# Downgrading my equipment - looking for advice



## AlexB (May 21, 2013)

I fell down some stairs a few weeks ago and hit my head pretty bad. Now I'm in the process of reducing and downgrading my camera gear collection.

My issue is that I have all this great and expensive gear, but I feel that most of the time it's a complete overkill. I have come to realise that, while it's fun to have, I do not need all of this. Therefore I have decided to sell it and replace it with something more affordable which is "good enough".

I have already sold away most of my lenses (8-15, 16-35, 24-70, 70-200 and more), fortunately for about the same price as I purchased them for. I am now left with my 5D mark III and a 24-105mm F/4. The 5D will be gone within the week as I already have a buyer for it. I haven't decided if I'm going to keep the 24-105mm yet.

My plan is to spend the money I get for the 5D III to purchase my "new collection". I already know I want a 7D or a 1D mark III (I have owned both before), but I am not so sure about which lenses to get. I am going to get mainly primes as I want the low light capability for the few times a year I photograph concerts/festivals. I'm planning to purchase most if not all of the gear 2nd hand.

I am not too familiar with Canon's non-L lineup and I am looking for advice on which lenses I should look for and which I should keep away from, if there are any "underdog" lenses that I must have, etc... I am also looking on advice regarding purchasing a 135mm f/2L USM & 200mm f/2.8L II USM vs a similar non-L counterpart.

So here's what I'm thinking:
- Body: 1D mark III or 7D (have owned both before, so I know what I get)
- Wide-angle: Tokina 11-16 f/2.8 (don't see any other options here as I don't want the slower Canon)
- Normal: 50mm f/1.4 (other suggestions?)
- Medium tele: 85 f/1.8, 100 f/2 or 135 f/2L (not sure where to place myself here, suggestions / recommendations?)
- Tele: 200mm f/2.8L II (any other options?)

Regarding focal lenghts and what I use most: When I were shooting with zooms I was all over the place. However I do especially like the 200mm end of a 70-200. I am also fond of the wide angle end of a 24mm on full frame. All in between is based on need. The concerts I shoot normally have quite large pits, and is not of the indoor club type where you have to crouch down on one knee to avoid blocking the view for the audience. I am going to base my selection mainly on what I need for concers as I figure if I can fullfill that I can probably make due with that gear for the rest of my photography.

Any help / advice is greatly appreciated


- AlexB


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## RLPhoto (May 21, 2013)

The 7D and 5D3 are nearly identical in size. The majority of that heft was from those L-Zoomz. Try a using 3 small primes instead and your back will thank you.

like a 24mm, 50mm, and 135mm prime. or even f/4 zooms like the 17-40L + 50mm + 135mm.


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## wickidwombat (May 22, 2013)

keep the 24-105
go with the 1Dmk3
I use this combo alot still due to its reliability and weather sealing
the 1Dmk3 is about as good as a 5Dmk2 for high iso the 7D is no where near as good
the 1Dmk3 is fine at iso 3200 the 7D is about a stop behind that not to mention the AF is better on the 1D and there are tons more other great features

and get a sigma 35 f1.4 for low light over the 50 f1.4 the siggy 35 is super awesome

if you need wider than 24mm (about 30mm on the 1.3crop) for landscape then shoot pano

also i would say look for a cheap 135 f2L for a longer lens

overall that kit will be pretty light very versitle and high quality

and while I love my sigma 85 f1.4 I'd wait a little while and see what they come out with for a new Art version might be even better but the current 85 f1.4 is the best value for money 85 there is at the moment


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## DArora (May 22, 2013)

Sorry to hear about your accident, Hope you feel better soon.

Why not keep 5D3 and replace your zoom lenses with prime lenses? You can keep 24-105 F/4 as well if you are comfortable with it. Prime lenses like 24/35, 50, 85/135 will fill your focal range nicely for much less weight.


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## CalBoy87 (May 22, 2013)

If you really, really must have something smaller, I would keep FF in 6D. Then get some small, light primes, 50/1.4, 85/1.8 e.t.c. Or...get EE-S screen for 6D, OM-EOS and Nikkor-EOS adapter and try some older primes from Olympus and Nikon. I used OM 35/2 and Nikkor AIS 50/1.2 on 5D MKII and was amazed at the result from those tiny and light lenses. Add to it focus peaking offered by Magic Lantern FW and you good to go...


