just got a $700 christmas bonus. need some opinions on what to spend it on.

[DUCKER]

Here's my current set up:
Canon 30D
Canon 24-70mm L
Canon 70-300mm IS
Canon speedlite 430ex

Im not a professional photog by any means and dont aspire to make this hobby into a job anytime soon. But i do love photography and offer my photo services to several different events at my church and my job. So i want to be well equipped to handle a vast majority of photography situations.
So just recently I got a $700 bonus and i want to drop it into photo equipment.
Now the question is: What?

Im currently shooting the 30D so a body upgrade would be nice and is something i have been wanting to do for a while. But what body should i upgrade to?
50D: in my price range but is it worth the upgrade?

5D mark I: i have come across a couple for about $800. I could probably squeeze an extra $100 if necessary.

7D: out of money range but should i wait and save up more to get this body

1D mark II: i have seen a couple of these on ebay around the $700 range. But $700 for a 10 yr old camera. is it really worth it??

If not a body then should i buy some glass?
these are the ones i was looking at that were in my price:
Canon 70-200mm L f/4
Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8
Canon 50mm f/1.4
Canon 85mm f/1.8
Canon 135mm L f/2

Any opinions and/or recomendations you guys have would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[HDNitehawk]

I wouldn't do the 50D, it is not a big enough step up IMO.

I would vote for selling the 30D and saving a bit more for the 7D. That would give you a pleasant jump up in technology.

Your canon 70-300mm is the non L version right? The Canon 70-200mm L F/4 would probably replace it if you didn't need the 300mm reach. Maybe sell the 70-300mm and get the IS version of the 70-200mm.

The Canon 135mm L, I think it is a good choice depending on what you want to do.

Good Luck

[Rocco]

Maybe a high quality ballhead and/or carbon fiber sticks?

How about another flash and some triggers/moddifiers?

I say support or light if you're ill equipped, if it has ever interested you.

[iND]

I would get some fast primes

50mm 1.4
85 mm 1.8

should fall in your budget, also look on canon refurbished site for great deals.

I think with your present set up you lack the ability to shoot in low light and to create bokeh

[Dave Johnston]

I have the 50mm 1.4, and the 85 1.8 and I love them both. They usually don't end up on my camera if I am shooting some kind of photo journalistic shots as there are times where I can't be flexible with the focal length or my position and I have to shoot where I'm at.

However, when I have the chance to do a portrait session with a family or kids or something like that, the primes are just fantastic, as, typically you have all the time in the world to set your subjects up the way you want them.

The last three portrait sessions I have done, I have put the 85 1.8 on my camera and never took it off. I love that lens.

The wide apertures that come with them have been able to give me a considerable amount of creative possibilities with light and depth of field.

So, what I am saying is, what you should buy really depends on what you plan on using it for. Sure most of your mentioned choices can be used for double duty, but if you plan on doing more portraits, I would say definitely get at least one prime. Because they are cheap and sweet.

Dave.

[DUCKER]

Any opinions on the 60D?
Is this a quality upgrade from the 30d?
I do a little video and may do a bit more if my camera was capable. But video capability is not a dealbreaker for me.

[Sean Setters]

I bought the 7D with the intent of experimenting with video. Truth is, it's much more difficult getting high-quality results than what you'd expect. The capability is there; the refinement and handling is not. I also own a 50D. When it comes to getting a shot that doesn't require super-precise focus tracking, I use the 7D and 50D almost interchangeably. If the 7D went out of commission tomorrow, I could pick up with the 50D and not miss a beat. My customers wouldn't notice a difference in quality.

In my opinion, the 60D was a step down for the xxD series cameras. It's basically a cross between a Rebel and an xxD camera. It may have a snazzy flip LCD screen, but it's missing at least one critical feature: Autofocus Microadjustment. And that's not even counting the lack of a magnesium body...

