Upgrading body - lens help please.

[Magijr]

Hi all,

Thank you all very much for taking the time to respond. Your comments have certainly given me a lot to chew on. I'll answer the questions to several comments.

1) What do you do with your images?
-I shoot family photos mainly. I publish them into books (Shutterfly), large prints for walls / gifts 8X10 or bigger, and share on social media. My family has a couple young web designers and they like to shoot with my camera for the resolution.

2) Do you have a flash?
-I do shoot with a flash when needed - Speedlite 430 XII

I don't have something specific I dislike about the 60D, overall its a great camera and I've had a lot of fun with it. The view finder takes a little getting used to and I still chop off some of the image once in a while.

I'm thinking that my best decision is to upgrade the lens. The 17-55 is great, but is the Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM a better choice for me? I understand I'm losing some wide angle, but I like the additional focal length.

What lens would be a great all around lens and have the best focal length? Should I pair a zoom and a prime?

Thank you again for your assistance!!

Bruce

[DavidEccleston]

The cheapest way to find out if the 24-70mm is a better fit for you, is to rent one. If your city has a large photography store, they likely offer rentals. If you're in the USA, there's LensRentals.com, so you don't even need a large store nearby.

To get a rough idea of how much a change in focal length that is, check out the 24-70mm F/4L IS USM review. The second row of examples has a both a 55mm and 70mm view. Mouseover to see the difference. Is that reach improvement worth the extra money to you? I'd find it hard to justify. If you're on the fence, a rental can be a relatively cheap way to make the choice.

[Kayaker72]

Hey Bruce,

The 24-70 II on a 60D would be approximately a 38-112 mm lens. When shooting on the 7D, I considered this option as it would be great as a group and individual portrait lens.

However, I would not be very wide. If you got the 24-70 II, I would be tempted to hold on to the 17-55 as a general purpose lens, or get an UWA lens as well.

Great lens, BTW.

[Joel Eade]

You may also want to try the 24-105 and the 70-200mm alongside your current 17-55mm ....that would be a very nice set of lenses for general purpose shooting

[peety3]

...and I need a great zoom as my son is getting faster and faster.

Define "great zoom". To some, the best zoom is a prime lens (best image quality). To some, the best zoom is 0.5 pounds. To some, the best zoom is f/1.8. To some, the best zoom is a 10x range. To some, the best zoom would be a 200-500.

I want higher IQ from the upgrade, 100% view finder...

What's wrong with the IQ you're getting now? Is it something that's the fault of the body? What's wrong with a sub-100% viewfinder? Are your shots so time-critical that you can't crop them?

The 10 FPS definitely appeals to me, but not the end all be all. My cousin shoots with a 7D and lives and dies by it. The body of the 7DII is an upgrade (magnesium), but so would the 6D. Those are the two I'm contemplating between... does this help, would you go with the 7DII, 6D or stay with the 60D?

Why is the incremental frame rate (5.3->10) so important to you? Do you have the infrastructure necessary to deal with it? Do you have the light (via aperture, ISO, or existing ambient/artificial light) to support the shutter speeds necessary to achieve 10fps? Do you realize that even the best cameras out there only capture 4% of time with their high frame rates, and the other 96% of time goes by while the shutter is closed?

Is full frame the way I should go? 5Ds or 5Dr?

You have five current FF options out there: 6D, 5D3, 5Ds, 5DsR, 1Dx. You have five older options: 5D, 5D2, 1Ds, 1Ds2, 1Ds3. Do you have the lenses to support it? If you've got the EF-S 17-55 and you switch to the 24-70 on FF, you're probably going to miss that last 18mm you've given up. I for one really missed what my 70-200s could do on APS-C, and bought a 300/4 as an interim until the 100-400II became a reality.

[Dave Throgmartin]

Full frame opens the door to requiring expensive lenses although you seem game based off your asking if the 24-70 f/2.8 II is a good pick.

Both your 17-55 and 60mm macro won't work on full frame.

I shoot full frame, but with a really bare bones "L" kit: 17-40L, 24-105L, 70-200 f/4 L USM (non-IS), and 100L macro. The 100 macro is night and day my best lens. I also really like the 70-200 and 17-40. The 24-105 is just ok, there's loads of distortion on the wide end and my copy suffers from zoom creep.

Used prices for every one of my lenses besides the macro is about $500. Most full frame users on the various forums have higher end lenses.

Dave

[jrw]

Family photos - to get better IQ out of the camera a good prime can deliver that along with shallower depth of field. Focal length choice will vary with shooting style. Having two, one for wide one for tighter shots, will allow you to mix things up somewhat for variety. Further developing image processing skills can also make for a huge difference in final results, usually more than changing from one lens to another.

Flash - Are you using this on or off camera? Straight on, bouncing, modifiers? I know more questions. Try taking a look at 'The Tangents Blog' by Neil van Niekirk for a lot of ideas on how to make use of flash if you feel you could improve on what you have been doing.

Great all around lens - This may be the Holy Grail of photography gear. On full frame my one lens to take when I only take one is a toss up between the 24-105, 24-70, and 16-35. It all depends on where I am headed and what I hope to find. When taking two lenses it is usually the 24-70 and perhaps a 100mm macro or 70-200 depending on what I hope to come with. The pictures you take now and the ones you want to take that your lens selection can't cover will be your best guide to narrow down the choices. Focal length selection is very much a style decision by the photographer which can lead to some interesting discussions on the choice. The guidelines posted on this site, and elsewhere, are a good starting point to help narrow things down a bit. Over time each develops their own preference.

[Magijr]

I decided to go with the 6D and the Tamron SP 24-70mm F/2.8 Di VC USD. I will be taking the 6D, Tamron SP 24-70mm F/2.8 Di VC USD, Canon 50 1.4 and the Canon 70-200 F4 to New Hampshire this weekend. Since I bought the 6D and the Tamron SP 24-70mm F/2.8 Di VC USD from BH I have a few weeks to decide if I want to keep it or not. I am looking forward to shooting with the 6D. Thanks again for all your constructive help!! As always, any advice or comments are welcomed.

[Kayaker72]

Hey, congrats. Where in NH?

[Magijr]

We rented a house in North Conway, NH. My wife and I have been going to the White Mountains (N.Conway, Jackson) for over 10 years. We are so excited to share this amazing place with our three year old son. We are hoping to go to Story Land, Santa's Village (Jefferson NH), do a mild hike, canoe and of course Zebs!!

Do you have any additional recommendations for us? Thanks again!!