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## Dylan777 (May 22, 2013)

Sorry to hear that Alex. Hope you get well soon 

My 2 cents: Unless, you are running into budget issues, then down grade your gear is a MUST. Otherwise, I don't see much of benefits replacing 5D III with 7D or 1D III - camera size and IQ of course. I might be wrong on 1D III, never own one.


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## archiea (May 22, 2013)

sell it all and go micro 4/3's with an olympus/panasonic/fuji.. if its size and weight, you might as well do it right..


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## Meh (May 22, 2013)

Sorry you fell, hope you're feeling better.

It's not clear from your post why you're downgrading, I assume it's connected to hitting your head but what's the exact reason: i) because you want less weight or ii) because you needed the money from selling the expensive gear or iii) you just want to try to go with primes or iv) you want a smaller system.

Without know more I'd say keep the 5D3 and just get the few primes you want. On the other hand, you want to pick up an 85, 135, and 200mm prime lens but you could have kept the 70-200 and covered all those focal lengths and certainly been "good enough" as you stated.

I don't really get what you're thinking here.


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## EchoLocation (May 22, 2013)

sorry to hear about your fall, i hope you feel better soon. best of luck.
yeah, i'm a little confused too. if you are talking about "reducing and downsizing" i don't really see how any 1 series body could be considered.
are you trying to reduce on price, size, complexity, etc.?
if i was trying to reduce or downgrade on price i'd probably just buy a mirrorless aps-c body. If so i'd look at the fuji(with the f2.8-4 kit lens), nex, or if you want Canon, the EOS-M. If you want something good enough and simple, you might look at one of the new fixed lens aps-c like the Ricoh GR or the Nikon Coolpix A.
If you just want one great and simple option why not the RX1 from Sony? 
Otherwise i'd just keep the 5DIII and the 24-105, or even switch to a 24-70 f4(cant believe I just said that!)
the 5DIII is an awesome camera and you've had amazing lenses, I think you'll be disappointed if you try to go for the cheap zooms. 
I'd say stick with what you have, buy primes, or switch to a much smaller system(think nex, eos-m, or even RX1.)


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## Zlatko (May 22, 2013)

RLPhoto said:


> The 7D and 5D3 are nearly identical in size. The majority of that heft was from those L-Zoomz. Try a using 3 small primes instead and your back will thank you.
> 
> like a 24mm, 50mm, and 135mm prime. or even f/4 zooms like the 17-40L + 50mm + 135mm.



I agree. I would not want to give up the wonderful 5D3, but I could easily downgrade all zooms and large primes to just 3 primes:
24/2.8 IS
50/1.4
135/2

Purchasing both the 135 and the 200 seems like overkill (in weight and expense); might as well carry a 70-200 in that case.

If I had to give up the 5D3, I would probably choose a 6D or 7D over the 1DIII (due to size & weight). Good luck!


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## whothafunk (May 22, 2013)

i fell down and bumped my head, that triggered a weird event in my head saying i NEED to downgrade all my gear for no apparent reason, but nevertheless, that bump must have been a godsend which i have been waiting for whole eternity.

troll?


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## bholliman (May 22, 2013)

Zlatko said:


> If I had to give up the 5D3, I would probably choose a 6D or 7D over the 1DIII (due to size & weight). Good luck!



+1 if you are really concerned about weight and size. As others have pointed out, the 7D is roughly the same size as your 5D3, so you don't gain much there. The 6D is smaller than either and even though you haven't owned one before, the Canon controls are not hard to learn once you are familiar with them on other Canon bodies.


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## Sporgon (May 22, 2013)

whothafunk said:


> i fell down and bumped my head, that trigged a weird event in my head saying i NEED to downgrade all my gear for no apparent reason, but nevertheless, that bump must have been a godsend which i have been waiting for a whole eternity.
> 
> troll?




This is the only reply that makes any sense.

I'm amazed at the responses the op has been given. Read his post: he fell down and banged his head; now he writes a confussed and contradictory post.

"I know nothing of Canon L lenses"
"I've sold my 16-36, 70-200 etc etc etc"

He's taking the ...............out of CR members


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## Jim K (May 22, 2013)

The OP said he knows nothing about Canon *non-L* lenses.

I do agree it is a very strange post lacking info on why he wants to change equipment. ???


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## Sporgon (May 22, 2013)

Jim K said:


> The OP said he knows nothing about Canon *non-L* lenses.
> 
> I do agree it is a very strange post lacking info on why he wants to change equipment. ???



