70-200mm f2.8 or 20D

[L Pagan]

i have the money to only get one, the lens 70-200mm f2.8 or the body 20D . rite now i have the 10D body, battery grip and 24-70m f2.8 lens and a 28-135mm IS lens.i wish i could have both but i cant, so whats the best way too spend the money. what would you recommend.

thanks
luis

[Dante King]

Sell the old stuff off and get both!

[cactusclay]

Which one do you want more?

[tim]

It depends what you do with your camera. The 20D's faster than the 10D, if you find that frustrating, upgrade. If you find yourself wishing for a long lens more than the 20D's advantages, get the lens.

In your position i'd probably get the lens, the 10D's still an excellent camera. You'll have the lens for years, skip the 20D and get the 30D/40D when it comes out.

[L Pagan]

Which one do you want more?iam thinking the 20D

[L Pagan]

It depends what you do with your camera. The 20D's faster than the 10D, if you find that frustrating, upgrade. If you find yourself wishing for a long lens more than the 20D's advantages, get the lens.

In your position i'd probably get the lens, the 10D's still an excellent camera. You'll have the lens for years, skip the 20D and get the 30D/40D when it comes out.
i use my camera for portaits / kids / car shows . my other concern besides long lens is the size of my prints , 6meg vs 8meg . i wish i could have both.

[cc10d]

Not a big difference in practice between the 6mg and 8 mg. I went from 10d to 20d and am very happy I did. But for other reasons than the 6/8. there certainly is a technical difference and with very large prints or severe cropping enlarged, there is a difference, but not so noticable in ordinary use.

I like the faster operation and more precise focusing of the 20D with 2.8 and faster lenses. The 10D is a very good camera and I recomend it to those who don't want to spend as much for a good DSLR.

I think I would go for the lens.

[dito]

Sell the old stuff off and get both!
Exactly what I was thinking... get both. I don't have a 20d (use Mark II), but I love my 70-200 2.8 non IS.

[redbutt]

Get the lens, and start saving for the camera. As someone already said, the 10D is still a great camera. I was shooting with that camera lens combo for a long time and got awesome results. And, if you get the lens, it will still fit any other camer ayou buy. So, if they announce another camera while you are still saving, you can get new camera instead, and you'll already have one of the best lenses in the world waiting for it.

[DwightMcCann]

Always buy the best glass and use whatever is left over for the body.

[DaveG]

i have the money to only get one, the lens 70-200mm f2.8 or the body 20D . rite now i have the 10D body, battery grip and 24-70m f2.8 lens and a 28-135mm IS lens.i wish i could have both but i cant, so whats the best way too spend the money. what would you recommend.

thanks
luis

I'd get the 70-200. In a year (PMA 2006?) you'll be able to pick up a used 20D for about $800+ US because that's when the 30D will be out. A year old 70-200 will be about the same price as a new one is right now. Unless you need a second body or E-TTL 2 then the 10D is more than good enough.

[chris.bailey]

Go for the glass. The 70-200 2.8 is a classic that will still be top notch in 10 years time when the 20D is long forgotten.

[PekkaM]

This is easy: Get the lens.

[iceman]

Make your investment in the lens, cameras will come and go.

[wolf]

A 2 MP difference in image size is not worth the cost. Unless you need the high ISO with less noise feature keep your 10D and buy the lens. Your new 10 megapixel camera next year will thank you.

[Cadenza]

The 20D is a piece of equipment with a built-in, planned obsolescence. It will be worth half of what it costs now, a year from now.

The 70-200 2.8 will be worth about 85% of its original cost, even five years from now. It is also -- most likely, depending of how you shoot -- the part of the equation that offers the greatest impact upon your images.

[Citizensmith]

Go for the glass. The 70-200 2.8 is a classic that will still be top notch in 10 years time when the 20D is long forgotten.

Absolutely agree. Get the lens, it'll last as long as you do (well you know what I mean). By the time you've then saved up for the 20D you'll discover its a long discontinued pile of junk compared to the current cameras.

