Ready to hit the buy button!

Everyones been great here. Was set on a 7D but a few members opened me up to the 60D. I'm torn between two setups.

1) 60D & 15-85 f/3.5-5.6 IS USM ($1430)
2) 7D & 17-85 f/4-5.6 IS USM ($1459)

All equipment is used. This setup will be a walk around setup, if that makes sense. And is my first DSLR setup. Something I can use for learning and still taking great shots. Don't wanna upgrade in a few months because I didnt put $$ in the first time

I would go with 7d over the 60, have you considered this lens for a walk-around over those XX-85's, It will give you f2.8 throughout the entire focal range.
Tamron SP AF 17-50mm f/2.8 XR Di II LD IF
The name is a link to a review for it with sample pics.
Very good lens for a very good price.

With a difference of only $29 I'd go with the 7D. Weather resistant, more fps, better autofocus. That would be my choice.

Mike

I'm sorry, I don't know what f2.8 for entire focal range means. New to all this. But I'll take a look!

Then I'd kindly suggest for you to hold out on hitting the buy button to look more into the kind of lenses you're planning to get. You're choosing between two fantastic cameras (I'd go for the 7D myself), so don't let the lenses be the bottleneck on the images you want to capture.

I've never used the Canon 15-85mm, but many people vouch for that lens. I've used the lens Martzart recommended (Tamron 17-50mm). I loved that lens (until it died).

DanFrank wrote in post #14615794
Everyones been great here. Was set on a 7D but a few members opened me up to the 60D. I'm torn between two setups.

1) 60D & 15-85 f/3.5-5.6 IS USM ($1430)
2) 7D & 17-85 f/4-5.6 IS USM ($1459)

All equipment is used. This setup will be a walk around setup, if that makes sense. And is my first DSLR setup. Something I can use for learning and still taking great shots. Don't wanna upgrade in a few months because I didnt put $$ in the first time

If those are the only two rigs that you are considering then I'd take the one with the 15mm lens at the wide end...Those extra 2mm are huge!

F2.8 over the whole focal lenght means the the aparture doesn't change when you zoom in or out. On, lets say, the 15-85 the lowest aparture you can use at 15mm is f4 but at 85mm the lowest is f5.6.

DanFrank wrote in post #14615906
I'm sorry, I don't know what f2.8 for entire focal range means. New to all this. But I'll take a look!

With a variable aperture on the 2 lenses you listed (the 17-85 f/4-5.6 IS USM for example), your minimum available aperture will be between 4 and 5.6 (4 @ 17mm and 5.6 @ 85mm) so your shutter speed with be different throughout the zoom range.

With a constant 2.8 you will be able to use that aperture throughout the zoom range allowing you to keep your shutter speed at the same setting throughout your zooming.

2.8 gives you a few stops over a 4-5.6 and allows you to get faster shutter speeds in low lighting situations.

Every f stop doubles the amount of light that enters the lens.
The smaller the fstop number, the wider the lens opens up to allow more light in.
Also when shooting with a wider aperture of f2.8 gives you a narrower depth of field, blurring out background detail.
Allowing you to choose to isolate your focus more and blur out background details a bit when you open it up all the way.
Lower f stop lenses are considered faster glass because you can shoot with higher shutter speeds in lower light.

Ok so the 7D and Tamron 17-50 f/2.8 $1600 used. Should get me started and not wanting to upgrade in 6 months? Except for adding more glass!

Should get you started,
another nice decently priced lens to look at later on is the ef 100mm 2.8 macro usm.
It is really sharp and will give some more reach, plus can be used as macro or a normal 100mm lens.
Great 2nd lens choice imo, because of its versatility, useful length and price.

DanFrank wrote in post #14615794
Everyones been great here. Was set on a 7D but a few members opened me up to the 60D. I'm torn between two setups.

1) 60D & 15-85 f/3.5-5.6 IS USM ($1430)
2) 7D & 17-85 f/4-5.6 IS USM ($1459)

All equipment is used. This setup will be a walk around setup, if that makes sense. And is my first DSLR setup. Something I can use for learning and still taking great shots. Don't wanna upgrade in a few months because I didnt put $$ in the first time

Personally for your first setup, I would go 7d with a Canon 18-200mm.

I have a 5d3 and a 5d2, but still grab the above setup when I need versatility...

Add a nifty fifty to that, with a yongnuo 565ex flash and you are good to go...

I'd go withthe 7D and the 15-85 lens, which is a much better lens than the 17-85