Looking to upgrade my gear!

[whitedjp]

Hello everyone,

First off I have been a frequent reader everyday for years now and I always value people's opinions. With that in mind, I decided to post and see if anyone could offer me some opinions.

I have been saving a couple years now in order to make my transition into FF and accumulate some new gear ! I am currently a paid student photographer for a school newspaper and I shoot a ton of sports along with events. I am lucky enough that our newspaper has a full blown studio that is used for celebrities that come to our school, headshots, magazines we shoot, etc. I have become quite well rounded through shooting all of these events on a weekly basis. I currently am shooting with my own canon 7d, 70-200mm 2.8ii, sigma 50mm 1.4 A, and 24-105mmL for most of these events. While I enjoy shooting sports, I'd say that my passion lies in portraiture/studio work, but i do occasionally wander off for a bit of landscape photography I have saved upwards of 8k specifically for photo gear and I have some hard choices to make in that I have a lot of choices to choose from at this budget :S

I'll summarize some of my thoughts so far

-Either a 5d3/or 5ds/ and/or 7d markii
-Potentially a speedlight lighting kit
-Canon 24-70 f2.8ii

I really appreciate any advice on gear advice or experiences working with certain gear, any insight will help me make a more well informed decision Maybe even sell me on new gear : Who knows ;D

Thanks

Jon

 

[mackguyver]

I would hang onto the 7D for sports, and go full frame (5DIII - if buying before July). If you really want to do portraiture, I'd strongly consider the 85 f/1.2 II. It's pricey, but there's nothing better for portraits unless they are all in the studio, where you won't likely shoot wide open. The 24-105 would be just fine for that. I would keep it as well for studio stuff. For landscapes and environmental portraits, I'd add the 16-35 f/4 IS. That and some lighting & light modifiers (speedlites or strobes and softboxes) and you'll have a well rounded kit with what you already have.

 

[Danzq]

I'd give my vote to 5d3 and would suggest pairing it with Tamrons 24-70 f/2.8 which is a very good lens and would save you some money to get e.g. the 135L

7d is a great camera and 7d2 even better but I think you'd be happier with the 5d3 + 7d combo than 7d2 and 7d.

-Dan

 

[whitedjp]

Thanks for the replies!

So mackguyver, in your opinion do you think i should sell the Sigma 50mm A for the 85L (because I think they are very similar, and to my knowledge the sigma is sharper?)? Despite all the commotion with the 50, i got a perfect copy of the art, no issues on focus whatsoever! I mean i could technically get something similar to the 85L if i had enough distance with the 70-200 2.8 if i moved back far enough I will definitely keep the 16-35f4 at the top of the list for lens to buy! However, could you tell me why you'd think a 5d3 might be a better than the 5ds/r for what i shoot?

Same question to you Danzq (5d3 vs 5ds/)? I mean i have the 135L covered almost with the 70-200 2.8 but there is wiggle room to do both a studio and sports body in my budget (either a 5d3/s and 7d2)?

 

[ajfotofilmagem]

Can I get some name-calling by saying this ...
But, do not change your Sigma 50mm Art, by any prime Canon currently available.

Assuming you buy 5D Mark iii, the Sigma 50 Art will make a perfect pair with Canon 135mm L. Canon 24-70 F2.8 ii, and a flash 600EX can complement well your equipment.

 

[DBC]

I just grabbed a new 5D3 because the price dropped.
I'll wait to see if I want a 5D4 or a 5ds(r) when they come out and have been real-world tested.
I figue in a year or so, the 5D3 will be a great 2nd body.

 

[Ruined]

Hello everyone,

First off I have been a frequent reader everyday for years now and I always value people's opinions. With that in mind, I decided to post and see if anyone could offer me some opinions.

