7D or 17-55?

acaurora · February 3, 2012

Hi all,

So I am trying to decide between two possible upgrades (and reasons to spend my tax return...:) ). Here is what I'm looking at :

A. Canon 7D Body Only
B. Canon 17-55 f/2.8

Currently, I have:

Canon XSi
Canon 50mm f/1.4
Canon 70-200 f/2.8 L II

I normally shoot for the outdoor cycling races around where I live in Northern California, but sometimes I do shoot for indoor social events that the local bike shops have every now and then. In my mind the 7D would be a better overall improvement as the body would be in use all the time for shooting whereas the 17-55 I am considering primarily for the indoor opportunities. While the 50mm is great, there are times where I want a little more wide angle without having to go out onto the street to get the right shot. Both cost about the same. I have heard a lot about the upcoming Canon releases, but the 1DX is way out of my price range, and a 5D II as well. I'd appreciate any advice here.

Overfocused · February 3, 2012

Definitely the body. You'll be leaps and bounds ahead of the rebel even with a cheaper wide angle lens.

acaurora · February 3, 2012

Yeah, I specifically remember last year I was shooting for a bike race and a friend of mine had come along with his 7D. In shooting in RAW mode my XSi, even with the Sandisk Extreme Pro UHS SDXC card... was going *click...... *click..... *click...

His, on the other hand....

CLICK CLICK CLICK CLICK CLICK CLICK CLICK CLICK

Needless to say, I did rent one for the next bike race and it was an awesome experience. I did notice the battery life went down pretty quick - however I believe a battery grip can alleviate that

Another cost I forgot to consider though now that I think about it is memory cards - I have quite a few SD cards, but no CF cards. I guess though that the cost for a high speed high capacity CF card (~$130 for 16GB 60MB/s) is fairly small compared to the price of the body.

Demian · February 3, 2012

I don't know, it's hard for me to say how you'd feel. Personally, I can't imagine shooting with my widest being a 70mm equiv lens. So I guess if it was strictly between those two, I'd pick the lens.

Do you have your heart set on the Canon lens? I haven't used that one myself, but I had the Tamron 17-50 when I had a rebel, and I loooved that lens.

acaurora · February 3, 2012

I'm pretty set on the lens. I considered the 24-70L for a while, but then decided that there is too much overlap with that lens and my existing lenses to warrant getting it.

ziggy53 · February 3, 2012

acaurora wrote: »

... the 17-55 I am considering primarily for the indoor opportunities. ...

Please describe what you mean by the "indoor opportunities".

acaurora · February 3, 2012

The aforementioned social events held by the local bike shops - i.e., new product launches, informational/educational events, etc... where they are held in the bike shop instead of outdoors on the road.

ziggy53 · February 3, 2012

I think that you would appreciate the 7D in conjunction with the 70-200mm, f2.8L for the sports aspect, but I suggest if you could stretch your budget, add the Tamron SP AF 17-50mm, f2.8 XR Di II LD IF for the social events. It's a very nice lens for the money and could fill that need economically.

acaurora · February 3, 2012

My budget is pretty limited, but I will keep that in mind. Hopefully the profits from my sales may help alleviate or expand my budget to allow for that lens later on

ThatCanonGuy · February 4, 2012

Definitely the 7D - try to find one used or refurbished to save money. Add a 24mm f/2.8 for cheap ($250-300) - or if you can stretch your budget a little, a Tamron 17-50 would be great ($300-350 used). I've used a Tamron 17-50 on a 7D and it's a really nice combo.

Overfocused · February 4, 2012

Demian wrote: »

I don't know, it's hard for me to say how you'd feel. Personally, I can't imagine shooting with my widest being a 70mm equiv lens. So I guess if it was strictly between those two, I'd pick the lens.

Do you have your heart set on the Canon lens? I haven't used that one myself, but I had the Tamron 17-50 when I had a rebel, and I loooved that lens.

acaurora wrote: »

I'm pretty set on the lens. I considered the 24-70L for a while, but then decided that there is too much overlap with that lens and my existing lenses to warrant getting it.

The only thing its overlapping is the 50mm prime... not much overlap IMHO. Lens wise I think you need some sort of 17-XX fairly badly, but the capabilities of the 7D would really help you out too. It depends on whats most important for you... great body or wide angle capabilities. Or both if you crunch numbers and figure out a good combo

acaurora · February 4, 2012

I think I am gravitating more towards the body, as the times when I need to shoot indoors in close areas is far outnumbered by the times I am spending all day taking pictures at bike races where my 70-200 is definitely useful. The 17-XX will come probably in the summer, once the piggy bank has refilled itself

Overfocused · February 4, 2012

acaurora wrote: »

I think I am gravitating more towards the body, as the times when I need to shoot indoors in close areas is far outnumbered by the times I am spending all day taking pictures at bike races where my 70-200 is definitely useful. The 17-XX will come probably in the summer, once the piggy bank has refilled itself

Right-o! You'll be excited like a little kid in a candy store with the FPS and focusing system. Just be ready to probably need to calibrate the 70-200 with the 7D so you get the best results. The 7D has lens AF adjustment capability so it'll help if stuff doesn't focus just right. This happened when I bought my 7D and quite a few others seem to have this issue when they buy them. My 70-200 worked flawlessly and with ridiculously high success on my MKII, but the 7D was a bit off when I first got it.

acaurora · February 4, 2012

I believe that is the microadjustment feature, you're talking about right? Where I need to print out the template that is a grid or something and take pictures of the grid at different distances???

Overfocused · February 5, 2012

acaurora wrote: »

I believe that is the microadjustment feature, you're talking about right? Where I need to print out the template that is a grid or something and take pictures of the grid at different distances???

Yeah all of that except for the different distances. Basically just the longest focal length is what is recommended to do. The way you pick is up to you though:

http://www.northlight-images.co.uk/article_pages/cameras/1ds3_af_micoadjustment.html

acaurora · February 5, 2012

Ah okay. Thanks for the info! Will keep that in mind... when I get my 7D

Overfocused · February 5, 2012

acaurora wrote: »

Ah okay. Thanks for the info! Will keep that in mind... when I get my 7D

You will have an extremely enjoyable time with it

thumb

jvismara · February 9, 2012

the biggest jump will be a Canon 7D... if you can afford it.
BTW, I just posted one for sale, with 1300 actuations, in mint conditions.

acaurora wrote: »

Hi all,

So I am trying to decide between two possible upgrades (and reasons to spend my tax return...:) ). Here is what I'm looking at :

A. Canon 7D Body Only
B. Canon 17-55 f/2.8

Currently, I have:
Canon XSi

Canon 50mm f/1.4

Canon 70-200 f/2.8 L II

I normally shoot for the outdoor cycling races around where I live in Northern California, but sometimes I do shoot for indoor social events that the local bike shops have every now and then. In my mind the 7D would be a better overall improvement as the body would be in use all the time for shooting whereas the 17-55 I am considering primarily for the indoor opportunities. While the 50mm is great, there are times where I want a little more wide angle without having to go out onto the street to get the right shot. Both cost about the same. I have heard a lot about the upcoming Canon releases, but the 1DX is way out of my price range, and a 5D II as well. I'd appreciate any advice here.

7D or 17-55?

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