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Hey guys...I'm ready to upgrade my gear...I own Canon 6D,16-36 f4 IS,100 F2.8 macro , 70- 200mm F4 IS.Mostly into Landscape, nature ...I intend to travel more in the years to come and try to diversify into streets, city and travel photography.My daughter wants me to work on portraits with her.So, my budget is $2500 and my first impulse is to sell my 6D and jump into 5D wagon with 5DMIV.The other option is to upgrade some of the lenses(F/4 to F2.8) or some good primes...I will appreciate your input/ opinions in this matter...Thank you

You already have decent glass so upgrading your 6D to the 5D4 should give you a lot more flexibility with it's upgraded AF system, increased DR and higher resolution.

Just my $0.02.

-Joe

Welcome to POTN. These are the most difficult questions to answer, as most likely none of us know your level of photography or exactly what you're trying to achieve. So even though I'm flying blind on your intentions, I will attempt to make commentary on your gear.

The 6D is a great camera for those wanting a small, full frame camera that is relatively inexpensive (in relation to other FF cameras). It's main lacking area is it's autofocus, but for everything you described, that should not be an issue. Besides the upgrade in image quality (which won't be noticeable 95% of the time) the 5DIV's improved AF won't lend anything to landscape, travel, or posed portraits. So the only thing it will be good for would be quick acquisition on your subject during street photography. But since many street photographers use cameras like the Sony RX1R (which doesn't have impressive AF), super fast auto focus may not be that important for street either. The 6D is an amazing travel camera though. It's the smallest full frame DSLR ever made, and I believe the lightest. It has great image quality for anything you may want to shoot.

As far as upgrading your lenses goes, I don't know if that's necessary either. You already have two L lenses with IS, which will allow you to handhold at f4 in low light situations. You don't need f2.8 for landscape, and I think many times the bokeh advantage is overhyped from f4 to f2.8. The look is really not that different. If you're talking 1.8 and wider, sure that will be a noticeable difference over 4, but 2.8 won't make a huge difference. The biggest overhyped things in photography (IMO) are the differences between aps-c and full frame sensors, and the difference between portraits at f4 and f2.8. Neither are really that different, and the biggest factor in blurring backgrounds for portraits is focal length, and distance from you subject / your subject's distance from the background.

So my final verdict would be to save your money for now, and if you want to invest in anything it should be in educational resources on how to shoot all these new styles you are getting into. If you're a hobbyist who is "into landscapes and nature" and you're trying to jump into street, travel, and portraiture all at once, I would first learn those skills and find out if your camera is up to the task before dropping thousands of dollars on a new body that based on your description sounds like it may be a test subject for those new styles.

Given you have very good equipment now, what exactly do you feel lacking with what you shoot now?

The only real upgrade that will do anything for you would be the 5D4. It would give you much more cropability due to the resolution, and it has the better sensor for low ISO DR/shadow pulling, which could be good for the travel and city shots.

As for glass, the only thing to consider is ultra wide lenses, like the Sigma 12-24 ART or the Canon 11-24L, which are going to be great for landscapes, and perhaps one prime, like the Sigma 85 1.4 ART or Tamron 1.8 VC. This will be good for the portraiture you are considering.

I think I would suggest the lens route now only because it adds to your arsenal in a more noticeable manner than upgrading the 6D to the 5D4.

I also think you would get more bang for your buck with lenses. Unless you are into sporting events, or car racing the 6d is a great body. Older 1d series are also a good value. Pack lots of bang for your buck. Just my .02 cents.

If your intent to travel more in the near future corresponds with retirement (as in you are approaching that age...), I'll tell you one thing you don't need:

f2.8 MkII lenses!

I have both the EF 24-70 MkII and the EF 70-200 MkII and they are incredible lenses, but they are a b!tch to carry around on trips!... The trade-off in IQ with the f4 lenses is minimal (or at least acceptable) and you don't need a Sherpa to carry your backpack.

For a long while my travel kit was my 60D + EFS 18-200 + Σ8-16. A lightweight, manageable kit.

Then I bought a 4k monitor and the undeniable quality of the 5DIII shone through. I am not sure how much longer I will be shooting the crop (there is a photo safari in Kruger National Park in the plans). I am not sure after the safari whether I will shrink the inventory down to f4 to keep shooting the 5DIII or what, but the years are telling.

I'd vote for the 5DIV, if you find the limited AF of the 6D restrictive. Otherwise, why don't you spend your money for a guided photo tour somewhere in the US?

Like other said, you already have a great setup. What do you want to be able to do that you currently cant? I love my 16-35 for travel. It's also great for landscapes. The 70-200 is great for portraits as is the 16-35, depending on the look you're after. Do you have off camera lighting? That can be really useful for portraits.

You mention that you like nature photography, would a 400L or 100-400L be useful for you?

Most of what you've mentioned is fairly slow, so would the extra autofocus points on the 5D really give you any benefit over the 6D? When I bought my 6D I was considering the 5DIII (at the time), but just didn't think the 5D was worth the price for my type of shooting.

Thank you so much for your opinions and advices...I may invest in to an all-around lens like 24-70 or 24 -105 f4 is...and keep saving money for a better camera ..5DMIV resolution for cropping, better AF and more feature over 6D is tempting but I have to judge with my heart: my passion about photography...Sometime​s is the violinist rather than violin.

vallys68 wrote in post #18544544
Thank you so much for your opinions and advices...I may invest in to an all-around lens like 24-70 or 24 -105 f4 is...and keep saving money for a better camera ..5DMIV resolution for cropping, better AF and more feature over 6D is tempting but I have to judge with my heart: my passion about photography...Sometime​s is the violinist rather than violin.

For what it's worth, I find that my 24-105 gets essentially no use since I got my 16-35 and 70-200. I sometimes put on my 50, but really the 16-35 and 70-200 cover 99.9% of my applications. With those two options, do you really think you'd use the 24-105?

I can't comment on 24-70. Lots of people love them, but I've never used one. Haven't seen a reason with my other options.

My two cents are either 24L or 35L coupled with 85L or 135L and keep your current gear.