I have been saving a couple years now in order to make my transition into FF and accumulate some new gear ! I am currently a paid student photographer for a school newspaper and I shoot a ton of sports along with events. I am lucky enough that our newspaper has a full blown studio that is used for celebrities that come to our school, headshots, magazines we shoot, etc. I have become quite well rounded through shooting all of these events on a weekly basis. I currently am shooting with my own canon 7d, 70-200mm 2.8ii, sigma 50mm 1.4 A, and 24-105mmL for most of these events. While I enjoy shooting sports, I'd say that my passion lies in portraiture/studio work, but i do occasionally wander off for a bit of landscape photography I have saved upwards of 8k specifically for photo gear and I have some hard choices to make in that I have a lot of choices to choose from at this budget :S

I'll summarize some of my thoughts so far

-Either a 5d3/or 5ds/ and/or 7d markii
-Potentially a speedlight lighting kit
-Canon 24-70 f2.8ii

I really appreciate any advice on gear advice or experiences working with certain gear, any insight will help me make a more well informed decision Maybe even sell me on new gear : Who knows ;D

Thanks

Jon

So, first, lets look at what you do and what want to do more of:

You do:
Sports and Events
Celebrity Profiles

You want to do more:
Portraiture
Studio
Landscape

First lets look at what you picked out:
5d3 - great all arounder that is good at everything. Only downside are some quirks like the AF point lighting, lack of user changeable focus screen, and the fact that the sensor has been bested by Canon's cheaper 6D.
5ds - probably will not work for you, as it could potentially have difficulties with low light events and sports
7d2 - best for sports, but not the best for portraiture, studio, or landscape
You did not mention the 6D, but that camera is not great at sports due to the less advanced AF, so probably will not work.

So I would say 5D3 makes most sense as a body if you are getting one body.

If you are getting two bodies, you might want to consider the 6D and the 7D2. That would be tons cheaper than a 5DS/5D3 and 7D2 and let you spend the extra cash on glass. For studio/landscape I would say the 6D is superior to the 5D3 as the sensor is better, and it is more flexible than the 5DS; though 5DS appears to be IQ king at the moment, the 6D is more flexible in low light.

As for lens
-70-200 f/2.8L II - fantastic, keep this one
-24-105mm f/4L - I never really liked this lens, something about its images just does not pop.
-Sigma 50A - like you said, getting one that works properly seems to be a miracle but it is a good piece of glass. But for portraits the 85L II is definitely better.

85L II - this lens is best for shallow DOF and extreme low light portraiture. The AF is slow and it is a fragile lens compared to other Canon lenses so it is not something really meant to be taken out of the studio often. That being said, it looks amazing and 85mm is a better focal length for portraits than 50mm due to reduced perspective distortion. It is up to you if you want to budget this much cash to a lens that is basically only for portraiture. If you do a lot of it, I'd say go for it.

24-70 f/2.8L II this is an amazingly crisp lens. But not as much character as the 85L II (or 50L 1.2) for portraits.

How about...

SELL
50A: +$800
24-105L: +$550

BUY
Landscape: 16-35 f/4L IS $1100
General/Events: 24-70 f/2.8L II $2200
Studio/Portraiture: 85L II $1900
Sports: 70-200 f/2.8L II (no cost)
5d3 for all $2300 *or* wait for 5d4 later this year *or* 6D (studio/landscape/events) + 7D2 (sports) if you want two bodies.
600EX-RT Speedlite $550
Leftover $1300 for strobes and light modifiers

 

[Danzq]

Ruined summed it up pretty well imo!

Dont think 5ds/r would bring enough to the table for you against its price tag. 7d2 definately is an upgrade from 7d and makes it THE sports/wildlife body. 5d3 is amayzingly versitale and good performer all around so 5d3+7d2 would be heaven for me atleast.

70-200 is very good but imo does not give you the same results a 85L or 135L would.

Also worth probably good thing to give thoughts is your processing hardware. How well are you covered in terms of PC/mac power?