[neuroanatomist]

60D would work well with your lenses, but I agree with Sean that the lack of AFMA is a deal breaker (for me). I like the 85/1.8 on APS-C for portraits, but AFMA is a big help with that lens.

I say save for a 7D, or get the 50D and 85/1.8 (assuming you sell the 30D to offset the cost).

[Dr Croubie]

There's nothing we like better in this place than spending other people's money...

So, problems with your current kit:
- Widest you've got is 24mm on a crop body. No interest in landscapes, say a 10-22, 10-20, 11-16, 8-16?
- Long end, the 70-300 non-L is great up to 200mm, it just gets soft at the far reaches. 70-300L is probably out of the budget, so it's 70-200 f/4 non-IS, or sell the 70-300 and save a bit more for the f/4IS or f/2.8 non-IS. The 70-200 f/4 non-IS might not be enough of an upgrade from the 70-300nonL, you lose IS for only a bit better IQ in the overlapping ranges.
- No fast primes, although the f/2.8 zoom does help offset that. You can get a new 50/1.4 and 85/1.8 for that cash, maybe squeeze in a 35/2 or samyang 35/1.4 if you buy all of them second-hand and get a good deal (the 50/1.8 will save some cash if you'd rather get the prime-triplicate, I paid about $300 each on ebay for my second-hand samyang 35/1.4 and EF 85/1.8, leaves $100 for the niftyfifty).
- 135/2 would be very nice, but that's probably all you'd get for the money. Definitely worth the money if it's a length you need.
- Old-body, of the 5D, 50D, 60D, 7D, i'd say saving more for the 7D is the best upgrade, but within the budget the 5D-original is a nice body, you'll get a wider-view from your 24mm and better low-light handling, so goes some way to fixing the 'wide end' and 'fast prime' sections. Either sell the 30D to fund a prime or two as well, or keep it as a backup. I'd go 50D over 60D, and a 1D2 probably isn't worth the 'upgrade' IMHO.
- No mention of tripods/heads/etc, but you may have them and didn't write them down.

So I'd be voting the:
- 50/1.4 + 85/1.8 (plus a 35 if you can get them cheap enough) as first,
- 5D second (with 30D backup),
- and 5D/50D + 85/1.8 (50/1.4 too if you get a good deal) with selling the 30D as third choice.

[Busted Knuckles]

I think you meet the definition of "Pro-Sumer"

So you don't need "extremes" of capability?????? If the 70-300 image quality hasn't bothered anyone (particularly at the greater than 200 length) then upgrading to the L glass at those lengths wouldn't be in the cards. HOWEVER (there always is one) I would seriously entertain swapping the 70-300 for the 70-200 L and getting a body such as the 60d OR the T3i - The increased pixel count and better glass might provide a yet better image quality even though it is more cropped.

Metal bodies? how long are you planning to have this camera, how abusive is your environment, how many pictures have you taken over the life of your 30d? Weight how do like handling, the T3i is the lightest.

I haven't used a 30d - The 60d and the T3i are Canon's product for the prosumer - for that matter the T2i has the same sensor. I would look at the differences in features and really question just how often you use an 8000ths of second..... which one really fit your profile on the body upgrade.

Over investing in a body right now is like over investing in a high end laptop - the computing horse power is going to overtake the body pretty darn quickly, getting the best glass seems to be a very better investment. The camera makers seem to focusing on making better pixels vs. more of them i.e. Canon's recent announcement on the 1dx The glass is what defines light getting to the pixel.

Rumors of the 5d mk III? 7d x??? the t2i, t3i, 60d seems to be a pretty darn smooth set of gradation of products. If Canon committed to a firmware upgrade that would move all the feature set of the t3i to the 60d that would be a nifty product. As it relates to frames per second, how often have you exclaimed "just missed it" - I have had some fun doing high shutter speed 60 frame HD movies and then stepping the frames - not quite super slow motion but fun none the less. HD movies can be fun too.

Like opinions and belly buttons - everyone has them.