Trade my 5DII +135L for a 5DC+ 70-200 2.8 IS MII?

In a short amount of time (3 months) since owning a 5DMII, I have produced some great images with my 5DII and 135L combo. I love it so much I even sold my 24-70 zoom because I feel every picture that comes out of it simply lacks the "wow" factor the 135L is capable of producing, so for the past 3 months I've shot 90% of all my portrait works using that focal length. I never thought this day would arrive but as great as the 135L is, I feel like its very, very limiting. So right now I'm having second thoughts of selling both of my prized possession for a 5DC and 70-200 2.8 MII lens.

Will a 5DC & 70-200 2.8 MII lens produce similar if not better results? Are there any previous 5DII owners out there that switched to a 5DC and didn't regret it? My only concern with the 5DC is it does not have auto dust cleaning and I will surely miss the great images it produces @ 3200 ISO. For the lens, I think the 135L is right there with the 70-200 2.8 MII in terms of sharpness & color rendition.

In which direction are you limited? Instead of the $ it'd cost you to swap gear, you could just pick up another prime, say the 85 f/1.8 or a 50 or the 70-200 f/4 IS

I don't own a 5d2, but a 5dc and the IQ is on par till you reach over 800 iso. If you shoot in higher conditions, you will notice it. Others have downgraded becasue they shoot a lot of events and don't want to handle the massive 21mp raw files and switch to the 5dc because the 13mp file is bigger than the 5d2 sraw file (don't know the file size, just know it's smaller).

Can't really comment on the new 70-200, but I've taken many shots on my 70-200 4 IS and have never looked back.

Don't do it, pickup a 85 f/1.8 and 50 f/1.4 and a 1.4x TC if you need to. I'm in the process of swithcing from a 70-200 to all primes (minus my 17-40L)

anthony11 wrote in post #10720775
In which direction are you limited? Instead of the $ it'd cost you to swap gear, you could just pick up another prime, say the 85 f/1.8 or a 50 or the 70-200 f/4 IS

The 135 can be a pretty long after its attached to your camera 90% of the time, at least thats my observation. There are times I'll ditch better composition in order for me to take the shot because my lens cant zoom in/out and I dont have anymore space to move back/forward. 70-200 F/4 IS does intrigues me as well, but I like having a smooth bokeh for most of my portrait work, something an F/4 does'nt provide.

Mossman6 wrote in post #10720782
I don't own a 5d2, but a 5dc and the IQ is on par till you reach over 800 iso. If you shoot in higher conditions, you will notice it. Others have downgraded becasue they shoot a lot of events and don't want to handle the massive 21mp raw files and switch to the 5dc because the 13mp file is bigger than the 5d2 sraw file (don't know the file size, just know it's smaller).

Can't really comment on the new 70-200, but I've taken many shots on my 70-200 4 IS and have never looked back.

Thanks. I too have heard the 5DC and 5D2 shares the same IQ until you go to a higher ISO. I had a 5DC for a short amount of time, unfortunately, I never had a chance to really explore its capability after buying a second hand body in EBAY.

I went from 5D classic to 5D mk2 and now back to a classic. Only difference I could see was file size and ability to print big. I don't stray over iso800 and never used video or printed over 20" x 30". Perfectly happy with the "old" 5D....

ni$mo350 wrote in post #10720791
Don't do it, pickup a 85 f/1.8 and 50 f/1.4 and a 1.4x TC if you need to. I'm in the process of swithcing from a 70-200 to all primes (minus my 17-40L)

+1

selling the 5Dii for a 5Dc so you can buy more lenses make sense.
selling your 135L which you LOVE for a zoom when you already sold your 24-70 DOES NOT....

buy yourself some good primes if the 135 is limiting for you. If you need to go from a 5Dii to a 5D to do it, fine, but don't go to a 70-200 if you didn't like the 24-70 after a 135... the 50 1.3 and 85 1.4 should work, if not try some L primes. Hell, buy my 24L that I'm selling as your wide lens.

ni$mo350 wrote in post #10720791
Don't do it, pickup a 85 f/1.8 and 50 f/1.4 and a 1.4x TC if you need to. I'm in the process of swithcing from a 70-200 to all primes (minus my 17-40L)

Those are great lenses and are of great value, but at the moment, I think I'll pass with primes because I feel like Ive missed a lot of shot between changing lenses, and frankly its inconvenient going back to my bag to reach for my lens while I have a heavy camera+ lens hanging on my shoulder, then changing lens etc lol. Its one thing I guess if you have a zoom, at least you have more options as oppose to using a one focal length lens.

