New Camera/Lenses? Wedding photography

[TCelar]

Hello, My name is Tomas and I've been shooting with DSLR since summer 2010, I was shooting 95% macro shots, I am really, really satisfied with my stuff, but 3 days ago, when I was bored in school I was thinking, that it's probably not the way to make money, so I decided, that I will set Macro to the side and begin my Wedding/Portrait photography career, I need help to choose gear
I have:
Canon EOS 50D
Canon EF 100mm f2.8 macro
Canon EF 50mm f1.8 II
Canon MP-E 65mm f2.8
Canon EF 400mm f5.6 L
Canon Speedlite 580 EX II

I was looking at lenses like 135 f2 L, 50mm f1.2, 70-200 f2.8 IS etc..
But I was thinking, that for example insted of 50mm f1.2 + my 50D I could get 5Dmk II and use my f1.8 or get 1.4 eventually

So the question is... Should I upgrade my body? or get better lens?

Thanks for any responses!

[ErikUngerPhotography]

Originally Posted by TCelar

Hello, My name is Tomas and I've been shooting with DSLR since summer 2010, I was shooting 95% macro shots, I am really, really satisfied with my stuff, but 3 days ago, when I was bored in school I was thinking, that it's probably not the way to make money, so I decided, that I will set Macro to the side and begin my Wedding/Portrait photography career, I need help to choose gear
I have:
Canon EOS 50D
Canon EF 100mm f2.8 macro
Canon EF 50mm f1.8 II
Canon MP-E 65mm f2.8
Canon EF 400mm f5.6 L
Canon Speedlite 580 EX II

I was looking at lenses like 135 f2 L, 50mm f1.2, 70-200 f2.8 IS etc..
But I was thinking, that for example insted of 50mm f1.2 + my 50D I could get 5Dmk II and use my f1.8 or get 1.4 eventually

So the question is... Should I upgrade my body? or get better lens?

Thanks for any responses!

Generally speaking, lenses usually are more of an important investment as they will usually greatly outlast your camera body. That said, a camera body can have limitations that a good lens can't fix.

Lens upgrades that could help you see improvements without upgrading the body would be faster lenses. So maybe getting the 50 1.4/1.2 for that extra light without needing a higher ISO. I also know the 85 1.2 is a popular lens for portraits.

Your camera body already goes up to 6400 ISO, which is the same native ISO as the 5D MkII. The main difference is the pixel size. Because the 5D MkII has larger pixels, it will have less noise at equal ISO. It also of course has a higher resolution. The larger sensor also means it can pull off a shallower depth of field.

My suggestion would be to invest in the lens and upgrade to a new body later.

[TCelar]

Originally Posted by ErikUngerPhotography

Generally speaking, lenses usually are more of an important investment as they will usually greatly outlast your camera body. That said, a camera body can have limitations that a good lens can't fix.

Lens upgrades that could help you see improvements without upgrading the body would be faster lenses. So maybe getting the 50 1.4/1.2 for that extra light without needing a higher ISO. I also know the 85 1.2 is a popular lens for portraits.

Your camera body already goes up to 6400 ISO, which is the same native ISO as the 5D MkII. The main difference is the pixel size. Because the 5D MkII has larger pixels, it will have less noise at equal ISO. It also of course has a higher resolution. The larger sensor also means it can pull off a shallower depth of field.

My suggestion would be to invest in the lens and upgrade to a new body later.

Thanks for your reply, yes I know, that pro lens on not the best body is better, than vice versa.
It's true, that 50D also go to 6400 (with expansion) as 5D mkII, but the thing is the noise reduction, on 1000 ISO on 50D I can see the noise.. probably like on 2000 on 5D..
And I don't know how much the full frame makes the DOF more narrow, but 5D + f1.4 might be very similar and with the 5D I can get higher shutter speed and iso and get the same result..
Another reason why I'm thinking of body upgrade is, that 2 bodies are also pretty usefull.

But even if I was getting lens, which one is the best one for the wedding and portraits?
A lot of people are complaining about the 85mm f1.2, extreme price, slow autofocus etc, so more likely I'm looking for choosing the lens. So if I wont be sure, I can still have like the xxx lens vs 5D mk II

Thanks for reply

[ErikUngerPhotography]

I misread. Thought it was the 60D you had. The 50D does only go to 3200 natively.

The 50 1.8 is not a bad lens. What it does lack is the build quality of the 1.4 and more so the 1.2. The 1.4 and 1.2 also has a dedicated focus ring which can be nice.

Not sure about the bad reviews on the 85. B&H has it at 4.9/5 based on 387 reviews. Not saying it is the perfect portrait lens, but it is a favorite. I know quite a few portrait photographer who like to use a 50, 85, 100, and 70-200. The telephoto lenses can give you some space between you and the subject so your are not right in their face, which can make some people uncomfortable. They can also help compress the background and have nice bokeh.

I would figure out what is limiting you the most. Is it your lenses or is it the body. If you will be shooting in a lot of low light situations and you don't want to shoot wide open, then perhaps upgrading the body is the right thing. Have someone model for you in different situations and determine what your limitations are.

[jwmrks]

Originally Posted by TCelar

So the question is... Should I upgrade my body? or get better lens?

If it were me, I'd get a new body no question. Not that I think what you have is in dire need of an update, but for weddings I'd want a backup. Use the new body as your main camera but have the 50d just in case. I don't know your budget, but if you can't go for the 5d without selling the 50d (or any true 'upgrade' body), I'd still suggest getting a different, even if lesser, body as a backup. I don't know about you, but I wouldn't be willing to risk having to tell someone 'sorry, but you have no wedding photos' if *anything* went wrong with the camera. Even if you can't get as decent quality with your backup, it's better than nothing.

[graciousness]

Go for the lenses. You need to have versatile, fast zoom lenses for the job and you only have prime lenses primarily. You really don't have the options to be changing lenses throughout the day, especially if you only have one body, so you have to be very smart with your choice of lenses.

If I were you, I would aim to have these two: 24-70mm L and 70-200 f/2.8.

Your body will do just fine until that time you can afford to get a new body. Your lenses are more important than body in this occasion.

If you are really wanting a portrait lens, the 85mm f/1.8 will be great. Don't even go for the $2K f/1.2 - you have better ways of spending that amount of money instead of just getting one single prime lens for limited purpose. In saying this though, the 24-70 or even the 70-200 will be better as far as portrait. Longer lens is better for portrait.