Body+Lens Combo

I'll make this short and sweet:

Keep my Canon 7D as backup and purchase the 5D III?

or

Sell my 7D and purchase the 1DX?

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Also,

Keep my EF 70-200mm IS II and purchase the upcoming 24-70mm II?

or

Sell my 70-200 and purchase all primes (24mm, 50mm, 85mm, 135mm, etc.)?

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Background: I'm interested in progressing to professional photography. I'm basically looking to ensure the longevity and versatility of my gear for all types of photography, from sports to landscape to portraiture. I'm still in the amateur phase, but have been progressing fairly rapidly. Any advice is much appreciated.

-Brandon

Brandon, your background section is too vague, whats really important to you? Will you be shooting stuff that requires a backup or second body? Longevity and versatility are nice concepts, but sort of meaningless if we dont know what you will actually be doing. The lens section is really personal taste and related to the work you will be doing...

As of right now I shoot mostly sports/landscapes. Although having a second body right now isn't quite necessary since I do not have any professional gigs, I could see where having one would be beneficial: the 7D with the 70-200 combined with the 5D III with 24-70 would be a great combo. However, the 1DX would also be welcomed for the increased speed and low-light performance. I haven't shot with many primes, therefore it's hard for me to develop a matured taste. Moreover, the 24-70 II has yet to be released, so it's impossible for me to judge its IQ vs. current primes with even smaller f-stops, which is making my decision that much more difficult. I hope this helps clarify some of my ambiguity.

At this point, buy tools to do a particular job, then when you get more jobs, get the tools appropriate for those jobs. Stocking up on the best (and most expensive) gear on the vague notion that perhaps some day you will need that gear is not a good use of resources.

Good advice. As of right now, I think I'd do just fine with the 5D III with 24-70 II and 70-200 IS II combo. That'd pretty much cover all my needs. I'll still probably keep the 7D simply for the extra speed and crop factor. Thanks for the input, gonzo.

Keep the 7D. Crop factor you already own and a 300 2.8 is cheaper (and more light) than a 500 f/4.

brandonelliottlee wrote in post #14703254
As of right now, I think I'd do just fine with the 5D III with 24-70 II and 70-200 IS II combo..

yep, that gear should get you decent pics