron 10-24mm.)

Some have suggested the EF-S 15-85mm IS USM and that's a very good lens, too. Nicely wider than most lenses of this type, but not quite as long reach. Great for still photos, with very high image quality. Fast focusing, too. But if wanting to do video, it's not ideal because it still uses the "old" standard type of USM focus drive.

For sports you are very likely to want a longer lens, too. I'd look at the new EF 70-300mm IS USM II (the one with the "Nano" USM) as a reasonably affordable option. The EF-S 55-250mm IS STM isn't a bad choice, either.... except it's autofocus speed will be a bit less than the USM less. Personally, for the sports I shoot, I use all USM, IS lenses: 70-200/4L, 70-200/2.8L, 100-400L II, 300/4L, 300/2.8L and 500/4L. All these also can be used with 1.4X and 2X teleconverters, which I sometimes do. (The 55-250mm and that 300mm cannot be used with Canon teleconverters... but might be able to be used with some third party 1.4X such as the Kenko.)

Don't be tempted by the cheap EF 75-300mm non-USM, non-IS. It often can be found for under $100, but simply isn't Canon's best effort. Any of the 70-300mm or the 55-250mm have better image quality, better focus performance and most have image stabilization.... all lacking from the 75-300mm. The best thing about that lens is that it's cheap!



WAAAAYYY too slow focusing for active sports, if that's on your agenda. Tamron's PZD or "piezo" focus drive is basically they same as Canon's micro motor. Also that's f6.3 at the long and and compromised image quality throughout the range. Sure, it's convenient to have one "do it all lens"... but not if it doesn't do anything particularly well! To me it makes no sense to buy a high end DSLR and then fit it with a cheap, do everything zoom... If you aren't willing to change lenses, you probably would be better served just buying a high end, non-interchangeable lens point n shoot camera.

AntonioReyna Loc: Los Angeles, California

I highly recommend the 15-85 Canon EF-S lens as the 24-105 is not wide enough with the crop factor.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

Unless you pair it (or the cheaper, but equally good EF 28-135mm) with an ultrawide such as EF-S 10-18mm or EF-S 10-22mm.

I use two EF 28-135s and a 24-70/2.8L on my crop sensor cameras and they work just fine. But I have the Canon 10-22mm and a Tokina 12-24/4, too. The 24-105mm would be about equally good.

PHRubin Loc: Nashville TN USA

As always, what is recommended depends on your needs.

First, how important is the best possible in image quality? If very important, L series lenses are tops. But you can get much more versatility with other lenses.

Next, for track, speed of focus and tracking focus is important. Here there is a conflict with speed vs sound noise as indicated above.

Also for track, telephoto is important. How much is something you need to decide. Also, for general use, wide angle is more important to many than tele.

I use a Sigma 18-250mm on my 80D as my walk around lens and am very satisfied. I get good wide angle at 18mm for landscapes and group shots and fairly long tele at 250 (the 18-300 versions weren't available when I got the Sigma). The quality is more than acceptable for my purposes, but would be less so if I printed in larger than 8 X 10.

imagemeister Loc: mid east Florida

For me, it is only a question of lens speed - f4 vs 5.6 - and the f4 WINS on a crop frame camera !

tnste Loc: New Westminster, BC

I have used the Canon 15-85 mm lens for several years on my 7D. It is my favourite lens. Last month I upgraded to the 7D Mark II and will continue to use the 15-85. It is my walkabout lens and an incredibly sharp lens and has been compared to L series lens for IQ.

Haydon

Have to agree; 24 mm on a crop sensor just isn't wide enough to make it practical as a walk-around lens. Your FOV starts is the equivalent of 38mm on a full-frame. The 15-85 EFs lens is highly rated for optical resolution. IMO the only reason one should pick the 24-105L is plans on moving to FF in the near future.

Weather sealing is undoubtedly meritable but putting your lens and camera away in increment weather is a solution along with a rain cover if continued use is necessary. Just a little common sense will go a long way.