Rating  - Excellent walkabout lens
This lens is on my 40D about 80-85% of the time. I waited until I've taken at least 10,000 frame with this to review it, and now I feel quite comfortable going with my original gut impression, which is that "this lens rocks!"
For me, I tend to use the focal length range of 50-100mm the most on my crop camera (40D), equating to 80-160mm equivalent on a full frame. I just like to take tight pictures. My main uses are candid portraiture and outdoor sports, and this lens is excellent at both. In most conditions, f/4 is wide enough to give me shutter speeds of 1/250 and better even at a conservative ISO; I was worried at first about not having f/2.8, but that has been a non-issue for my uses. I do own the 135 f/2L, as well as the 85mm f/1.8 and the 50mm f/1.4 - but the versatility of the zoom range here makes this one my usual go-to lens. I also have an excellent 70-200mm f/4L IS lens, which is my second pick for my sports events. Its image quality is quite comparable (perhaps even slightly better), but the 70mm is a bit long on a crop body to allow me the flexibility to take some other creative shots.
It's also a great little travel lens, and the 24-50mm range of the lens helps with quite decent landscape shots. The IS is excellent and reliable, and the lens matches very well with the weight and size of the 30D/40D/50D series, and of course fits well with the 5D as well.
It's not that often I need wider than 24mm, but for those occasions I do have the Canon 10-22mm lens. It's fun, but produces nowhere near the sharpness or colors of the 24-105mm.
The price was a bit steep, but in this case, I think you get what you pay for. I have previously used the 17-85mm, and there is NO comparison - this one wins hands down in pretty much every category that is relevant to me.
The build is solid, as you would expect from any Canon lens with a little red ring. Put on a top-quality UV filter, and you're all set. I also use the included hood quite regularly, both as protection from the elements as well as shade from the sun.
If the focal length suits you, this is a great choice. If you're currently using a crop body but eventually considering going full-frame, no worries - this lens was really made for full frame cameras; it just so happens that it works GREAT for my uses on a 40D.
Rating - Worth the Money
I must say I had to question at first if this lens was worth double the price of my EF-S 17-85mm F4/5.6 IS USM lens....after all I get less wide angle but gain the zoom which is something I really needed more. And since it is an ES I am getting closer to something like 150mm on my smaller sensor Canon 30D. To me that is a real bonus. I am still getting used to it, but I must say I never want to take the aperture off of 4.0 although I should at times, but oh the bokeh! Colors are rich and I had never had the desire to manual focus before, until now, and believe when I say I intentionally blur my images for the soft blur of this lens is gorgeous! And I love when I can get lens flare, it makes perfect circles. My only hangup was getting used to the focus ring being where the zoom ring used to be on my old lens. Got over that in about one day. It is quiet, smooth, solid. Only drawback is that it adds another half pound to the camera, so I just consider it steadier than ever. The IS works great as well.
Rating - Great All-Purpose Lens
I purchased this lens to serve as my primary lens and have been very satisfied with its performance as such. It has a great focal length range. I believe this is why it excels as a general lens. The IS helps greatly when zoomed in, however it does not help as much for low-light situations. In general, I have not had nearly much success in low-light situations with this lens at least for people. I have a f/1.4 fixed lens that works much better in low light. I find that this lens works decently well for low-light nature shots though.
Unfortunately I find my shots taken at f/4.0 to be rather soft. I understand that most lenses do not perform as well at the low end of their aperture. So I try to keep it above f/5.6 unless I really need more light. However, zoomed in at f/4.0 does create great background blur.
If you want only one lens this lens is great. I keep it on my camera almost all the time. Unfortunately my wife finds it a little too heavy for carrying for long.
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