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climbrocks
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Aug 16, 2016
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I too agree with much of what has been said. I will add that I have fed my camera and lens addictions to extremes, amassing a collection of several bodies (20D, 7D, then 5DIII... and those are just my Canon's...) and a wide range of lenses from the 10-22 EF-S (my 17-35 f/2.8 L took a tumble onto a tile floor in Costa Rica and has yet to be replaced) to the 70-200 f/2.8 L IS II, and many more in between. I'm fortunate; I'm not running up debts, not rich but also not late on rent either. I've purchased the majority of my lenses used off of Craigslist and have not had any issues, and even ended up with a Sigma 8mm Fisheye and the Canon 85 f/1.8 after buying 7 lenses at a closeout auction in NYC and selling 5 of them to more than pay off the total bill. I've also made several thousand dollars doing side gigs (just did a video one for two grand--careful, video is hard!), so use that as an additional justification (I need plenty). The bottom line is that it is quite possible to go deep--really, really deep--into the lens rabbit hole. If anyone asks, I don't regret a single purchase and love to just take certain lenses out for a walk every once in a while.
THAT SAID, I am going to go slightly against the grain here and recommend that you upgrade your camera body. I would say that you pick up a used 7D (version I is fine) off of Craigslist or even from B&H or Adorama for between $400 and $450. Here's why: Simply put, the optical viewfinders on the Rebel series stink. Once you put your eye to the 7D (or 80D or 7D II or 5DIII) you won't ever want to look through the Rebel again. If you shoot street scenes (you do), landscapes (same), portraits (again), and macro (pretty much), being able to get a nice big, consistent view of what you're looking at makes a huge difference. Add in the additional functionality (I shoot on Aperture Priority and use the rear wheel to control Exposure Compensation), the top side LCD, the better weather resistance, greater ISO options (1/3 stops as opposed to full stops, I believe) and a host of other higher level (i.e., semi-pro) features (e.g., greater flash control, button configuration, etc.) and you'll definitely notice a big difference.
Do you need or should you even be looking at the 5DIII (let alone the 5DS, which you absolutely don't need)? In my opinion, no. The 7D is a fully capable camera and 65% of your current lenses are EF-S lenses (and, if you've got the II version of the 18-55, 100% of your lenses are actually quite good if not excellent; I got the 55-250 EF-S for a song on Black Friday and have shot it quite a bit, taking it on foreign vacations back when I used to take my Canons with me (alas, the Micro 4/3's are great travel cameras)). Your 85mm is effectively a 135 f/2.8 lens on an AP-C body, so no need for going after the 135mm either (save up and get something really different). Want a great lens that won't break the bank? The 60mm EF-S Macro is FANTASTIC. Seriously, some of my favorite photos ever were taken with that one.
I've got to go now, but will add more, maybe even some actual photos... I highly endorse the 7D and playing around with various lens combos! Good luck.
Aug 16, 2016
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