The only reason for the crop solution would be a plan to upgrade to ff in 1-2 years and being very short on money
That happens to be exactly my situation XD
The reason I decided to start this poll is that I used to own a 70-200 IS II, 5D2, 10-22, and T3i. I planned to use this setup professionally for low-light events after graduating with my bachelor's degree. However, I instead took a job offer (non-photography related) and for now will be shooting low-light events, on-location portraits, and products/food non-professionally. All of this would be for personal use and I will rarely be paid for the work, hence the reason I cannot spend $7000 on the ideal setup (5D3, 24-70 II, 70-200 II) right away.
I sold the 70-200/5D2 and 10-22/T3i and replaced them with a 6D and 85mm f1.8 (the extra money I saved went towards important, non-photography-related expenses). However, I simply wasn't impressed with the 85mm. Although a great focal length, I felt that sharpness, color, contrast, and aberration correction were inferior to the 70-200. I now realize that should not have been surprising, since the design of the 85mm is 20 years old and it's $1700 cheaper. But with everyone talking about how great primes are compared to zooms and whatnot I just expected a lot more from the 85mm. I returned the 85mm and the 6D body as well, planning to buy the 6D/24-105 kit instead. But now I'm worried that if the 85mm f1.8 wasn't impressive enough for me, neither will the 24-105...
Perhaps I'm just picky about glass. I know that the photographer makes the photo, not the gear. But knowing that my photos could be sharper or less distorted really annoys me. I've never shot the 24-105 -- I feel like the distortion would bother me, but maybe I'll be completely satisfied with it and my worries will have been for nothing. Or maybe I'd be perfectly okay being stuck with a Rebel for a year knowing I have the best glass available. I have speedlites to offset the high-ISO disadvantage. Of course, they'd also offset the f4 disadvantage too... I'm indecisive, aren't I?
So that's why I'm interested in hearing what you guys think about all this.
