Yet Another Upgrade Advice Request

[Juvenall]

If you find another high-quality lens you'd like to go with the 60D isn't exactly a slouch either, and the body is around $850 last I checked.

The 60D is *extremely* tempting since the Canon Loyalty Program would let me snag one for something like $640. That gives me an extra $500 for that 85mm I've had my eye on. I'm only really leaning towards the 7D over that because of the AF, build quality, and weather sealing (with two kids, everything ends up splashed sooner or later lol). The slightly large size of the 7D is a minor perk, but a very nice-to-have since I have sorta long, wide hands.

You could wait for the MKIII, but that will be at least a 1K price premium over the MKII. How long will it take before the price falls significantly? 1-2 years? Can you or do you want to wait that long? What if they come out with double rebates again near Christmas? If they do, it'd make body/lens combos more attractive, but again that is more money. Are you willing to save more and wait longer? Cameras are on a 3-4 year development cycle. You could get and use a 5DII for at least that long.

I could totally hold out. I mean, I'm not desperate for new gear. My current setup works great for the 1000+ shots I average every week. My only real complaints have been the picky AF, the ISO performance, and the cramped form factor that over long shooting sessions, sorta hurts my hand (even with a battery grip).

Midrange zooms (24-70 or 24-105) are nice, but with a combo of 17-40, 50 and 70-200, your gaps are small and won't be missed much.

I really think getting something really wide and fast is going to be the next bit of glass regardless of body. My 15-85 is great for what it is, but at 3.5 on the wide end, it hasn't been as versital as I expected. So I'm giving a good, hard look at the 28mm f/1.8, especially if I stay on a crop body.

 

[jwong]

The 60D is *extremely* tempting since the Canon Loyalty Program would let me snag one for something like $640. That gives me an extra $500 for that 85mm I've had my eye on. I'm only really leaning towards the 7D over that because of the AF, build quality, and weather sealing (with two kids, everything ends up splashed sooner or later lol). The slightly large size of the 7D is a minor perk, but a very nice-to-have since I have sorta long, wide hands.

I really think getting something really wide and fast is going to be the next bit of glass regardless of body. My 15-85 is great for what it is, but at 3.5 on the wide end, it hasn't been as versital as I expected. So I'm giving a good, hard look at the 28mm f/1.8, especially if I stay on a crop body.

Another thing that might be a factor is microfocus adjustment (MFA). 7D has it, 60D does not. This would be a bigger factor if you have faster primes. I totally agree with getting a fast prime for indoor use. Even 2.8 is not fast enough, but 1.4 usually is. I borrowed a 50 f/1.4 and found it too soft wide open, but that model has worked well for others. If your 50 f/1.8 is fast enough, then the 28 f/1.8 should work for you. I opted for the 35 f/1.4 and that has become my defacto indoor lens.