STOP the madness!

[ddt0725]

Ok, someone please tell me if I'm insane or if this makes any sense at all to do! Other than the miscellaneous items I already posted for sale (none of which have sold []), I am thinking of doing the following ...

Maybe selling:
Canon 100-400mm (less than a yr. old)
Canon 70-200mm f/4 (only a couple months old)
Canon 1.4ex II (less than a yr. old)
Canon 85mm f/1.8 (less than 6 mths. old & one of my favorites)

and a BIG MAYBE ...sell my Canon 17-55mm f/2.8

AND maybe buying:

5D II
Canon's new 70-300mm
Sigma's new 85mm f/1.4

And probably would hang on to my 24-105mm, 35mm f/1.4 L, 50mm f/1.4.

Although, I would love to have the MP-E 65mm, I can't justify owning that one ...yet!

Does this make any sense at all to do or am I totally insane?

Denise

[DavidEccleston]

The 24-105 & 70-300 would be similar focal lengths to what you

[Trowski]

I'm not sure I'd sell the 70-200mm f/4L and 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L in favor of the new 70-300mm f/4-5.6L. The image quality from the 70-200mm is amazing as it is, I don't think the 70-300mm could be anything but marginally better, and even then in real-world situations you probably wouldn't be able to tell. The constant aperture of the 70-200mm is a big plus, I didn't check but I'm betting the 70-300mm is only about f/5.0 at 200mm. Seeing that you have the 100-400mm, you might be disappointed with the reach on the 70-300mm.


What are your reasons for wanting to go full-frame? It seems like with your proposition you'd be loosing a lot of flexibility just for the 5DII. It also doesn't help that there are rebates on some of those lenses now, so you'll lose even more money on them.


What other lenses do you have right now? It's too bad the 17-55mm f/2.8 won't work on the 5DII, it'll make you want the 24-70mm f/2.8L.


Some food for thought on the Sigma 85mm f/1.4:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIPFX2L9Ve8

[Jon Ruyle]

Easy. Just buy the new stuff, but don't sell your old stuff. []

[ddt0725]

I do use (want) the reach the 100-400mm gives me and even wish I could afford more reach. I most always have it set at 400mm. The extra 100mm will be hard to part with. Even when I briefly owned the 300mm f/4 I usually used it with the 1.4ex II attached but sold that lens for for the 100-400mm. With the new 70-300mm, I am hoping I will get over losing that extra reach by enjoying better IQ. Actually, with the 70-300mm & Sigma 85mm, I am hoping to gain better IQ and faster AF(??)


Having the two larger zoom lenses to choose from, I always seem to choose to take the 100-400mm with me and the 70-200mm sits at home when I go out to the state parks on nature hikes ...the 70-300mm = one happy medium in weight and reach.


As far as the 5d II goes, mainly when I am on nature hikes, I am constantly changing lenses for when I'm shooting birds and other wildlife and then want to use a wide angle for beautiful landscape shots. I've paid my dues for a dirty sensor doing this too often in the past. Plus with the 7D where I live, shooting outside past 4 pm is near impossible for a large part of the year starting now. I am really pushing the ISO when I shoot after work and the noise would not be as bad with the 5D II. Plus the photos you guys are getting with the 5D II are amazing!

It seems like with your proposition you'd be loosing a lot of flexibility just for the 5DII. It also doesn't help that there are rebates on some of those lenses now, so you'll lose even more money on them.


What other lenses do you have right now? It's too bad the 17-55mm f/2.8 won't work on the 5DII, it'll make you want the 24-70mm f/2.8L.

I've thought about these exact problems & it has made me very hesitant of doing this right now! I already took a huge hit when I sold my 300mm. And yes, I have thought about my wanting the 24-70mm when all is said and doneand I am convinced there is no end to the madness!!! The only other lensI own that is not mentioned in my original post is the 100mm f/2.8 IS Macro lens and I'll be hanging on to that baby.

My head has spinned around this for awhile now & I'm hoping to get my mind made up before the new lenses hit the store shelves. Maybe I should at least wait until the rebates expire.

