Quote Originally Posted by saturnia





Rich,


I know. Indoors in low light & social shooting I prefer my EF 50/1.4, I already stopped using very often my 17-55/2.8 for that purpose as it is still not fast enough (I love to work with available light even the 7D restricts that because of its noise level @ ISO 3200 and higher). Your EF 85/1.2 II certainly would be another fantastic lens for that purpose but I have already an extended gear for an amateur I think. For little birds I use mostly my 400/5.6, sometimes my 300/4, both extend the 70-200's range. The 300/4 I love to use for portraits in street carneval or so, it is a great lens for that sort of sniping [img]/emoticons/emotion-11.gif[/img]. The only thing I need basically to decide is whether I invest my hobby budget of the half year partly into the 70-200/2.8 plus an EOS 5D or completely into a 300/2.8... phew, that's a difficult decision for me.


Roland



You have quite a collection of nice long lenses there! I guess, it's really going to come down to what your "needs" or "wants" are? You seem to have all of the desirable focal lengths covered, so we need to decide what kind of speed you require for the type of shooting that you'll be doing. As you know the f/2.8 is great for action shots, lower lighting, and better bokeh. The f/2.8 is also heavier and a lot more expensive. The f/2.8 also lets in twice as much light as the f/4 does, therefore it focuses faster at all of the apertures, not just at f/2.8, since the AF speed is dependent on the light entering the camera. This feature will also give you a brighter view-finder and it will give you a little more leeway when it comes to adding extenders, because it will save you a full stop.<span style="font-size: x-small;"]<span style="font-size: 11.8056px;"]Furthermore, the MK II Version adds sharpness to the equation.


<span style="font-size: x-small;"]<span style="font-size: 11.8056px;"]I also have the 300mm f/2.8L IS, so I could show you a few of those on the 7D, but then I think you'll buy it. This is my longest lens, as of this typing (no expressed guarantees are intended)! I frequently use the 1.4X on it, with great results. The 300mm is really a speciality lens, the 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II with or without 1.4X extender has a lot more uses. The 300mm f/2.8 is a little heavy and conspicuous for walking around, not that any of the white lenses are stealth, but you could buy a black cover. If you get the 70-200mm II, then you could possibly add the 1.4x extender and do sniper zooming! You just put the 1.4x in your pocket and then lock and load. You may be able to sell your 300 f/4 too?


<span style="font-size: 11.8056px;"]As far as the 5D goes it's a great body; FF, low light, low noise, slower AF, landscapes, wider focal lengths, good for still shots. However, you sound more like a 7D guy to me! As you could see, the 7D does beautiful portraits too.


<span style="font-size: 11.8056px;"]Ok, so.., convince me why you need a 300mm f/2.8. []Go ahead.., it will be good practice, for when you tell your Wife.


<span style="font-size: 11.8056px;"]Rich