Fair point - he did say non-L lenses. I'm still sure it's a deliberately 'confused' post by someone who's 'banged' his head


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## Zlatko (May 22, 2013)

Labeling people as "trolls", and calling people names generally, is one of the _worst_ aspects of online discussion forums. When the word "troll" is used to disparage people, it usually signals the end of reasoned discussion. This is a blight on a number of photography forums.


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## paul13walnut5 (May 22, 2013)

I shall opt instead then for a diplomatic response...

we could use more context as it is an unusual post.

rightly or wrongly, on this forum people tend to talk about how their 5D3 makes then 1000x better than when they had a 5D2, and that they want to spend lots of money on the latest gear because they took up photography a year ago and really like it, and theres a school play coming up and so why don't canon make a 600mm f2.0? etc etc etc.


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## AlexB (May 22, 2013)

Thank you guys for the replys

I feel I should clarify about me falling down the stairs and hitting my head before I go any further. It has really nothing to do with why I am downgrading my equipment, it was my vague attempt to open with a joke on why I am taking this path rather than upgrading my gear. It was an accident not related to photography at all, and it doesn't really belong in this post. I apologize, my sense of humar is rather, special. But I'm fine now, tank you for your concern.

I realise I was unclear in my original post as to why I am doing this. The short answer is cost. I will try to clarify a little further.

I can't justiify to myself owning all this expensive gear when I only use it for what it's worth 1-3 times a year. It is great having one of the best camera bodies and some of the finest glass available at my disposal, but I know I don't really need it for what I am shooting, so I am looking to get by with cheaper equipment.

Size and weight has never been an issue for me, so I am definetly staying with the DSLR platform.

As one of the most significant things I shoot is for a local music festival I was thinking to concentrate my new, cheaper collection, around this. I have sort of already decided on a 1D Mark III, so that part is alright. But I am not sure about which lenses to get. I do want low light capability, so primes are my first thought. I have never really used prmes before except for my 50mm nifty-fifty. I am mainly looking for advice regarding the more affordable Canon primes, not excluding the 135mm f/2L as it is not too expensive to buy used. But the likes of 24 1.4, 35 1.4, 50 1.2, 85 1.2 etc are all out of the question due to price.

I know that for concerts I want something wide, and I want something for tighter shots close or equal to 200mm on full frame (135mm f/2L with 1D3?). I am thinking of keeping the 24-105 so I have at least one lens that is weather sealed. But other then that I am pretty clueless on which of the Canon non-L lenses to aim for.

I hope I managed to elaborate a bit better on what my goal is.

Again, thank you for your help.


-AlexB


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## RLPhoto (May 22, 2013)

The 28mm 1.8 is not too shabby, and its cheaper + 50mm 1.4/1.8 + 100mm/135L F/2


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## RGF (May 23, 2013)

Try a 6D, keep the 24-105, add 70-300L. Simplified, lower weight, less to carry,change,etc


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## Sporgon (May 23, 2013)

RGF said:


> Try a 6D, keep the 24-105, add 70-300L. Simplified, lower weight, less to carry,change,etc




OK, hold my hand up; quirky humour humor often just doesn't come across as intended on the forum.

+1 to the 6D. It's a little gem, especially when not using large lenses. For shooting social events, concerts etc I'd choose one of those over a 1D Mkiii any day. It's light years ahead in low light, assuming you are referring to the APS, not the s version. Trouble is a 6D will be around twice as expensive as a used 1D Mkiii but cheaper than a 1Ds Mkiii. 

All the Canon non L primes are pretty good optically. You'll generally get more chromatic aberration, inferior manual focus. Personally I would go for the 200 f2.8L over the 135L. It's much cheaper used and has more useful reach.


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## wickidwombat (May 24, 2013)

AlexB said:


> Thank you guys for the replys
> 
> I feel I should clarify about me falling down the stairs and hitting my head before I go any further. It has really nothing to do with why I am downgrading my equipment, it was my vague attempt to open with a joke on why I am taking this path rather than upgrading my gear. It was an accident not related to photography at all, and it doesn't really belong in this post. I apologize, my sense of humar is rather, special. But I'm fine now, tank you for your concern.
> 
> ...


Sounds like my prevous advice will suit well
get the sigma 35 f1.4 for your fast wide concert option
in the APS-H the 24 f1.4L mkII would be awesome but also fails the cost test because its spendy


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