Wildlife Photography across the Water: Gear Decision Time

Sunday 6 February 2011

Gear Decision Time

So in the space of this last week, I have sold two camera bodies - the 1Dmk111 and the old 5D, and three lenses, and two flash items. The first 7D we bought will be on eBay later today, and the battery grip is on its way to Cornwall where it will picked up by a friend of this blog.

When I put the gear up, I had a few comments asking me if I was going to switch to the 'Dark side'

Well given how easy it has been to see the kit I had and get reasonably acceptable prices, I guess the time is right to think about it.

So can I easily shift two more bodies, three L zoom lenses, 4 L FF lenses and a non L fixed lens, three converters, tubes, and a couple of 580 flash heads. Big decision time now.

My main goal at the start of this process was to sell the 1D, 5D and a 7D and keep one of the 7D's and get a 5Dmk2.

Now I know that the rumours are of the 5Dmk111 later in the year but I will not buy a new body now, at least with six to nine months of launch as they ALL have problems of some kind, and you ALWAYS pay full whack i.e. - totally over the top here in the UK particularly with Canon. For example the 1Dmk4 is now 1200 pounds!!!!!! lower than when launched. Another reason not to wait is that I want Full frame NOW - I love it for a big part of my photography, and if Canon stay true to form they will whack it with a massive price hike.....as usual. The 5Dmk2 does pretty much want I NEED (not want), and with a good couple of years in, it is now 'stable' both in firmware and price

I have a few days to make a decision while I wait for my sales money to clear and check out what I might get for the rest of my kit.

But, as I said earlier, I didn't start this trip with a mind to switch, but I am giving it some more thought now!!

Martin

2 comments:

Anonymous6 February 2011 at 18:16
Trouble is, we pay over the odds for *everything* here in the UK, not just on Canon gear. Nikon is no cheaper than Canon and, in some cases, they're more expensive.
It's the price of lenses that annoys me more than anything. Camera prices drop quite quickly but not lens prices which, if anything, go UP. I want a 500 f4 L but I can't afford £5000+ which is their current price; not that many years ago, they were around the £3000 mark. I might, instead, go for a Sigma 500/4.5 which, although it may not be as good as the Canon, is at least £2k cheaper.
The mark II L lenses are out soon. The existing 200 f2.8 L is around £3000, the mark II version will be twice that.
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Bobbster6 February 2011 at 21:52
Well I switched to Nikon,got pretty much the equivalent bodies/lenses. Although had a 600mm f4 afs II without IS (which I don't miss) And got the Nikon D3s with the saving on the lens. 300S as back up but I still reckon a cropped image from the F/F D3s is superior to any image from the 300S. I sold and exchanged all my kit over about 2 months. Cost to change like for like was about £200 out my pocket. Would I switch back, no way just love the D3s.
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Bio's

David Courtenay, a self taught wildlife and nature photographer, has been capturing images for over 30 years. He has had a passion for wildlife since early childhood and remembers being glued to the television whenever Survival, Wildlife on One and other natural history documentaries were shown. In the 2006 he swapped his established career for the life of a wildlife photographer, such a move demands a measure of uncompromising passion and commitment.

David has travelled extensively throughout Europe as well as spending more than 7 months in India working with local guides and trackers in search of Bengal Tiger, Asian One horned Rhino and Asian Elephant. He has also photographed Wildlife in Australia, Malaysia, Thailand, Sumatra, Africa, Canada and America. Working closely with Conservation companies he tries to raise funds to help Wildlife that has been put on the endangered list by poaching and habitation loss

Martin Dyer has had a passion for avian wildlife since childhood, particularly raptors. Photography was also another keen interest and it was with the specific availability and control of the whole process that digital offers that Martin was then able to combine the two in 2003. Based in the UK, Martin is a regular visitor to Scotland, specifically the Isle of Mull to watch the Eagles resident there. Other trips to Europe and around the UK are usually part of Martin’s agenda in a typical year.

However, as a firm believer on making the most of the local patch, Martin has spent a lot of time and hard work creating a wildlife garden which is reaping the rewards with many new species and varieties of wildlife. A keen member of a number of wildlife photographic groups, Martin is keen to expand his portfolio into other areas of wildlife, and has already established a wide portfolio of images of fungi.