Am I crazy to sell my Canon gear?

[Synomis192]

So after a long time being absent from photography I have decided that I want to stop my pursuit in becoming a semi-professional photographer.

That being said, I don't want to give up photography. I just want to be able to take good pictures for my personal portfolio! So I'm considering selling all of my Canon gear (Canon 5Dc, 17-40mm, 50mm, and 70-200mm) and buying a smaller set up that is unobtrusive.

I would probably get around 1,750 for everything in total. With that money, I planned on getting this set up:

• Sony NEX C3 w/ 16mm f/2.8
• Sigma 30mm f/2.8
• Sony 50mm f/1.8

Anyways, am I crazy for going this route?

 

[mrsfotografie]

Have you used a Sony NEX yet? The lack of an optical viewfinder makes the photography experience a little more detached in my opinion (Even if you have an EVF - the EVF on my NEX-6 is good, but nothing beats optical).

On the up-side, the NEX photo's are definitely DSLR quality. The Sigma 30 mm is a brilliant little lens. I can recommend to also get the Sony E PZ 16-50mm F3.5-5.6 OSS. (OSS = IS) It is a great zoom lens. No chroma's, plenty sharp and the distortion and vignetting are corrected in camera or in post.

I would suggest you sell your Canon zooms and get the Nex with a 30 mm prime and possibly the zoom I mentioned (it's surely available as a 'kit' which makes it a good value).

Keep the 5Dc and the 50 mm for now and only get rid of that if you're perfectly satisfied with the Nex, then get more primes as you suggested.

 

[J.R.]

Yes ... You are crazy to sell your Canon gear ... Especially because two months back you were seeking advice as to how to improve your gear -

So I made the jump to FF with my 5D

I love it so much and I feel like it was a step up from my T1i. Thanks to everyone who helped me on this forum haha.

My new question is what should my lens set up be? I currently have theses lenses for my 5D:
-Canon 17-40 f/4 (upgraded from a Tamron 17-35 f/2.8-4.0)
-Canon 50mm f/1.8
-Canon 70-200 f/4

Is there any other lens that I should be looking at? I mainly shoot at family parties and friendly gatherings. Occasionally I do some landscape photography and interior/exterior photography of buildings
I'm thinking about getting a Canon 24-105 but I have lens that already cover that focal length. I do want some primes like the Canon 35mm f/2 or the Canon 100mm f/2 (not the 2.8 macro).

I think I'm set for flashes since I have a 580exII and 430exII. Anyone have any suggestions for expanding my gear list?

Like many hobbyists, I think you may just be having an emotional pang. There have been numerous times when I've thought "so much gear and so little time for photos" but it goes away with time.

Shifting to a smaller setup won't solve anything because you'll miss the most obvious IQ benefits of the FF DSLRs. At the risk of sounding like an idiot giving the opposite advice of what you wish to do, I'd suggest buying something like a Sony RX 100 as a P&S in addition to your existing gear and use the P&S where you need to be unobtrusive. Give it 6 months and if you don't find yourself craving for the DSLR IQ, Sell your gear.

 

[mrsfotografie]

Yes ... You are crazy to sell your Canon gear ... Especially because two months back you were seeking advice as to how to improve your gear -

So I made the jump to FF with my 5D

I love it so much and I feel like it was a step up from my T1i. Thanks to everyone who helped me on this forum haha.

My new question is what should my lens set up be? I currently have theses lenses for my 5D:
-Canon 17-40 f/4 (upgraded from a Tamron 17-35 f/2.8-4.0)
-Canon 50mm f/1.8
-Canon 70-200 f/4

Is there any other lens that I should be looking at? I mainly shoot at family parties and friendly gatherings. Occasionally I do some landscape photography and interior/exterior photography of buildings
I'm thinking about getting a Canon 24-105 but I have lens that already cover that focal length. I do want some primes like the Canon 35mm f/2 or the Canon 100mm f/2 (not the 2.8 macro).

I think I'm set for flashes since I have a 580exII and 430exII. Anyone have any suggestions for expanding my gear list?

Like many hobbyists, I think you may just be having an emotional pang. There have been numerous times when I've thought "so much gear and so little time for photos" but it goes away with time.

Shifting to a smaller setup won't solve anything because you'll miss the most obvious IQ benefits of the FF DSLRs. At the risk of sounding like an idiot giving the opposite advice of what you wish to do, I'd suggest buying something like a Sony RX 100 as a P&S in addition to your existing gear and use the P&S where you need to be unobtrusive. Give it 6 months and if you don't find yourself craving for the DSLR IQ, Sell your gear.

+1. Give it some time and live with your gear.

 

[Eli]

Go Fuji..

 

[sanj]

You did not mention the kind of photography you do.
Decision depends on that.

 

[bycostello]

yes

 

[bholliman]

Yes ... You are crazy to sell your Canon gear ... Especially because two months back you were seeking advice as to how to improve your gear -
Give it 6 months and if you don't find yourself craving for the DSLR IQ, Sell your gear.

+1. Give it some time and live with your gear.

+1 Give you current gear at least 6-9 months before moving in a different direction. If you have only had your 5Dc for 2 months, that's not enough time for a real evaluation.

 

[Click]

Yes ... You are crazy to sell your Canon gear ... Especially because two months back you were seeking advice as to how to improve your gear -
Give it 6 months and if you don't find yourself craving for the DSLR IQ, Sell your gear.

+1. Give it some time and live with your gear.

+1

 

[Loswr]

You did not mention the kind of photography you do.
Decision depends on that.

