Another lens advice question

[harnessracing]

I just bought a Canon 40D.  I currently have the 70-300 IS lens which I am pretty happy with.  I have had it for a year and was previously using it on my Digital Rebel XT.  Mostly I take pictures of harness racing and my dogs....some family stuff but mostly the animals.  I wanted a lens with a little more zoom so I ordered the Canon 100-400 L lens which I just got.  I have used it only a few times so far and am not sure how much I like it.  The pictures are great and so is the extra 100mm but it is much heavier than I thought it would be and I really prefer to be able to hand hold my camera not use a monopod or tripod.  I wanted to get another lens, something to cover a bit more of a wide angle than I can get with either of the lenses I have.  Mostly I want more of a wide angle for family snapshots and things like that.  Before I got the 100-400L I had been planning to splurge and get the Canon 28-300 L lens which I figured would cover me in most situations for snapshots and close ups and then I would have the 100-400 for racing.  Having gotten the 100-400 and realizing how heavy it is, and knowing the 28-300 is going to be even heavier and probably not really a good walking around lens I have found 2 other lenses I am thinking about and cant make a decision.... I am considering the Canon 55-250 IS or the Tamron 28-300 VC lens.  Both lenses seem to be getting really good reviews.  The Tamron has a bigger range on both ends - the same as the Canon 28-300 I was considering but for 1/4 the price - and has the Tamron vibration compensation.  The Canon 55-250 has as much of a wide angle as I really think I might need and has a good telephoto reach at 250mm, it has the IS and is 1/2 the price of the Tamron.  Having the extra range of the Tamron might be nice at times though.  As you can probably tell I am very torn between these 2 lenses.  I really wanted the Canon 28-300 but it is just too heavy to make it something I would use.  Any advice would be appreciated.  Thanks

[Bob Atkins]

Why not get the EF-S 17-85IS and use it with the 70-300IS to give you coverage from 17 to 300mm with just two reasonably small and light lenses.

If you insist on one lens you're (a) going to be restricted in the focal length range you can cover and (b) sacrifice some degree of image quality. If you go for quality (Canon 28-300), you'll suffer in terms of cost ($2500?) and weight.

The Tamron 28-300VC might be your best compromise, but 28mm isn't very wide on a 40D. It's pretty much a "normal" lens focal length for APS-C sensor cameras.

The EF-S 18-55IS and 55-250IS lenses also make a good set, with decent coverage. I have a few comments on them here -  http://www.bobatkins.com/photography/digital/canon_eos_digital_rebel_xsi_review.html