Greenie photographer : Making the switch to DSLR

[lintoni]

Tripod!

 

[sagittariansrock]

I had the 17-55 IS. I have used it in dusty (Antelope canyon) and rainy (Oregon) conditions without any problem. I always kept a filter on, and zoomed slowly if I was worried about dust. I never had any dust inside my lens (not that it affects IQ anyway).
The 16-35 is weather sealed, of course, but if you are careful enough then I would weigh that sole advantage over the several that the 17-55 offers:
1. Two to three stops of image stabilization.
2. Less than half the price
3. Fully usable (sharpness, vignetting, etc.) wide open and quite acceptable corners
4. Much lighter and slightly smaller
5. The 35-55mm focal range, which makes it a very good portrait lens (and the bokeh is quite nice)

Werz,
If you take the 16-35mm f4L IS you'll be happy. It's a fantastic lens, fast AF, sharp, great contrast and IQ. The 16-35mm give you 4-stop IS (almost) so you can shoot almost anything static without needing a tripod and get sharp images (varies from one to another).

With due respect, while fantastic for a full frame (on my list for next year), the 16-35/4 is an inferior choice in OP's specific case. All the advantages I mentioned for an f/2.8 lens WITH IS are valid, plus the OP wants to use it for portraits occasionally.
Of course, some times we just lust for L ;D

 

[wsmith96]

I've worked on my kit for quite a while, and though not as impressive as other people's kits, it does the job very nicely and appears to be similar to what you are looking for.

Here's what I have:
T1i - first camera that I learned a lot on
60D - recent second camera - bought refurbished for $460 from canon. I'm still not sure if I like it or not, was wanting increased frame rate, but it's still a tad slow for me. It also seems to produce dark images if I follow what the meter is telling me. I'm exposing to the right now to produce normal looking pictures.

General - 17-55 F2.8 - this lens is the second most used out of my kit. It produces great images every time. No issues with dust.
Wildlife/sports - Telephoto - 70-200 F2.8L Mk II - this lens is the most used out of my kit. It produces great images every time, pricey, but worth it.
Macro/Portrait - 60 2.8 - I've had a great experience with this lens, but if I were to do it over, I would have saved and gotten the 100 F2.8L - mainly for the working distance and IS. I will replace this one.
Wide-Angle - 10-22 - this is another lens that does a great job. I don't have experience with the new 10-18, but the 10-22 won't disappoint.
Portrait - 50 1.8, 85 1.8 - they both do a great job, though I've found the 85 to be a bit softer on my 60D. Don't be discouraged on the 50's plasticy feel. If you are kind to your equipment it will produce nice images for little money.
Wildlife - Teleconverter - 1.4 Mk III - I use this with my 70-200 for wildlife. It will turn this lens into a ~157-448mm FF equivalent F4 IS lens. The image quality doesn't suffer from what I can tell and focus speed is still quick.

Good luck on your kit building!

 

[Werz]

Sorry for the late reply. Thanks to everyone who posted here.

Here is what I bought/ordered :
- Canon 7D Mark II (bought)
- Canon EF 100-400 f/4.5-5.6L IS II (ordered, shipping mid-to-late december)
- Canon 16-35mm f4L IS USM (ordered, should receive it next week)
- Canon 100mm f2.8 L Macro IS USM EF (bought)

So far, very happy with the 7DII

 

[Ryan85]

You'll be very happy with that kit. The 100L macro makes a very good portrait lens. It's a little long but it'll work. Maybe consider a 50mm prime whether sigma or canon 1.4 or 1.8 so you have a fast prime that's a little shorter and I think you'll be set. Congrats on the new setup and enjoy!

 

[zim]

That's a rather good kit I'm jealous that's pretty much where I'm trying to get to!
Have to agree a fast prime around 35 - 50 would be what I'd go for next (and last for quite a long time)

Congrats and have fun!

 

[Act444]

Sorry for the late reply. Thanks to everyone who posted here.

Here is what I bought/ordered :
- Canon 7D Mark II (bought)
- Canon EF 100-400 f/4.5-5.6L IS II (ordered, shipping mid-to-late december)
- Canon 16-35mm f4L IS USM (ordered, should receive it next week)
- Canon 100mm f2.8 L Macro IS USM EF (bought)

So far, very happy with the 7DII

Nice, enjoy!

When I first started (early 2010), I was leaning towards the 7D...then the T2i came out (the first rebel with 18MP), so I decided to grab that and put the money saved towards a better lens. But since I was just starting, I decided to just get the T2i with the stock 18-55mm lens, use that to get comfortable with the camera and THEN upgrade to a better lens afterward once I knew exactly what I wanted. As I found out, I'm very glad I went that direction because the learning curve was rather steep...

Didn't take long for me to realize that I needed better glass pronto if I truly wanted to unleash the potential of my new DSLR. When it was time to upgrade, I ended up with the 24-105 f/4L IS (outdoor/general shooting) and a Tamron 17-50 2.8 VC (indoor/low light shooting).

I still have the 24-105 (different copy though), but the Tamron eventually got sold for Canon's 17-55 (the Tamron was a good lens for the price but focus issues and softness at 2.8 prompted an upgrade when I could afford it). Then, the move up to FF forced me to give up the 17-55 which I traded in for a 24-70 II. I've since made the decision to utilize both FF and APS-C, but the 55-250 is the only EF-S lens I currently have. Pretty good one too, sharpness holds up with the L telephotos (but color rendition and AF lag behind).

 

[FTb-n]

EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS as a landscape and walkaround lens. Another option would be the EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6, either will give you L-series optical quality in a more useful focal range for APS-C (24mm on APS-C is normal, not wide angle; personally I prefer a faster aperture, especially on APS-C).

For portraits, the EF 85mm f/1.8 – IMO, it has about the best IQ per dollar value in the Canon lineup. I liked mine so well I replaced it with the EF 85mm f/1.2L II, and liked that so much that after adding a FF camera to my kit, I bought the EF 135mm f/2L (which is the FF equivalent of 85/1.2 on crop).

Also, if you'll shoot indoor portraits be sure to add an external flash, 430EX II or better so you have sufficient power and can tilt/rotate the head to bounce the flash off a ceiling or wall.

+1

Before going FF, the 17-55 f2.8 IS and 70-200 f2.8L II IS were my staples for crop -- the short zoom on a 60D and the long zoom on the 7D. I would strongly recommend the 17-55 as your "normal" lens and starter lens.

The 24-xxx lenses are great on FF, but have a more limited range on crop. In many cases, they either aren't quite wide enough or they aren't quite long enough. You may find yourself changing lenses more often.

Keep in mind that small DOF is harder to achieve with crop bodies. You need faster lenses and/or longer lenses for subject isolation. If portraiture is a big interest, you may either want longer lenses at 2.8 (the 70-200 works well here) or faster "short" teles, like the 85 f1.8 or 100 f2.0 -- both good lenses and both relatively cheap.

Another lens to consider as a "normal" prime is the 35 f2.0 IS. I've kept my 60D and 7D and like this lens with these bodies. It's very good in low light with the added benefit of IS and slow shutter speeds.

It's easy and tempting to enumerate the lenses that "you need to get", but the best advice I was given was to wait until you have an identified need before investing in new gear. Don't upgrade unless your current gear is holding you back. With this in mind, pick one lens to start with (and I would recommend the 17-55). But, don't assemble your "kit" with a single purchase. Build it over time. You will likely find that your actual usage will vary widely from your anticipated need.

Good luck and have fun with the 7D2!!