5Dii and lenses or 5Diii...how to juggle $4,000

it makes sense to i guess. why have spend all the $ on the better camera and have mediocre glass. the t2i and even my xsi take spectacular images, so long as spectacular glass like my 17-40 in its sweet spot are attached. all cameras aside, I seriously daydream about having that delicious 70-200 is II. even if its attached to an older body. I just really want full frame for my outdoor and nighttime shoots.

I would get the 5d2 and glass. The 5d2 works perfectly fine. And before the 5d2 came out, the 5d classic did perfectly fine too. See a trend? People are quick to dismiss bodies as soon as a new body comes out. Funny how whenever a new body comes out it is touted as the best, and the previous model all of a sudden now blows...

I came from the 5D MkII and purchased the MkIII. I've never had so much fun learning the capabilities of what the 61pt's can do, HDR, Multiple Exposure, a lot of really neat stuff to learn and experiment with. Having said that, I'm chomping at the bit to purchase a 24-70mm f/2.8L USM II to really push the limits, It's a tuff call if it would be me I say get the 5D MkIII and chomp to bit till you can get a 24-70mm f/2.8L USM II or the 70-200mm f/2.8 IS USM II. Both will cost ya but boy will you have a great time with them! Even if I take an average exposure, it turns out great, those two lenses coupled with the 5D MkIII is awesome!

if you are not shooting fast action and sports, then get the 5D2 and 70-200 2.8 IS II now, personally i'm waiting for the 5D3 price to drop, it's just a matter of want and need

I love my 5D3 and I love my 5D2 as well. I would rather have the better glass than the 5D3 though.

If you look at as investment, you can't go wrong on glass. The body is like a new car - you're losing money as soon as you drive it off the lot.

You need good focus even in slow action or normal action. You really don't want to get a 5DII when the 5DIII is around .... no way! The 5DIII is superior in so many ways that it would be the worst thing you could possibly do. Bite the bullet and get rid of some lenses and get the 5DIII body. The ability to get tack on pictures in low light with fast good focus cannot be underestimated. Needing fast focus only for action photos is a myth, you need fast accurate focus for most non tripod + live view shots. What really pisses me off is that Canon should have had this focus on the 5DII ... if that had been the case moving to a 5DIII would not be so compelling. But as it is now, unless you take your pictures in a Live View environment, the 5DIII is a dramatically better choice.

Go with the 5D II and the 70-200 2.8 IS II. The 5D II will serve you very well, and the 70-200 2.8 IS II will serve you for a life time. In two years you can upgrade to the 5D 3 when it's far cheaper.

5D2 and the 70-200 II. The lens is well worth the price of admission, as long as you can accept it'll be far heavier than any of your other lenses (and more conspicuous).

Oh, welcome back from the sandbox (I know I'm 1/2 a year or so too late, but saw your photoblog).

None of us can really help you that much, though, because we're not you. Everyone puts different emphasis on different parts of a camera body (as you see here, some people say 5D2, others 5D3).

I've owned good AFing cameras (D300/700, 1D3, even A77) so I realize the 5D3 is going to be worlds better at some AF scenarios than the 5D2. That in mind, though, for my photography, I really don't feel it's worth the price premium right now.

You may feel differently - it depends on how you do your shooting, etc. FWIW, the 5D2 certainly isn't unusable in low light, nor are the outer points completely useless.

have owned both, since they first were released. I agree that on a limited budget, unless you shoot action, 5d2 is a far better buy. for what you have described its the way to go. You will get a lot more use, and good images out of the 70-200 IS lens that you will out of upgrading to 5d3 over 5d2. yeah, the autofocus is a huge upgrade (both 61 point, ans spot focus). the high iso is a slight upgrade (1/2 stop), and the FPS is a considerable upgrade, only if you need it. HDR, Multiple exposure, blah blah blah. gimmicks as far as I am concerned. I saw a huge difference in my images, going from a crop to 5d. then a significant difference going to 5d2, b/c of resolution, MFA, better iso, slightly shorter shutter lag, and of course awesome video. 5d2 to 5d3? only when shooting birds, and even then, I miss my 7d.

u will get mor eout of focus shots ona 5d2 then on a 5d3.

get the 5d3 and get the 70-200 later.

spear wrote in post #14651646
You need good focus even in slow action or normal action. You really don't want to get a 5DII when the 5DIII is around .... no way! The 5DIII is superior in so many ways that it would be the worst thing you could possibly do. Bite the bullet and get rid of some lenses and get the 5DIII body. The ability to get tack on pictures in low light with fast good focus cannot be underestimated. Needing fast focus only for action photos is a myth, you need fast accurate focus for most non tripod + live view shots. What really pisses me off is that Canon should have had this focus on the 5DII ... if that had been the case moving to a 5DIII would not be so compelling. But as it is now, unless you take your pictures in a Live View environment, the 5DIII is a dramatically better choice.

so nobody could take pictures with fast primes before 5dmk3? what was your first body before 5dmk3 d what you shoot? I am not denying the good AF in 5dmk3 but 5dmk3 with no good glass to go with is bad move IMHO.

kevindar wrote in post #14651694
have owned both, since they first were released. I agree that on a limited budget, unless you shoot action, 5d2 is a far better buy. for what you have described its the way to go. You will get a lot more use, and good images out of the 70-200 IS lens that you will out of upgrading to 5d3 over 5d2. yeah, the autofocus is a huge upgrade (both 61 point, ans spot focus). the high iso is a slight upgrade (1/2 stop), and the FPS is a considerable upgrade, only if you need it. HDR, Multiple exposure, blah blah blah. gimmicks as far as I am concerned. I saw a huge difference in my images, going from a crop to 5d. then a significant difference going to 5d2, b/c of resolution, MFA, better iso, slightly shorter shutter lag, and of course awesome video. 5d2 to 5d3? only when shooting birds, and even then, I miss my 7d.

well said.

jonneymendoza wrote in post #14651865
u will get mor eout of focus shots ona 5d2 then on a 5d3.

get the 5d3 and get the 70-200 later.

how come you don't follow your own advice based on the gear in your signature?

bobbyz wrote in post #14652469
how come you don't follow your own advice based on the gear in your signature?

^ ^ ^ ^^ ^^ ^
Hahaha.

To the OP, get the 2, you will love the 70-200 on it, and start saving for the 3 afterwards. Everyone seems to be in agreement in the pricing structure of the 5D3 ( it's very high for improvements the 5D2 should have been equiped with already) so get one when they drop a bit. You never know Canon may have offered the new software for the 7d, whilst they work on something to respond to Nikon's latest offerings. Thats what I'm hoping for

kevindar wrote in post #14651694
have owned both, since they first were released. I agree that on a limited budget, unless you shoot action, 5d2 is a far better buy. for what you have described its the way to go. You will get a lot more use, and good images out of the 70-200 IS lens that you will out of upgrading to 5d3 over 5d2. yeah, the autofocus is a huge upgrade (both 61 point, ans spot focus). the high iso is a slight upgrade (1/2 stop), and the FPS is a considerable upgrade, only if you need it. HDR, Multiple exposure, blah blah blah. gimmicks as far as I am concerned. I saw a huge difference in my images, going from a crop to 5d. then a significant difference going to 5d2, b/c of resolution, MFA, better iso, slightly shorter shutter lag, and of course awesome video. 5d2 to 5d3? only when shooting birds, and even then, I miss my 7d.

Great post btw!!!