What Next?

I have a canon 5d II with three lenses now:

• Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L USM
• Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM
• Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM

I have two flashes with pocketwizards, but right now all I use are homemade modifiers (snoot, reflector, gels...).






Whats lens/accessory should my camera savings be going towards?





About my work: I like doing studio set-up portraits for fun and expect to do much more in the future. I do indoor sports for work and find 200mm to be too short for field sports but thanks to the 5d's 21 megapixel sensor that I can crop and achieve good enough quality. I maintain a portfolio/blog here for examples.

Since 200mm is a little shot for outdoor sports (I assume that's what you mean by field), possibly the 400 5.6L, I've never had the opportunity to use either but I've used cheap lenses in that range and find that they provide just about the right amount of reach (300mm on 1.6x crop so 480mm). also take a look in the nature shots section for some examples of what the 400 can do it's very impressive.

like twistedphrame wrote, you can go zoom, 400 and more, or what i would do, go wide, fisheye lens... it gives you another perspective. very cool piece of glass.


Fisheye lens on flickr





or, you can go macro too. like this lens


Canon 100mm macro

Maybe a few more light modifiers?

If it were me, here's a likely progression I'd follow:


300/2.8IS


Second camera body


85/1.2 (for your studio work)


200/2IS (amazing lens, but tough to justify against your 70-200 if you don't have something longer)


500/4IS (if there was a call for it - it's less expensive than the 400/2.8, better than the 400/4, etc.)

If you want to concentrate your efforts on studio work, you might want to look into getting a lighting systems if you feel your Speedlites are limiting you (and you don't need the portability). If not you may want to look into the[url="http://www.amazon.com/Westcott-Apollo-Light-Modifier-Recessed/dp/B00022KOWU]Westcott 28" Recessed Front Apollo[/url] softbox and/or an umbrella.


When you're earning money with your indoor sports work, you might want to add a 1.4x convertor to your list, if you're willing to sacrifice some image quality. Saves quite some money compared to a longer and faster lens (but smaller wow factor ;-)).





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Woops, dupe!


Sorry.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by crosbyharbison

I have a canon 5d II with three lenses now:
[list][*][url="http://the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-EF-24-70mm-f-2.8-L-USM-Lens-Review.aspx]Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L USM[/url][*][url="http://the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-EF-70-200mm-f-2.8-L-IS-USM-Lens-Review.aspx]Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM[/url][*][url="http://the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-EF-50mm-f-1.4-USM-Lens-Review.aspx]Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM[/url][/list]


I have two flashes with pocketwizards, but right now all I use are homemade modifiers (snoot, reflector, gels...).
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Wow, that's what I'm trying to go for. I have the 50mm, a 580ex ii speedlite and pocketwizards with an umbrella and such. I'm working towards getting those two lenses you have as well.





Sorry, a bit offtopic but how does those 3 lenses work for you in general? any cons you can think of?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by crosbyharbison

I have a canon 5d II with three lenses now:

• Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L USM
• Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM
• Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM

I have two flashes with pocketwizards, but right now all I use are homemade modifiers (snoot, reflector, gels...).






Whats lens/accessory should my camera savings be going towards?





About my work: I like doing studio set-up portraits for fun and expect to do much more in the future. I do indoor sports for work and find 200mm to be too short for field sports but thanks to the 5d's 21 megapixel sensor that I can crop and achieve good enough quality. I maintain a portfolio/blog here for examples.

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I'd go with the 100-400L. I have this and the other lenses you mention and it finishes out the line well. With the 5DmkII I find 5.6 isn't too bad with the ability to shoot at higher ISOs. Plus I find this lens to be very sharp. Not as sharp as a prime but very good. Then I'd go for another flash and PW. Sometimes two lights aren't enough. Pick up a Photeck Softlighter II too. They are little cheaper than than the Westcott (although I love my Westcott 28" SB. I have a grid for it, SWEET!) and works great.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by zVp

Wow, that's what I'm trying to go for. I have the 50mm, a 580ex ii speedlite and pocketwizards with an umbrella and such. I'm working towards getting those two lenses you have as well.





Sorry, a bit offtopic but how does those 3 lenses work for you in general? any cons you can think of?

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I have the 24-70, the 70-200 2.8 IS and the 50 1.4 and they all are great. I especially love the 24-70. I shoot a lot of food and product shots and it is "macro" enough to pull that off with it's .29 magnification. Plus it is just a great all around lens. I don't think anything else needs to be said about the 70-200 2.8 IS. The 50 1.4 is probably the best bargain Canon has. It is a great lens, not the sturdiest but good enough. I'd actually prefer the 35 1.4's range for my style of shooting but it isn't in my budget right now.


I also have the 16-35 2.8 II which I also love. I actually prefer this lens shooting at the 24-35 range over the 24-70. I can't put my finger on it but the images have a little something different about them. I think the subject seems to pop a little more. It might be more distortion or something, but I like it.

Thanks Keith :)