Many great things here and a lot to ponder.
(You can skip the next few paragraphs to the dashed lines if you just want my thoughts on photography equipment, but I wanted to address some of the really kind thoughts about my wellbeing too!)
To answer a couple of things, I do currently subscribe to the photographer's bundle of Creative Cloud, so I have the latest Lightroom and Photoshop. I also have the (now Google) Nik suite. I shoot primarily RAW. I have a flash, a flash bracket, a diffuser, and a semi-decent ball head (Induro BHD2), though my tripod could probably stand to be replaced soon (Manfrotto 055MF3 that has possibly seen too many trips to beaches and hiking).
I also want to emphasize that buying this camera equipment is not taking the the place of, say, food or electricity. Bankruptcy and foreclosure is behind us, we don't keep high balances on our one credit card, and neither of us has a car payment. My wife's job is a private practice with her parents doing something she absolutely loves. We aren't struggling, we just aren't living the lifestyle we were. I took the initiative to find things that we had in storage or in my parents' basement that were valuable and took the time to list them all on eBay and was successful, so this is kind of my reward and honestly it's the best I've felt in a long time. It was something productive I could do on my own schedule and not have to worry if I had an off day.
The apartment situation is a bit of a bummer on a lot of levels, mostly because in this area it's tough to find a place that will let you have a dog and two cats and I'd sooner give up all of my camera equipment than my pets, who are our family. So we took what we could get. It's a great location in a small town I like, it's just a crummy building. I am very aware of S.A.D. and am quite affected by it, but I plan to get a light therapy box which I think will help.
Surapon I obviously don't know your son's situation and I can understand how tough it is on you, but I will say from my own experiences at least it's not about not wanting to work (though I NEVER want to work at my previous occupation again, which is less about the work and more about the people you have to work for and being verbally abused every single day) but there are days where I either cannot sleep for 48 hours or cannot get out of bed for 48 hours. It's hard to keep any kind of job when your life is like that. My family has been very supportive of me and I've been trying to find ways to overcome it, but it's been really tough. My therapist is actually actively trying to push me to do more with photography and I think she's on to something, which is part of what led me here.
As for classes, I actually wouldn't mind taking some. I've always been skeptical of the online classes and never really sure what they would be like. I'm obviously an amateur, but I know all the basics and have been shooting for years. One thing I don't know a lot about is studio lighting because I've never really had the opportunity. If I had the space, I think that's the type of thing I would be looking into. I don't know much about reflectors either. Again, just not the type of thing I ever had the opportunity to experiment with. I did look to see if there were any classes around here at the community colleges, but they looked terrible. If I lived nearer to my wife's uncle he'd be willing to train me as he actually is a graphic arts/photography professor.
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I think the most repeated sentiment that I should be using some sort of full frame body. I can't say that I disagree with this.
The only thing I can say for certain is that a 6D would have to be supplemental to my existing 7D because when I'm shooting birds at the wildlife sanctuary on the shore, the 6D autofocus would just not suffice. From a value perspective, I definitely see its benefits. Significantly cheaper, good IQ, built in wifi & GPS (things I would actually like), great in low light.
The things that have always had me on the fence with the 6D are the autofocus system (which if I'm keeping the 7D, perhaps not a big deal), the different layout (I'm VERY used to and comfortable with the 7D buttons and joystick and the 5D III is very similar), the plastic shell (my camera goes hiking with me when I'm up for it and spends time at the beach), and strangely enough the 97% viewfinder. When I went from the 20D to the 7D, the viewfinder just seemed to make a big difference. Granted that was 95% to 100%. Maybe it wouldn't be that big of a deal.
What I really need to do is try one, but I'm not sure where around here to do that. There's one possible camera store nearby, but they never seem very friendly when I go in there and i would almost certainly not be buying anything from them.
So there's 6D as a supplemental body and maybe some updated equipment and a new piece of glass. There's the 5D III, sell the 7D & 10-22mm and maybe get a 1.4x III. Or there's sticking with the 7D line and getting some new glass with wider apertures such as the Sigma 18-35 1.8 which seems to never be in stock but I've liked what I've seen.
To those who have said that I already have everything I need, I really feel like I don't. For those music club shots where photography is permitted but flash is prohibited, the light is so poor and even with my 85 1.8 I have to crank the ISO so high to prevent motion blur that the amount of detail I lose to noise just makes for an unattractive photo. I have the same issue at night sporting events.
And then the other idea is to go in a new direction, maybe re-enter the world of macro (I once had a Sigma 150 which was fantastic, but it met an unfortunate death years ago) and then I don't have to worry about travel (don't get me wrong, I love travel, it's just tough to do alone right now), I don't need a lot of space, and probably I can get by with what I have and just get a lens and a flash.
A lot to think about and I appreciate everyone who has taken the time to give me some input and for all the kind sentiments regarding my health.
. Better get other stuff with the money left like flashes, lighting gear (diffusers, reflectors, flash bracket), filters - that will give you much more to do than just owning the latest and greatest camera body.