-Dan

 

[mackguyver]

whitedjp, I think Ruined summarized it well and I agree 100% with his recommendations but the Sigma 50A vs. 85L is a personal choice. The 50A is roughly an 85mm on the FF body, so I think you'll find it a bit short if you get the 5D___. Also the 85L is to me, and many others the perfect portrait lens. It can blow out the background and give you amazing shots at f/1.2 and it just has something special about it, even stopped down a bit. If you don't shoot outdoors or in really low light, the 70-200 is plenty fine, however.

 

[painya]

Quick thing on the 6d- recently, with my aputure triggers, my sync speed has only been 1/60. I don't know if that's just me or what but that may make it a less than great option for portraits. If anyone has any idea of what went wrong let me know.

 

[Marsu42]

Quick thing on the 6d- recently, with my aputure triggers, my sync speed has only been 1/60. I don't know if that's just me or what but that may make it a less than great option for portraits. If anyone has any idea of what went wrong let me know

Probably you've set the flash settings to ettl and set the automatic sync speed in av to float between 1/60 and 1/180. If the background is dark, the camera will try to get as much ambient as possible and default to the slowest sync.

If you want to change this behavior
* shoot with fixed 1/180 x-sync in av resulting essentially in a kind of m mode with ec possible even on the 6d
* use tv with pre-set shutter speed and floating aperture -> will probably default to wide open
* shoot full camera m, loosing the option to set ec

Alas, auto-iso won't work either with flash, this is all completely braindead behavior (thanks, Canon!) though there was a experimental Magic Lantern module around providing auto iso with flash, ec in m and custom min. aperture in tv.

 

[Tabor Warren Photography]

I agree with mackguyver.

The 5Diii/85L combo is magical. I also love the 5Diii/50L, but the 85L is simply a force to be reckoned with when it comes to the best portrait lens. I also use the 70-200ii, but again, I would say the 85L is the best portrait lens we own.

I have never used the Sigma 50A, but I think you know my recommendation.

Also, as I'm sure your familiar with, lighting brings a whole new world to portrait possibilities, we just invested in more 600EX-RT's and I am excited to work with their possibilities.

I hope this helps!
-Tabor

 

[tinkertinker]

I would give my vote to the 5dIII too.

-->keep the 24-105 it´s good enough for general use, keep the 50A, and for sure the 70-200,
may be useful: 1.4III converter for the 70-200...
as ruined stated for landscape the 4.0/16-35, for portrait: low priced but good the 2.0/100 or the
2.0/135. if the magical 1.2/85 is your choise Id sell the 50A too...
and because light forms the picture, what about a battery-onlocation-flash-unit like the
elinchrome ranger quadra(400ws) or the profoto B1(500ws)....
nice dreaming..

 

[painya]

Quick thing on the 6d- recently, with my aputure triggers, my sync speed has only been 1/60. I don't know if that's just me or what but that may make it a less than great option for portraits. If anyone has any idea of what went wrong let me know

Probably you've set the flash settings to ettl and set the automatic sync speed in av to float between 1/60 and 1/180. If the background is dark, the camera will try to get as much ambient as possible and default to the slowest sync.

If you want to change this behavior
* shoot with fixed 1/180 x-sync in av resulting essentially in a kind of m mode with ec possible even on the 6d
* use tv with pre-set shutter speed and floating aperture -> will probably default to wide open
* shoot full camera m, loosing the option to set ec

Alas, auto-iso won't work either with flash, this is all completely braindead behavior (thanks, Canon!) though there was a experimental Magic Lantern module around providing auto iso with flash, ec in m and custom min. aperture in tv.

Thanks for your response. I always shoot in M and where do I change ettl settings? Im using a 580 EX in manual mode.

