Dilemma - Tele extender or second body?

My outfit currently includes a 6D body, 24-70 Mark II, and 70-200 IS F4L. I often use the 70-200 to take pictures of my daughter on stage and at times I wished that I have more reach beyond 200mm. I'm considering my options to give me just that. One is buying a 1.4x III extender for $430 street or buy a 60D body for about $650 that will instantly give me 112-320 and it can act as a backup and second body. The difference is about $200 between the two and I guess I can afford that. I appreciate any opinion or recommendation for my situtation. TIA.

I have the 6D with a 70-200 f2.8 IS II and I am looking to purchase the EF 2xII or III Extender for this same situation. What do you guys think?

Before considering reach, what kind of exposure settings are you guys using right now?

You'll need to factor in 1-stop light loss for 1.4x and 2-stops for 2x.

Second body if you can afford it. Sure there's the weight but would you go on a real holiday/photo trip without a second body? Secondly, extenders as good as they can be, can't touch the quality of the image produced by crops' built in extender . I have been looking at going full frame, but I will sure keep my trusted 7D for birding and wildlife.

dochollidayda wrote in post #15841849
Second body if you can afford it. Sure there's the weight but would you go on a real holiday/photo trip without a second body? Secondly, extenders as good as they can be, can't touch the quality of the image produced by crops' built in extender . I have been looking at going full frame, but I will sure keep my trusted 7D for birding and wildlife.

Quite honestly, if it's a vacation I like to travel light - one body and perhaps two lenses. I don't like to be weighed down or too focused on the gear as it tends to get in the way of the experience. If I have a body breakdown then shame on me.

Now if it's a paying job or serious assignment, then I take the whole rolling case with duplicate everything. That's work and I'm not out to lay around the beach . Bottom line - it depends upon the individual/situation and how much you want to haul.

This is mainly for my 11 year old's stage performances so normally the lighting is only so so. My 6D at high ISO is extremely good so even with an F4 max on my 70-200 the result is usually excellent. The bulk/weight is not a concern here. I'm more concern with the IQ that a 6D+extender+70-200 vs 60D+70-200 in this situation.

sapearl wrote in post #15841869
Quite honestly, if it's a vacation I like to travel light - one body and perhaps two lenses. I don't like to be weighed down or too focused on the gear as it tends to get in the way of the experience. If I have a body breakdown then shame on me.

Now if it's a paying job or serious assignment, then I take the whole rolling case with duplicate everything. That's work and I'm not out to lay around the beach . Bottom line - it depends upon the individual/situation and how much you want to haul.

That's true for a lot of folks and for me as well. Really depends on vacation though, when I go alone I tend to take more pictures than I do with the family.

I keep a 2 lens, one body setup for now, with a portable G11 as backup. If I am by myself, I carry 3 lenses plus a tripod.

Having said that, I think I can mostly manage 2 bodies + 2 lenses and call it a day.

Delphian2001 wrote in post #15841938
This is mainly for my 11 year old's stage performances so normally the lighting is only so so. My 6D at high ISO is extremely good so even with an F4 max on my 70-200 the result is usually excellent. The bulk/weight is not a concern here. I'm more concern with the IQ that a 6D+extender+70-200 vs 60D+70-200 in this situation.

60D high ISO performance won't be as good as the 6D, you'll be maxing out at 6400 (12,800 is expansion).

However...

70-200 f/4.0 + 1.4x extender = f/5.6 max aperture so you'll have to raise ISO by one stop on your 6D.

Hence my question what your exposure settings are. If you have sample images to post with EXIF intact that would be even better.

You do not really need the latest and expensive Canon TCs. Get a Tamron SP 1.4x TC. I use it with excellent results on my EF 70-200/4 L IS.

gasrocks - thanks for the tip. I was not aware that Tamron makes a similar extender at half the cost. I will definitely consider it.

joeblack - because of the lighting, I normally shoot it wide open at F4 in Av mode. Maybe next time I can experiment with F5.6 to simulate the max aperature with the extender attached and see whether the results are still acceptable.