Thanks for your thoughts on this.

chellyar, actually I was just asking if 1.6x will be enough for us micro guys in the future to remain competitive.

CJPhoto, I agree. They need to build up the EF-S lens market. As prices come down, there will be a clearer distinction between the consumer 1.6x market and the 5D and up markets.

Although, I'm not sure where that puts the 20D, 30D, 40D people? These are the people who will always consider a future upgrade to a "full-frame" and will be hesitant to buy the EF-S.

I would spend the money on Canon "L" glass. What's great about Canon L glass is the consistent image quality at all apertures. Tamron is a good lens. I own one, but at the wider apertures (< F/5.6), it's way too soft.

You should consider the Canon 70-200 F4 L. It's about $550 US. The canon 50mm F/1.8 is also a very good lens for the price, under $100 US.

Also, in general, zoom lenses that cover a huge focal-width range, such as 28-300, will always suffer in image quality. So if you don't want to buy L glass, buy a lens with less zoom range.

Good luck.