$$1,000 to spend....What to get?

[Elon Gane]

Heya Y'all!! []


I have about $1,000 dollars to spend on some new gear.. Max would probably be no more then $1,200 If I had too... But I would like to keep it at $1,000... and I'm wondering what y'all think would be best to get??


I do pretty much any type of Photography....Landscape, macro, Wildlife, etc....But I would like to get into professionalWeddings and protraits etc....


I have the current Gear:


Canon EOS 7D,


Canon 17-55 2.8


Canon 70-200 2.8 Mark II,


Canon 100mm 2.8 Macro UMS non IS,


One(1) Canon Speedlite580EX II With light stand andumbrella.





I'm thinking of the current possibilities:


A super wide angle lens, EitherSigma 8-16mm f/4.5-5.6 DC orCanon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM..


Another Speedlite...Don't have one really in mind right now...But I think another one would be really nice with an another light stand and umbrella.


A fast prime Lens....Looking at theCanon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM, Right now.


A Back up Camera body...Cause I would *hate* for my 7D to stop working right in the middle of a shoot []


And Maybe some way to get more Zoom...


And if you have something that you think I should add to that list... Please make it know []


So What do y'all think would be best to get with $1000??





Thanks for any Replys []

[JJphoto]

if you don't know what to get, why not just save it till you really want something[] but if you really want to buy something, I would go with the 50mm 1.4 for low light, just my 2 cents.

[TakahiroW4047]

Ohh boy if I had a $1000! [:P]I mostly do on-location and in-studio portrait photography, and would love to have the lense set you currently have! The compression and the dof from the 70-200mm f/2.8 makes me drool haha.


Although I bet it would be great to have a wide-angle for landscape and dramatic wedding photographs, I feel you already have sufficient gear (unless you are going to sell your 7D and looking to upgrade to full frame). If you are looking to do natural light portraits you don't need anything else. Cliff Mautner would be the greatest example of one of the best natural light wedding photographers. His instructional videos from Kelby Training is fantastic by the way.


If you are looking to expand on portraits that incorporate outdoor/indoor creative lighting with strobes, then I say use all of the $1000 on strobes, modifiers, and triggers!!

[ddt0725]

Ha! I was faced with the same dilemma this morning for the same $ amount!!


I ended up purchasing a used lens and a macro slider and I still have a few$ left over! []


Anyway, if I were you and already had the gear that you do ...I would save for a used FF camera to have as a backup. It was a horrible experience when I had my camera into Canon and didn't have a camera backup available! So,that's exactly what I'm doing nowexcept it's going tol take me ALOT longer than it would you! []

Good luck with your decision!

Denise

[Kayaker72]

hmmmm....that is actually a pretty nice kit already.


You don't have any primes, but you have very good zooms that are f/2.8. I understand the advantage of going with faster primes, but with the 7D, the DOF gets very shallow very quickly. You don't really have a wildlife lens, so that would be tempting.


Overall, with that kit, that budgetand those interests I would be thinking (FYI--I don't own these lenses, just have researched them in setting up my own kit):

• 400 f/5.6L prime as a "wildlife" lens (if the $$ keep you from the 100-400L). Lacks IS, originated in 1993, but people seem to think highly of in on this forum in in the reviews I've read.
• 1.4x extender for your 70-200 to get some additional reach. If you get the version II, this might be an inexpensive way to get to 280 mm.
• One or two of the non-L primes in the portrait range (50 f/1.4 or 85 f/1.8) or maybe the sigma 30 mm
• Go on a nice photography trip (it's been a long winter here in New England [:P])

Or, as JJ already mentioned, put the money aside until you have a specific need, can afford the 100-400L,or one of the "L" portrait primes (for 7D, 35, 50, or 85mm).


Just some thoughts......

[Jarhead5811]

It may sound funny from someone that doesn

[bob williams]

It may sound funny from someone that doesn't have a good tripod but what about a good tripod?
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I concur---certainly worth serious consideration

[bino]

"But I would like to get into professional Weddings and protraits etc...."


you need 2 bodies. no way around this.


as a wedding photog you do not have time to be trading lenses on 1 body