Best FF lens as a midrange on an APS-C

I'm currently shooting with a Rebel T2i, but am hoping to upgrade to a FF in the not-so-distant future. Therefor, I'm buying only EF lenses. I'm currently looking for a good midrange zoom for my T2i, that I will keep whenever I make the upgrade. While the obvious choice for FF shooters is one of the 24-70mm lenses (f/2.8, f/2.8 II, f/4), I don't really have the budget for any of those (with the possible exception of the f/4).

Does anyone have a recommendation of a good EF lens that is roughly midrange on an APS-C? A used Canon 17-40 is within my budget (I'm looking for >$800), but I've heard mixed reviews. I've heard amazing things about the EF-S 17-55, but I'm not going to drop $700 or $800 on a lens that I'm going to soon be selling.

Thanks!

R

Buy a full frame body FIRST. Then shop for lenses for it.

The preferred midrange focal lengths for APS-C starts at 15-17mm. You're afraid that if you buy EF-S in that range you'll have an expensive lens you can't use on a future 5D/6D. Well, if you don't already have and use a 10-20ish lens with your T2i, then a 16-35L or 17-40L is going to be just as useless to you when you go full frame.
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Unapologetic Canon Apologist

Lemming51 wrote:

Buy a full frame body FIRST. Then shop for lenses for it.

The preferred midrange focal lengths for APS-C starts at 15-17mm. You're afraid that if you buy EF-S in that range you'll have an expensive lens you can't use on a future 5D/6D. Well, if you don't already have and use a 10-20ish lens with your T2i, then a 16-35L or 17-40L is going to be just as useless to you when you go full frame.
--
Unapologetic Canon Apologist

I'm not sure the degree to which this impacts the OP's situation, but I right now with the 1, 5 and 6 series all due for an upgrade there's a strong argument to be made for waiting 6+ months. My next camera will be FF and I'm seriously looking at a 24-70 for my 60D. I find myself swapping in the cheap 1.8/2.8 primes a ton (24, 40, 50, 100) when the 18-200 doesn't cut it IQ-wise (which is frequently). And perhaps to your point, I'd be pairing it frequently with the 10-22.

"Best" is going to vary, for different shooters, but I feel that my 24-105/4L IS is going to remain a work-horse* lens for me, for the foreseeable future, useful on APS-C, APS-H, and full-35mm-frame. Distortion is quite reasonable from 28mm to 105mm, it is at least somewhat weather-sealed, AF is fast and accurate, it has IS, and its MFD allows very close-range shooting, which can be further improved by screwing a 500D onto the filter threads. Being able to zoom to 105mm, rather than just 70mm, is a notable advantage. (For reference, I have a Nikkor 24-70/2.8G, which I use on a D700 camera.)

I disdained mid-range zooms for quite a while, but then added my 24-105L in September 2014, and then the Nikkor 24-70/2.8G in May 2015, and now feel quite differently. I have mostly used the 24-105L on APS-C and APS-H cameras, and have only use the Nikkor 24-70/2.8G on full-35mm-frame.

My EF-S 10-22mm lens complements the 24-105L quite well at the wide end. It is the only EF-S lens I have bought new, and my only other EF-S lens, bought pre-owned, was a brief experiment that I presumed I would trade-away. This lens has notably low distortion, even compared to most wide-angle L lenses. (Until I acquired 7D Mark II cameras, late last year, I could not correct distortion in-camera, and my employer requires OOC JPEGs, with no post-processing allowed.)

A recent addition is my 16-35/2.8L II. While not as trendy and sexy as the more recent 16-35/4L IS, the constant f/2.8 maximum aperture means a 7D Mark II can AF in low light at EV -3. I cannot say my 16-35/2.8L II is a most-favored lens, and I considered selling it quite soon after buying it, but it serves a purpose, starting at wide-normal, and zooming to normal, on APS-C and APS-H cameras. I can correct its distortion in-camera, when shooting with a 7D Mark II.

*I do not claim to be a "professional" photographer, as I am not in the business of photography, and my skill-set is not broadly extensive, but I do shoot some evidentiary/forensic images, primarily in low light, for very important purposes, as part of my duties as a public servant.