Help me spend some money...

So...I found out a couple days ago that I won a $5000 scholarship for school. Problem is I have already saved up enough money to pay for all my school/living expenses this year, and it is my last year of my BSc. In a nutshell, that is $5000 cash in hand (got the cheque today).

I have already decided to put ~$2500 towards my car loan and I have no other debts to worry about. That leaves $2500 to do something with. In my mind I have a few options:

1) save the money for the future (aka. be responsible with my money...)

2) put my money towards an area of photography that I haven't explored. I like to shoot wildlife and landscapes, but have always been interested in macro and travel photography. My macro currently sits mostly unused because I find it a hassle to use with a tripod.

2a) 100mm f/2.8 L IS USM Macro – I don't enjoy macro because of the requisite use of a tripod (mine is unsuited for macro work), so I was thinking of selling my current lens and picking up the new one, which would in many cases remove/reduce the need for a tripod. Would also be a nice compact short tele for traveling.

2b) 35L - I've always been blown away by the work I see coming from photographers with this lens, but that is likely them and not the lens. That being said...it's not ideal for travel being a prime and all, but at the same time it forces an up close and personal perspective on things, which I like.

2c) 16-35L II - this would satisfy me as both an upgrade to my 17-40L and as a faster walkaround for travel. 82mm filter doesn't matter as I need to buy new adapters and filters anyway (same accident that put my 17-40L in the shop ). Going with an 82mm would likely end up forcing my hand with the 24 TS-E II though, so this is definitely the most expensive option


Any ideas? I'll probably end up kicking myself and just saving the money for now as once October hits Victoria is un-photogenic for about 6 months, so anything I buy now would likely not get heavily used for a while.

Thanks!!

PS. The next big travel destination is Malaysia next summer for 6 weeks, followed by a couple weeks in the general area. Money is mostly in the bank for that trip.

PPS. I will hit anyone who mentions any of the big superteles. Temptation is an evil, evil thing.

Get a 35L, upgrade the macro to the "IS" version and then save anything remaining.

do you really need a tripod for your macro work?...you have a 430EX right?...i'd say 90% of the time i do my macro it's handheld, and just use the flash

i'm sure a tripod is better...but it doesn't seem like that lens really needs to be collecting dust...have you tried handheld?

Jeff81 wrote in post #8745368
Get a 35L, upgrade the macro to the "IS" version and then save anything remaining.

I could pull that off while staying within budget. That's a really good idea...

DreDaze wrote in post #8745420
do you really need a tripod for your macro work?...you have a 430EX right?...i'd say 90% of the time i do my macro it's handheld, and just use the flash

i'm sure a tripod is better...but it doesn't seem like that lens really needs to be collecting dust...have you tried handheld?

Hmmm...handheld with flash does work, I just prefer the look of nice diffuse natural light for most things. I suppose I could always suck it up and force myself to learn some really good proper flash lighting techniques for macro...other than just bouncing stuff around off reflectors and such like I currently do. The lens doesn't really collect dust, it's used a fair bit for field work at school, but there I'm just looking to record data, not images. It's when I do real photography that it usually gets set aside.

As for handheld in general, I've got a pretty bad case of the shakes (and I'm only 21...) but can usually get by alright at 1/FL.

save it for the future...

i recently sold my 70-200mm f2.8L IS, 17-55, 11-16 and 40D for the 85L and the 135L + cash left over. now that i have about 4k cash in hand, i am ready to pay for the 85L and 135L. this afternoon, when i was about to purchase them, i panicked and walked away... 4k is a ton of money and id rather save it for the future now. anyways, i have a 35L and a 85mm f1.8 in hand whenever i need it.

Marloon wrote in post #8745492
save it for the future...

i recently sold my 70-200mm f2.8L IS, 17-55, 11-16 and 40D for the 85L and the 135L + cash left over. now that i have about 4k cash in hand, i am ready to pay for the 85L and 135L. this afternoon, when i was about to purchase them, i panicked and walked away... 4k is a ton of money and id rather save it for the future now. anyways, i have a 35L and a 85mm f1.8 in hand whenever i need it.

Yeah, I know how that feels. I don't really NEED anything new right now, and it feels good to look at such a huge sum of money and know it's there in case it's ever needed. I could invest for the future...anyone got any good stock market tips? LOL

DreDaze wrote in post #8745420
do you really need a tripod for your macro work?...you have a 430EX right?...i'd say 90% of the time i do my macro it's handheld, and just use the flash

i'm sure a tripod is better...but it doesn't seem like that lens really needs to be collecting dust...have you tried handheld?

I always considered a tripod necessary for Macro because of the very narrow Depth Of Field at high magnification.

If you try to hand hold, even with IS, the slightest movement will throw off your focus point.

So what good is IS on a Macro lens?

Don't you have enough lenses for a while? Perhaps save some money. I thought scholarships were for money to help with school, not really photography.

85mm f/1.2L...

...then I will be VERY jealous...

Marloon wrote in post #8745492
save it for the future...

+1

you seem to have quite the collection already

msowsun wrote in post #8746329
I always considered a tripod necessary for Macro because of the very narrow Depth Of Field at high magnification.

If you try to hand hold, even with IS, the slightest movement will throw off your focus point.

So what good is IS on a Macro lens?

different strokes for different folks i guess...i think a tripod seems like it'd make it more difficult...i know most instances i couldn't use one anyways, as i'm too low to the ground...so i just use my body for support...

not sure about the IS...but i know the hybrid IS is said to be great for macro...so they must've done something to make it work...

gasrocks wrote in post #8747005
Don't you have enough lenses for a while? Perhaps save some money. I thought scholarships were for money to help with school, not really photography.

Oh I do, but school is paid for completely already, so it's not needed. I could always save it for a couple years when I go to grad school I guess. We'll see.

1) save the money for the future (aka. be responsible with my money...)

you'll thank yourself, and me

If the money isn't needed you shouldn't be getting it, but that's an entirely different discussion..

EmmaRose wrote in post #8748288
1) save the money for the future (aka. be responsible with my money...)

you'll thank yourself, and me

If the money isn't needed you shouldn't be getting it, but that's an entirely different discussion..

Umm...not all scholarships are based on need. This one was given based off of recommendations from professors and GPA. And I didn't say that it wasn't hugely appreciated.

I think I will be saving the money though, after thinking about it last night.

Murphy's Law: Spend all your extra money on a camera and/or lens, and they will announce a more interesting thing tomorrow.