 

[agierke]

hey whitedjp,

sounds like you are in an excellent position to jumpstart your career after college. i actually would be interested in hearing a bit more about your situation concerning the university studio.

do you do the shooting when a studio gig happens or do they have a photographer on staff to handle that? what equipment does the studio have (ie lights, modifiers, grip, cameras, lenses)?

reason i ask is that studio shooting is quite diverse and can require a seemingly endless amount of gear, depending on what type of shooting is being done. to know what your long term plans are would be helpful. do you plan on pursuing a career in studio photography and if so will you limit yourself to portraiture or will you want to do product, fashion, etc as well?

what i would suggest, if studio work is your primary concern, is to pick up a 5D3 first and then focus on getting a lighting package together. this of course assumes that you will be losing access to the university studio after graduation. i would get 2 600EXRTs to start and then pick up a set of monoheads, some basic modifiers, light stands, and a background set up. ability to have full control over the light is almost more important than adding lenses for studio work. the speedlights will have greater use for your event work but a good monohead package will offer much better opportunities in the studio.

i can offer more specifics if i knew more about what bases you would like to have covered and what genres of studio photography you knew you wouldn't be pursuing.

 

[Marsu42]

Thanks for your response. I always shoot in M and where do I change ettl settings? Im using a 580 EX in manual mode.

Please clarify your problem again - your shooting camera m and flash m, and if you go beyond 1/60s the flash goes into hss mode rather than staying with x-sync up to 1/180s?

 

[FTb-n]

Keep the 7D and the 70-200 f2.8L II (my favorite lens). Add a 5D3 and a 24-70 f2.8L II. I shoot a lot of events and sports and prefer using two bodies. I'm now using two 5D3's one with each of these two lenses and I'm set for just about anything. Love the 70-200 for portraits.

Specialty lenses to consider are the 85's. My need is low, but I'm waiting for a replacement to the 50 1.4 and the 85 1.8. I have the 35 f2.0 IS for my "low" light lens. Another favorite is the 40 f2.8 pancake for traveling light.

I'm not a fan of on camera flash and have collected several Yongnuo 565 flashes and Yongnuo 622c remotes for off camera use. You can control the flash settings through the camera menu. You can setup up to three different "groups" of flashes and control the flash settings for each group through the camera. Very handy when using 2-4 separate off camera lights (such as a key light, a fill light, and a couple background lights).

 

[Pookie]

I highly recommend these and/or a Profoto B1 and dispense with the speedlites... my most used portrait lenses or at least the ones that I go to work with daily. Speedlites are good but are not going to set your work apart from others.

My trinity...

The 85 is key for portraiture along with the Profoto's/Elinchrom's (on-site studio lighting), you're not going to ever be able to do this properly without a ton of speedlites and double AA's. If you're serious about moving into the business speedlites won't cut it, period. Its kinda like buying cheap tripods, you buy a bunch of them until you pony up for a quality one and then you'll realise how much time and money was wasted by not committing to the big purchase. Three or four speedlites and you could have gone with a single quality strobe/battery pack. Just my two cents, wish someone would have told me this about 10 years ago... I would have moved straight past speedlites and saved thousands of dollars.

 

[painya]

Thanks for your response. I always shoot in M and where do I change ettl settings? Im using a 580 EX in manual mode.

Please clarify your problem again - your shooting camera m and flash m, and if you go beyond 1/60s the flash goes into hss mode rather than staying with x-sync up to 1/180s?

If I shoot on 1/80 it doesn't record the whole frame. Only half of the frame is lit by the flash

 

[sagittariansrock]

I strongly recommend going with the new Godox barebulb flashes (AD360, also known by various names) instead of Speedlites (buy from Adorama or Cheetah Stand for warranty coverage). For $ 500 each, you will get a 300Ws portable flash plus battery pack. I just received mine today, and I am already in love with it. The first time I ran a test pop at full power it nearly blinded me (I am used to 600EX-RTs, which are a fourth the power). They will give you more versatility and more power.
Alternatively, if you must go with Speedlites, choose the Mitros+ instead. They will combine seamlessly with studio strobes using the Stratos receiver, unlike the closed RT system. I have the 600s, and now I will have to hope that the Yongnuo receiver allows me to use non-RT flashes with it- it is never an optimal situation if you have to depend on Yongnuo :-X.