dgatwood said:
I guess my point was that folks who buy the kit lens with a FF DSLR are either upgrading from a crop and replacing all their lenses (in which case they'd probably like something with a focal range that's angle-equivalent to their main crop lens) or they're just starting out. In either case, it's probably their first FF lens (unless they own a long zoom), and for most of them, build quality will be a secondary concern to IQ
A. When I spend good money on a product, I expect it to have build quality to match. I also wanted something wider than the EF-S 17-85mm that I replaced with the EF 24-105mm. I upgraded from EF-S 10-22mm to EF 17-40mm.
B. People who get to the point of upgrading to FF should be able to read and understand lens reviews, search for photos taken with various lenses, and get a good feeling of what is it they're getting.
[OK, they might be idiots with cash to spare, in which case there's no point in discussing their motivation.]
dgatwood said:
And although most of the pros would lean towards an L lens because of the higher build quality, that doesn't necessarily have much bearing on what the next kit lens should be, because most of them already own lenses, and aren't likely to buy a kit with a lens anyway.
Exactly - I don't expect pros to upgrade their kit lens, which is what the 24-105mm is.
If a pro wants an EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM with significantly better IQ, he'd probably be willing to split extra cash on something that is too expensive to be kit. It's analogous to the difference between the EF-S 18-200 and the EF 28-300mm L. If you want convenient & cheap, buy crop. If you need convenient & pro, fork a few thousands of dollars on FF body & superzoom, knowing full well you're still making some compromises.
[In other words: the point of kit is cheap, and the reality of cheap is that it sucks, as in not being one of the best L lenses around.]