I want to replace my 18-135 IS STM

[DanielW]

If you replace the 18-135 with a 200, you may encounter a number of situation X's that are covered by neither the 40 nor the 200, as you will not have a wide angle at all.

I agree with you and I'm sure my lens collection will continue to grow over time. I do find that the 40 is too tight for some of the indoor shots I've wanted to take, so if I don't buy a wide angle this time around, it'll probably be next on my list.

Concerning WA, I've just bought a 17-55/2.8 for my 60D and will sell the 18-135 kit lens now. Couldn't be happier. (Not useful for birds, though.)
I don't have tele lenses so I cannot recommend any, but if I were in your shoes I think I'd rent or borrow a few of them to actually try before making a decision.
Good luck!

[kphoto99]

I'm brand new to DSLRs having recently bought the T4i. I currently have two lenses, the "shorty" 40mm 2.8 and the 18-135 IS STM kit lens.

I love shooting with the 40mm and have been using it almost exclusively. It focuses fast, I enjoy working with the shallow depth of field, and image quality looks great. I thought I'd want to keep the kit lens because of its versatility, but I'm not finding situations where the 135 focal length comes in handy. For instance, I've tried using it to shoot birds in the back yard, but I find that it just isn't long enough for that purpose. I know that portrait photographers use the 85-135 focal lengths, but this lens only opens up to 5.6 at that range. So far I've been getting better portraits with the 40.

Keep in mind that any other non STM lens will be (very) loud while doing autofocus in video mode. This is if you are doing any video.

[Sneakers]

Keep in mind that any other non STM lens will be (very) loud while doing autofocus in video mode. This is if you are doing any video.

Good point, but I'm disappointed by the performance of the autofocus and don't think I'll use it much.

[kphoto99]

Keep in mind that any other non STM lens will be (very) loud while doing autofocus in video mode. This is if you are doing any video.

Good point, but I'm disappointed by the performance of the autofocus and don't think I'll use it much.

The more you read CR the more you will find out that Canon cripples its products to make sure they don't compete with more expensive ones. The video in the dSLR is not as good as the Cx00 line for the same reason. Some of that crippling is by software limiting what the hardware can do and not by hardware limitations.

I have the 135STM and I find it very sharp compare to the 18-55 3.5-5.6 IS and the 55-250 4-5.6 IS lenses that I have. My sharpest lens Tamron 17-50 2.8 XR Di II and the 135STM is very close to it.