[Mogwyth]

Definatly the lens, as has been said always a better or cheaper camera available in a years time.

[Andy_T]

Lens...

Major advantage of the 20D might be low light performance, if you can't live without that, then stick with your very capable camera and get some more great glass.

... and get that 50/1.8 if you have 75$ to spare...

Best regards,
Andy

[CappuccinoDavid]

i use my camera for portaits / kids / car shows . my other concern besides long lens is the size of my prints , 6meg vs 8meg . i wish i could have both.

What lens do you use for portaits?? back to the thread I think maybe going to the 20D would be wise because of the 8meg. Easier to retouch with PS. Then see about the lens. That is what I think...

[eosster]

Lens without a doubt!!!

[willg]

get the lens

[TammieO]

The 10D is a really good camera. Get the lens.

[theflyingkiwi]

I would say get the lens. there is always going to be a new body at some point. Plus a lens is more vaule than the body.

[lmelendez]

Get the lens....

[ijohnson]

This decision shouldn't have crossed your mind. You can have the new lens for 20 years but the new, marginally better camera will be replaced in 9 months.

Buy the glass, save for the 30D. Then the 4 megapixel difference might be justifiable.

[L Pagan]

What lens do you use for portaits?? back to the thread I think maybe going to the 20D would be wise because of the 8meg. Easier to retouch with PS. Then see about the lens. That is what I think...
rite now iam using the 24-70mm, but also thinking of getting the 50mm for the portait's.

Ok the len's it is. you guys are the best . the more i read your replys the more it makes sence's..

thanks again
luis

[Andy_T]

8 Meg vs. 6 Meg is not that dramatic, IMO.

It all boils down to having 15% more pixels in each direction ... not that impressive.

Best regards,
Andy

[lost]

Lens, Lens, Lens, ohh and yeah Lens!

[Pelao]

You seem to have made up your mind, but I'll add my wee bit anyway.

I am hitting a bit of a ceiling with the 300D. I have had it since December 2003. The relatively slow start-up has become irritating. More importantly, I find the controls a bit cumbersome for swift changes while shooting. I also find that the camera is not all I could wish for in taking action shots.

What I would really like is a 20D. The 350D is faster than my camera, but I don't feel the control layout and general interface meet my needs, a situation made more problematic for me by the small size of the camera. In other words, the 350 would only offer an incremental improvement, not a leap forward, for me.

My 300 has been (and is) an amazing camera. The advent of newer beasts has not diminished it's ability to capture truly wonderful images. The camera's deepest weakness remains the one it has always had - it's user.

So what I have decided to do is note the things I would like in my new camera and focus (sorry) on upgrading the user. I have purchased a few useful books on technique, a couple of nice lenses and some other stuff. I have been taking more and more photographs, in a greater variety of situations. I have been shooting RAW for a few months.

So while I find the 20D hard to resist, I felt that I have a great camera and now that I have great lenses, I can stretch the camera further. With RAW, I am stretching my post processing too with PS/CS. So at the end of this year, with another summer under my belt, and the great fall colours where I live, I may, possibly, perhaps, just barely, be a better photographer. Any upgrade at that time will be supported by my nice lenses.

A long way of saying that unless your 10D is a disaster for you, or creates enormous frustration, get the lens.

The 20D is an amazing camera, but I can resist. Really I can.

[ducdubbq]

the lens all the way.....in six months you'll be selling your first born for the 35d which will have 10 megapixels and come with a super model to focus it for you. for 999$. the lens is arguably the best one canon makes and will continue to be the best one on the 10 d, the 20d the 100d.

second, digital cameras are getting better and cheaper and what are you going to do with the 10d once you put it in a drawer and use the 20d all the time.

[MarkH]

Buy the lens, save for the 30D (or whatever Canon will call it).

[britt777]

I would go for the glass. 10D is still a great camera. Save and get lens next. I have both, but if I was in your shoes I would definitely go for the glass. Nothing like razor sharp photos

[L Pagan]

you guys are the best. gotta love this forum