+1. If you like the creativity of thin DoF, stick with FF.

 

[Sporgon]

Not per se, but announcing it on CR means you probably are........

 

[Dylan777]

@ OP - smaller gear or mirrorless will be a good choice IF; you only do still shooting. Otherwise, DSLR is still the king in term of speed and IQ.

RX1 is my 1st choice for light travel, but I will not sell my 5D III + lenses until I only do still photography.

 

[Quasimodo]

So after a long time being absent from photography I have decided that I want to stop my pursuit in becoming a semi-professional photographer.

That being said, I don't want to give up photography. I just want to be able to take good pictures for my personal portfolio! So I'm considering selling all of my Canon gear (Canon 5Dc, 17-40mm, 50mm, and 70-200mm) and buying a smaller set up that is unobtrusive.

I would probably get around 1,750 for everything in total. With that money, I planned on getting this set up:

• Sony NEX C3 w/ 16mm f/2.8
• Sigma 30mm f/2.8
• Sony 50mm f/1.8

Anyways, am I crazy for going this route?

You are not crazy!

To me this is a either or, and I can feel your ambivalence. I think that if you do sell your gear, - stick with a compact. Why go to an inferior system, or a system at all? Buy a compact with a zoom or a fixed focal lenght. Other than that; you will wind up missing your gear.

G.

 

[Hillsilly]

...and buying a smaller set up that is unobtrusive...

Anyways, am I crazy for going this route?

If that's a primary objective, I can't knock your thinking. Plus, I think you'd gain a few extra capabilities and IQ benefits over the 5Dc. But there are a lot of downsides with going mirrorless and I'd suggest taking baby steps. Did you know there are some really good EF to NEX adapters that might allow you to retain aperture control and (admittedly very slow) AF when using your lenses on the Sony? Why not just pick up the NEX C3 and one lens and keep your Canon gear for the time being? Best of both worlds.

 

[sawsedge]

I like the idea of going with smaller gear for certain situations, and the IQ is certainly very good now... but have you held on in your hands?

I held a friend's NEX a couple months ago and it cramped my hands inside a minute. Ergonomics are worth something I'd say.

When I decided to go digital, I had an older Minolta manual focus system, so I had no upgrade path to follow, and I looked at every brand and option. I went with Canon for both lens selection and how they felt in my hand.

So, if you try something new, try it in your hands before you sell the old gear, at the least.

 

[Synomis192]

So, if you try something new, try it in your hands before you sell the old gear, at the least.

Yeah, actually I've been to my local Fry's and Best Buy to handle a lot of the NEX cameras. I knew that the C3 has been discontinued so the next best thing was the F3 and I actually liked the small format of the camera. It's smaller that I wished it was, but I liked the portability.

Yes ... You are crazy to sell your Canon gear ... Especially because two months back you were seeking advice as to how to improve your gear -
Give it 6 months and if you don't find yourself craving for the DSLR IQ, Sell your gear.

+1. Give it some time and live with your gear.

+1 Give you current gear at least 6-9 months before moving in a different direction. If you have only had your 5Dc for 2 months, that's not enough time for a real evaluation.

I have been using my 5Dc for a few months now. I love it and I don't think I will not let go of it, but I'm kind of tired of lugging a huge DSLR around everywhere. I'm not getting compensated in anyway for my photos,. But I understand that gear is just tools for photographers, and i think smaller gears will be better for now.

You did not mention the kind of photography you do.
Decision depends on that.

+1. If you like the creativity of thin DoF, stick with FF.

Sorry, I didn't realize I didn't include that: Landscapes, Still Life, Group Shots and Portraits (Candid Portraits)

 

[AudioGlenn]

You did not mention the kind of photography you do.
Decision depends on that.

+1. If you like the creativity of thin DoF, stick with FF.

+1

 

[Bruce Photography]

What is a 5Dc? - I'm assuming that it is a 5D based upon the prices you could get for it. For $1800 you could get from Costco a complete Nikon D7100 with their $850 18-200 lens. This combination is small, light, 24MP, and that one lens covers the equivalent from 27mm to 300 without ever changing lenses. I am very surprised on how good that lens is. I have a 5D (and a 5D2, 5D3) and I can see why you are not having fun with it. This would be a totally new approach. I did add Nikon gear to my tools and it really opened my eyes and made photography fun again. I also suggest you start by having some large prints made (at least 17x25) and have them framed or prepared in your favorite way. Sometimes Photography is a shared joy.

 

[Hillsilly]

I've assumeed a 5Dc is the original 5D, which is occassionally referred to as the 5D "classic" (hence 5Dc).

Re DOF, you can still get really nice DOF effects with a crop sensor with appropriate lenses. Ok, backgrounds might not be as blurred as medium format or even FF, but still quite nice. In addition, most recent crop sensor lenses are reasonably sharp wide open, whereas many FF lenses require stopping down a bit to reach a high level of sharpness. Reducing your aperture by one stop offsets much of the DOF benefits.

I've reassessed my whole FF vs crop sensor view in recent months. At lower ISOs, some of the better crop sensors are comparable with FF sensors. And with some high quality lenses being released by Sony, Zeiss, Fuji and others, the IQ differences between a FF camera and a crop sensored camera are rapidly diminishing. Unless very high ISOs are your thing, the only real benefit of a FF sensor is that it generally comes packaged in a much more capable, durable, faster camera body. You're essentially paying for the features, not necessarily significantly improved image quality over other brand's crop sensored cameras.

 

[RLPhoto]

I'm selling some equipment, but to upgrade to some canon equipment... :