Denise

[ddt0725]

Easy. Just buy the new stuff, but don't sell your old stuff. [img]/emoticons/emotion-1.gif[/img]



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Now you're talkin'!! Only bad part is my bank account is telling me something totally different!

[neuroanatomist]

It's too bad the 17-55mm f/2.8 won't work on the 5DII, it'll make you want the 24-70mm f/2.8L.

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As Daniel Browning has pointed out, the 24-105mm f/4L IS on FF is better spec'd than the 17-55mm f/2.8 on 1.6x - the FF equivalent of the latter is 27-88mm f/4.5, so by comparison the 24-105mm is wider, longer, faster, and still has IS. True, faster shutter speeds are possible with f/2.8 (since the crop factor applies to DoF but not to exposure), however, the better ISO noise performance of FF compensates for that as well - higher ISO gives you a faster shutter.

Easy. Just buy the new stuff, but don't sell your old stuff.

That's what I did... [] Well, mostly. I did sell the 10-22mm because the 5DII will be the camera for landscapes (I'll be ordering the 16-35mm next week, I think). I also sold the 70-300mm DO, partly because the novelty wore off, and partly because if I decide that focal range in a portable package is something I want in the future, I'd prefer the slight additional bulk but better IQ and weather sealing of the new 70-300mm L.
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Does this make any sense at all to do or am I totally insane?

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Well, Denise, I should be the last person to question anyone's gear choices! [:P]But I would suggest thinking carefully about what you like to shoot. The 5DII is not an action camera. AI Servo doesn't do a great job of keeping up with my daughter running towards me, much less trying to track a bird. That's why I didn't get the 5DII until I could do so without giving up the 7D. If you're going to do it, don't keep the 17-55mm unless you plan on getting another crop camera at some point soon (and if you're going to do that, why sell the 7D, which is the king of the crop cameras?!?)


I know it's hard, because with winter coming fast, birds and outdoor shooting outings will probably be fewer. But next spring, would you miss your 7D when the birds come back? Maybe you'd miss it at your feeders over winter?


Also, keep in mind that your plan assumes you can sell all of those items, and as Trowski points out there are rebates on the 100-400mm and the 17-55mm right now, which cuts the price for used copies.


If you plan to shoot mostly portraits, landscapes, macro, and the like from now on, your idea makes a fair bit of sense. But if you plan to keep shooting birds/wildlife, I think the strengths of the 7D for that use outweigh the downsides of 1.6x for the other uses, if birds/wildlife constitute a reasonable proportion of your shooting.


Either way, good luck with your decisions!


--John
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[bob williams]

Denise, Your not crazy at All----What are you asking for the 1.4 extender, I'll give you a hundred bucks for it right now: []---KIdding aside. You have a very nice collection of lenses and you seem to like the wildlife and outdoor shots----why would you think about giving up your 100-400 unless it was for a 400 or 500 prime?


I guess, the best question is, what direction are you planning to go with your photography?


Bob

[HDNitehawk]

I would wait for some reviews on the 70-300


Personally the way I like to shoot, you would be double covered now with the 70-200 and 100-400. I would only sell if I traded up. And we do not know yet if the new 70-300 will be a upgrade in quality over those two. If it were me with what we know for sure on lens a 70-200 f/2.8 is would make more sense. Or next step up to primes.


That said, the new70-300 sure would be handy to carry around.


That might be a big consideration for you, it

[ddt0725]

But next spring, would you miss your 7D when the birds come back?

I am still planning to hang onto the 7d and only sell the lenses listed above (100-400mm, 70-200mm, 85mm, 1.4ex II &amp; maybe the 17-55mm). Hanging onto the 7d, 24-105mm, 50mm, 35mm&amp; 100mm macro.

I love shooting outdoors ...landscapes, birds/wildlife, kids, dogs, flowers, butterflies and insects. Portraits ...hmmm, Ilove it but I need ALOT of work in that area!

Denise