Dilemma - Do I buy a new Lens or a new Body ??

Birty

Birty

Suspended / Banned
Messages
350
Name
James
Edit My Images
Yes
I currently own a Canon 30D and a Sigma 70-300mm f4-5.6 apo dg macro lens (along with a couple of others) but I am torn between a new lens or a new body.

I am trying to realistically play with the finances (she who holds the purse strings) :bat:

Reason I am looking to upgrade is I mainly take Ice Hockey photos of my 2 sons and the arguments that are causing me confusion are..

BODY
1 - 30D = 5fps (thinking something like a 7D is 8fps)
2 - 30D = ISO 3200 (again 7D 6400 expandable upto 12800)
3 - Do I buy something like a 7D 2nd hand ? or I have seen the likes of older 5D's and I have even seen some 1DmkII's on here for about £350 ?

LENS
1 - My lens is pretty good for what it is but has its limitations - speed - aperture - would LOVE the Canon 70-200mm f2.8 but probably out of my price range (seen some on here for circa £850)
2 - Anyone had any experience of the Sigma equivalent ?

I know there are a lot of questions above but any help you guys could give me would be greatly appreciated. :thumbs:

Thanks
James
 
Hi

I had a similar dilemma a while back, not ice hockey though!! A couple of things I'd point out are-

- your ef-s mount lens won't work on FF or 1.3X crop bodies like the 5D and 1D series ( from all that I have read and learnt from people)

- The sigma 70-200mm f2.8 offerings as well as the tamron seen to get mixed reviews, the reason seems to be that they have larger manufacturing tolerances than canon or Nikon and so when combined with the amount out your body may be can appear terrible
I.e. if your body front focuses by +1 and your lens back focuses by -1 it's perfect but If your body is +1 and the lens is +2 you could have an issue....
That said I own the sigma non image stabilised and I find it perfectly usable on a 50D from F3.2-4 on :)

- What is it that your current kid is failing to do? If you need better ISO performance would a new body give you the desired increase in IQ?
Vs is the AF on the lens not up to the job, so would a lens with better AF get you more keepers?

Hope that's some food for though :)
 
Thanks for the reply...

So looks like the 5D & 1D are out of the question then - suppose that helps in a way :thumbs: if it is a body :thinking:

aethelstan927 said:
Hi
I.e. if your body front focuses by +1 and your lens back focuses by -1 it's perfect but If your body is +1 and the lens is +2 you could have an issue....
Click to expand...

How do I know if my body or lens front or back focuses ?

I think my current lens focuses reasonable well - sometime I miss a shot whilst its searching but not too often to say its only a basic lens.

Still can't make my mind up :shrug: Suppose I could always check the lottery numbers and none of this might be an issue ?
 
Yeah a lottery would render the question null and void ( 1Dx and 70-200mm f2.8 IS UMS mkII? )

Would probably need a focusing chart to test it and that would only tell you how far out your lens with regards to the body. Only really becomes an issue if you get a new lens / body and notice it missing focus / being soft, so I wouldnt worry too much unless you view everything at 100% all the time :P

I guess I would say don't count out 3rd party ie tamron/sigma variants if your looking for a new lens :)
 
On the rare occasions that I need a fast telephoto rather than a stabilised slower one, I use a Sigma 70-200 f/2.8 on my D700. As with all Sigmas, test the copy you're going to buy before partiung with the card/cash. People have reported problems (a lot more people report the problems than have had them...) with QC issues so check your future lens is a good copy.

If there's any chance of a Full Frame upgrade in the foreseeable future, don't buy any crop only lenses - there are more and more on the 2nd hand shelves now since people are trading up to the FF versions, making buy in prices for EF-S/Dx/DC/DIii lower.

Upgrade the lens(es) before the body - decent lenses will always be decent lenses while what's a good body today will be outdated and outclassed by something cheaper before too long! People will always suffer from GAS (gear aquisition syndrome) and will upgrade (in extreme cases!) at the drop of a hat (or the addition of an "i" in a model designation), leaving their old (and more than adequate) body on the second hand shelf or in the classifieds.

There's little doubt that a Canon lens will be better than any of the 3rd party options but at significantly more money too - at some point, the law of diminishing returns kicks in, only you (or the finance mistress!) can decide how much you're prepared/allowed to spend. As much as possible would be my advice, as long as you can afford it. Having the available credit on a card is NOT necessarily the same as being able to afford it, if you can pay the card off in full at the next billing date, you can afford it, if not, you can't.
 
The difference between the 30D and a more recent body is probably not as great as the difference between your current lens and an f2.8, especially at something like ice hockey
 
Good point - I think I am leaning towards a lens 1st might have to be the Sigma or Tamron if I cant stretch to the Canon :|
 
I had the Tamron 70-200 f2.8 and although it was a lovely sharp lens on things that were still, it was a bit of a pain with the AF motor which is slow and noisy. Rumour has it that Tamron are upgrading this lens in the near future.
If you want a comparable to the Canon Mark 1 IS version, then I would look at the Sigma 70-200 f2.8 OS with the newer style plastic body.

Dependant on budget, a good upgrade would be to get the Sigma OS and the better 40D which can be had for about £250 2nd hand, you can then sell your 30D for about £150 and the current Sigma lens for about £70 or so meaning a net cost of £30 for the body plus whatever you buy the lens for.
 
Out of the two items you cite, the lens is the weakest. A higher quality lens would make a big difference to the quality of the photos.

However, if you're working in low light conditions a camera that can work at higher ISO's is desirable.

What is your budget?

IMO you would be frustrated by your current lens fitted to a 7D.
 
Birty said:
Thanks for the reply...

So looks like the 5D & 1D are out of the question then - suppose that helps in a way :thumbs: if it is a body :thinking:
Click to expand...

Exclude 5D from your choices and they are slower than your 30D and good for Portraits and landscape only.( Btw- I've used 5D for a year ) :)

My friend has a 7D and cherishes every moment ...!!! and you can use all your old lenses as well.
 
andrewc said:
However, if you're working in low light conditions a camera that can work at higher ISO's is desirable.

What is your budget?

IMO you would be frustrated by your current lens fitted to a 7D.
Click to expand...

The only reason I was thinking about a new body was primarily the ISO due to low light - all I can get to on my 30D is 3200 - then also the fps
Not sure on budget - depends on what I can get I guess - I think a 2nd hand 7D would be around £600-700 but on the other hand I have seen a sigma lens on Fleabay for £430 ?

Not sure if I am allowed to post a link to the lens on here or not but its item no.251194405574 - if this is a problem admin please let me know and I will remove it.
 
The 7D can run a higher ISO than the 30D, but with each step the quality deteriorates slightly. At 3200ISO you'd notice a cleaner image than the 30D you are currently using, and 6400 is probably close to the 30D at 3200.

The Sigma lens is 100mm short of your current 70-300. Is this going to be a drawback?
 
I did think about the 100mm loss of lens but I mainly am taking the pics either 3 or 4 rows up behind the bench at my sons Ice Hockey games or near the bench so I don't think it would be an issue for me :shrug:
 
I had the same issue a while back with Ice skating photos - got a lot of advice on here and just regret not doing something about it sooner ! - bought a new Canon f2.8 mk II 70-200 and made lots of cutbacks elsewhere. Wish I had done it years ago because my daughter is in her last year of skating.
Go for the Canon - and find the money somewhere
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top