Hi,
My (insert your lowest currency denomination here) worth comment. When I decided to 'go digital' a couple of years ago I chose the Canon 5D and the 24-105 lens. I made the choice based on much reading and checking many dSLR's at two of the main photo equipment stores in my area; the best deal for the Canon was the 5D and 24-105 package. Before deciding on the 5D I almost purchased a Leica M8 since I have film M cameras and lenses but hesitated because of the smaller sensor and the IR issue -- even this became a known issue I wondered about the purple shirt on the person that Michael Reichmann photographed for his review of the M8. A year later I traded the 5D for a 5D2 for two reasons: the 5D required rather frequent sensor cleaning sessions and my dealer had an excellent trade allowance promotion for the 5D.
There is absolutely no doubt that the 5D or 5D2 with the 24-105 produces excellent files. Much to be said for the IS and AF capabilities of the lens!
Being 'old school' I too prefer fixed focal length lenses and started to look for such for the Canon. Most lenses, at any focal length, are physically close to the size of the 25-105, so except for the larger aperture, what's the point of having them. I wanted physically smaller lenses and eventually found and purchased an f2 40 mm and f3.5 20 mm Voigtlander (there are a few comments on these from me and a couple of other members on the site). These are fairly inexpensive and let me make excellent prints (to date I print on 13 by 19 paper). As far as the prints are concerned, there are no differences in quality in the images made with any of the lenses, 20, 40 or 24-105.
The 24-105 provides me, in a single lens, just about all the focal lengths of my Leica lenses: 21, 35, 50 and 135 - the 35 being the most used. The main disadvantage of the 24-105, other than size, is the danger of getting lazy and using the zoom rather than eye and feet to move to the right place to make the photograph. Still, that is the lens that is usually on the camera.
Finally, it would be rather difficult today to find a camera and lens at just about any price that do not produce sharp, high quality images. Any of the lenses you mention would certainly serve you well -- there are a number of sites that give information on all of these lenses. I did read and check and read and so on and in the end I did settle on the two Voigtlanders, a good choice for my needs, but for you?...
And finally, finally, do use the search feature on the main site, you will find an amazing amount of excellent information on all sorts of equipment, methods, etc.
Jean-Michel
