Canon Kit Upgrades/Rationalisation

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Broric

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I currently have a 400D which I've had for years but I'm thinking about upgrading to the 70D and at the same time I thought it made sense to try and make a bit more sense of what lenses I'm using.

I currently have:

Canon 50m F1.8 II
Canon 28-105mm F3.5-4.5 II USM - This doesn't get much use at all
Sigma 70-300mm F4-5.6 APO DG MACRO - Used a lot of wildlife, sports, events, etc
Tamron SP AF 90mm F2.8 MACRO - Mainly use for the macro or some portraits when 50mm is too short.
Tamron SP AF 17-50mm F2.8 XR Di II VC - This is relatively new and I've mainly been using it for landscapes but will come in handy for weddings/groups (as a guest, not official)

I tend to shoot quite a variety of stuff so don't want to become too specialised/restricted but I'd say most important is events and wildlife (not really birds so can forgo the massive focal lengths).

As the sigma telephoto zoom gets the most use I'm thinking an upgrade here makes sense and wondered whether the Canon 70-200 F4 L non-IS (with a teleconverter?) would be a good upgrade (at around £350-£400). I'm not sure if there are better options though?

The other consideration is whether the Canon 50mm F1.4 is a big enough upgrade on the F1.8?

Any advice would be great

Cheers
 
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Hi

The 70D is a good upgrade from your 400D and you'll certainly notice a difference...

With regards to your lenses, you have a wide variety and if you are happy with them and the results you get then great, if there is a lens that you feel lets you down, then I'd certainly look to be swapping that. The Canon 70-200F4 is a belter of a lens and a significant upgrade to Sigma 70-300 - If you can afford one, I'd certainly recommend going for it...

I used to have one and absolutely loved it - certainly look to get another...
 
I can emphasise with how difficult it can be to pick the right lens, having the same problem! With regards to the 70d, I have just upgraded from a 550d and I cannot rate it highly enough. All the extra features & improved iq, make it very useable and versatile.
 
andyred said:
Hi

The 70D is a good upgrade from your 400D and you'll certainly notice a difference...

With regards to your lenses, you have a wide variety and if you are happy with them and the results you get then great, if there is a lens that you feel lets you down, then I'd certainly look to be swapping that. The Canon 70-200F4 is a belter of a lens and a significant upgrade to Sigma 70-300 - If you can afford one, I'd certainly recommend going for it...

I used to have one and absolutely loved it - certainly look to get another...
Click to expand...

I probably can't afford the IS version so was thinking the non-IS plus potentially with a TC to get back to around 300mm. Not sure if that makes sense or not.
 
ultrawide?
maybe go with a 100-400 or a 70-300L, unless your shooting more towards the sub 200 range, then a 70-200f4 makes sense.
 
Broric said:
I probably can't afford the IS version so was thinking the non-IS plus potentially with a TC to get back to around 300mm. Not sure if that makes sense or not.
Click to expand...

Yes, the 70-200 F4 is a belter of a lens (both in non IS and IS models) and will take the 1.4 TC very well - especially the mkIII TC - and gets you to 280mm, don't forget you will loose a stop as well, so the F4 becomes F5.6 with the 1.4 TC.
 
Is the mkIII TC considered a must or is the mkII ok? There's a massive difference in price between them but wondered if that was for a good reason.
 
Also if I want the range would something like the Sigma 150-500mm f5-6.3 APO DG OS HSM Lens be worth considering over the L lens?
 
I think for your telephoto lens you need to consider what length you mainly shoot at whether you need 300 or not, and also price.

The 150-150 is generally more expensive than the 70-200 f4L so looks like you are able to increase your budget?

If you need the length but don't need as wide an apature, then 150-500 would probably be the best option. You would also gain OS, which the Canon you are looking at doesn't have.

Another option is a Tamron 70-300 VC f4-5.6. It's a highly though of lens and can get for around £200 or slightly more second hand.

Or amazon have it for £289 new:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B003YUBTIU?pc_redir=1400041326&robot_redir=1
 
Thanks, the L lens and a TC would come to around the same price as the Sigma so budget isn't that different but I don't know how the quality compares.

Is the 150-500 sigma light enough to use handheld? I know some of the sigmas can be beasts.
 
Thing is that if you get a tc, if will be a 5.6 lens. Hence I'd say that the sigma or tamron 70-300 might be a better option if you are going to use the tc all the time. Sigma 150-150 is supposed to be fairly heavy though (although I haven't used one)
 
Broric said:
Is the mkIII TC considered a must or is the mkII ok? There's a massive difference in price between them but wondered if that was for a good reason.
Click to expand...

Yes there is a difference in cost - the mkIII is supposed to be a good improvement over the previous models.
I think the mkII is a worthwhile contender, I'd look if you can stretch that bit to the mkIII
 
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