[scaly_piscine]

I'm thinking about getting another lens for what would essentially be for taking photographs at Scrabble tournaments (would no doubt end up using it for wildlife/landscape shots as well). I already have a 70-300mm lens for when I'm out at parks and so on which I've used at tourneys but obviously is a struggle for when you're relatively close to a game and things like during prize presentations. Light is generally an issue. Generally I wouldn't get *too* close to games as the noise can be distracting. My camera is a Canon 40D.

I've looked at the Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4.0-5.6 IS USM lens but it sounds like it's a bit rubbish at the things I'd use it for, but I don't particularly want to spend much more as I'd not use it that often. I'm thinking something like a 28mm or 35mm lens might be better.

What do you folks think?