^ OK, well then why do you fell the $2200 70-200 version is the right answer for you? If you got the non IS 2.8 version, you'd be one stop slower than you 135L, still no IS, and you'd be able to afford the 5Dii still? The new II IS version of the 70-200 is amazing, don't get me wrong, but are you sure you're willing to trade the 5Dii for it?

Soulman wrote in post #10720861
I went from 5D classic to 5D mk2 and now back to a classic. Only difference I could see was file size and ability to print big. I don't stray over iso800 and never used video or printed over 20" x 30". Perfectly happy with the "old" 5D....

+1. not a huge fan of video and frankly, I don't need 21 MP either.

jacobsen1 wrote in post #10720888
+1

selling the 5Dii for a 5Dc so you can buy more lenses make sense.
selling your 135L which you LOVE for a zoom when you already sold your 24-70 DOES NOT....

buy yourself some good primes if the 135 is limiting for you. If you need to go from a 5Dii to a 5D to do it, fine, but don't go to a 70-200 if you didn't like the 24-70 after a 135... the 50 1.3 and 85 1.4 should work, if not try some L primes. Hell, buy my 24L that I'm selling as your wide lens.

Haha. Love the 24L. I rented one this week. That's also on my list.

BTW, why are you suggesting not to get the 70-200 2.8 MII over 135L? I read that version is one of Canon's sharpest and best zoom lens. With that focal range, i should be able to cover both 85 and 135.

eye2i wrote in post #10720936
BTW, why are you suggesting not to get the 70-200 2.8 MII over 135L? I read that version is one of Canon's sharpest and best zoom lens. With that focal range, i should be able to cover both 85 and 135.

2.8 will never give you the separation at 135mm that 2.0 will. It's also bigger and heavier on the camera body. And if you get a 85mm 1.8, it's 1.5 stops faster than 2.8 in terms of separation, the 1.2 is 2.5 stops... So MUCH thinner DOF when you want it, and lower ISOs. Yes the IS on the 70-200 will let you get a lot of the same shots, but only if the subject isn't moving. I've had the 70-200 with IS, and for when I needed reach it was great, but for low light shooting, or for separation, primes win every time, IF you're willing to deal with lens swaps. I now have a 100-400 as my reach lens, then use primes in between.

But it's what suits your style that matters, not mine. It's just that you're saying you like your 135L so much you sold your 24-70 (a great zoom). If that's the case, I doubt you'll love your 70-200 images any better.

I think you should keep your 5Dii and buy the sigma 50 1.4 + canon 85 1.8

jacobsen1 wrote in post #10720926
^ OK, well then why do you fell the $2200 70-200 version is the right answer for you? If you got the non IS 2.8 version, you'd be one stop slower than you 135L, still no IS, and you'd be able to afford the 5Dii still? The new II IS version of the 70-200 is amazing, don't get me wrong, but are you sure you're willing to trade the 5Dii for it?

Ben,

I feel like the 70-200 MII offers the same sharpness & color rendition of the 135L but it comes with an added versatilty. Something, I know will be much more useful with my style of shooting.

I think your question is the bottomline for me. It all boils down basically to trading my 5DII for a 70-200 MII version, I think the answer is pretty obvious right now, but I guess I'm looking for some more encouragement that it is a better decision in the long run.

jacobsen1 wrote in post #10720949
2.8 will never give you the separation at 135mm that 2.0 will. It's also bigger and heavier on the camera body. And if you get a 85mm 1.8, it's 1.5 stops faster than 2.8 in terms of separation, the 1.2 is 2.5 stops... So MUCH thinner DOF when you want it, and lower ISOs. Yes the IS on the 70-200 will let you get a lot of the same shots, but only if the subject isn't moving. I've had the 70-200 with IS, and for when I needed reach it was great, but for low light shooting, or for separation, primes win every time, IF you're willing to deal with lens swaps. I now have a 100-400 as my reach lens, then use primes in between.

But it's what suits your style that matters, not mine. It's just that you're saying you like your 135L so much you sold your 24-70 (a great zoom). If that's the case, I doubt you'll love your 70-200 images any better.

Good stuff Ben, thanks for your input, I already know the pros and cons of going with 70-200 but it feels much better making a decision when other talented and experience photogs like you guys are putting their two cents. I think I'll have some decisions to make pretty soon, but everyone is really pushing this 85 1.8 lens, maybe Ill ought to give that one a try and just stop being lazy changing lens haha.

you can't go wrong with ANY of the options you're presenting, it's just that you like the 135, so why not give it some prime friends to play with? Especially when that 85 is what, $300 used?