Have an unexpected bit of money coming and want to continue investing in gear to finally make the jump from a career I can't stand into one I am passionate about. Been shooting weddings for a year and done some graduation and senior portrait work. My back up to my 5D Mark III is a 7D Mark II and while I am happy with it I am looking for another full frame body for solo weddings where I prefer to use 2 set ups. Budget dictates discretion so I don't know if I should go with 5D Mark IV or 6D that has the 50 f/1.2 I'm wanting. There are certainly limitations on the 6D but I'm thinking the use as a second camera makes the glass investment worth it. Anybody have input that will help me see this from an angle I'm not thinking of?
General business advice: you're going to need more working capital than you think. Things come up. Stick with you've got and bank the money. Unless you don't have adequate business insurance, in which case buy that or quit.
Solid comment. I have put money aside for the launch and resulting insurance costs for 6 months so far. I'm getting ready. Haven't launched any social media or website but also have Smugmug fees set aside for year 1. Thing is that I know there will not be any opportunity for large purchases once I get going. This money is not expected income and I would like to have expenditure to write off at year end. Unfortunately it's not likely my wife will excercise restraint with it and right now I have convinced her it's best spent where it can be useful to us. Thank you!
One problem a lot of wedding photographers have with the 6d is the single card slot, as most prefer to have a backup card running.
One option that you didn't mention would be to get a second 5d3 and more glass. I would also suggest looking at the Sigma Art 50mm over the Canon 50mm f/1.2. I know the Sigma is only f/1.4 but the quality is excellent. I run a little camera store in Australia and sell at least 10 Sigmas a week, I cant remember the last time someone bought the Canon f/1.2.
Alternately (probably not what you want to hear) you could sell the Canon gear you currently have and invest in a 2x Nikon D750 kit. Changing systems can be problematic but the D750's are amazing cameras, and were frequently reviewed as "the greatest wedding camera", but they're also much better priced than the 5d range.
Lots of cameras are reviewed this way. A lot of the best wedding work is currently being shot on Fujis. If the guy has already settle on Canon, I think it's reasonable to assume he's taken a good look and found its the best fit for him.
Indeed, I thought I would just mention the D750 due to it's low cost. I'm a huge fan of the Fuji's as well and would probably be shooting on the X-T2's for weddings myself if I could convince my wife to give up her DSLR's :-)
I use the 6D as a second camera and love it, not sure how much you are wanting to spend, but how about sell the 7D and use the money to put towards the 5D Mk4 and use the MK3 as the backup?
I actually was going to use the MK IV and use the MK III as a backup with this money. Then I saw the package including the 6D and it got me thinking about additional gear; I could go either way but your thought was my first thought. I love action photography so the 7D MK II isn't going anywhere. Thanks for your input. Truly appreciate it.
Rob Mynard I can't respond to your post directly but the Sigma is an option. I have 2 Art series lenses right now- the 35 1.4 and 50-100 1.8 and while I love them I have had trouble achieving sharp focus even after calibration with the dock. Up close it's great. Further back I need to stop down. Not much and it's not anything that would see me selling it but it's simply given me pause. If I get the MK IV then the Sigma will be the option I go with.
If you can, maybe wait for the 6DmkII coming out later spring/early summer. I personally use 2 Canon 5D3s but have specifically been waiting off for this camera. I have always wanted a full frame with swivel or tilt screen because I can get more creative shots faster. That plus Canon dual pixel AF for video=WIN.
I am just hoping it comes with dual slot memory cards which at this point rumors says it will.
The single card slot was a real stumbling block for the current 6d, I cant imagine that Canon would make that mistake again.
I will say that the 50 1.2 is on my camera most of the day at a wedding. It's extremely versatile