06-25-2010, 11:08 AM
First of all, the Canon EOS 7D is a very nice DSLR. Of course, the lighter and more compact Canon EOS 550D is also very nice. It depends on your personal wishes and requirements if the 7D is the APS-C Canon to choose. (personally I like the small size and weight of my 450D)
Then about lenses. Why do you want a 50mm f1.4? Of course, nothing wrong with that, but I am not sure if you know your way around APS-C focal lengths yet. A 50mm f1.4 will mainly be for portrait shots. A "normal" focal length would be around 28-35mm. So if you want a prime for general usage, a 35mm lens makes a bit more sense.
The choice is then quite big still:
Sigma 28mm f1.8 full frame
Sigma 30mm f1.4 APS-C
Canon 28mm f1.8
Canon 35mm f2
Canon 35mm f1.4
About standard zooms:
The obvious (main) differences between the 15-85 and 17-55 are:
The 15-85 has a bigger focal length range.
The 17-55 has a big advantage aperture wise, especially in the long end where it counts most.
What has your preference only you can answer. My preference would be with the wider aperture.
Of course, there are other options too. For wider aperture, I am quite impressed by the Sigma 18-50mm f2.8 EX DC Macro, actually a very nice lens. Better than the Tamron counterpart, even though the photozone tests might make you think different.
This then would be a budget alternative to the Canon 17-55 IS, without IS though.
The new Sigma 17-50mm f2.8 EX DC HSM looks to be very promising too, but will give a smaller advantage money wise.
Since you plan an EF 70-200mm f2.8 IS USM II in future, I would not worry all that much about the 55-85 range the 15-85 offers over others. What I do want to warn about it WEIGHT (and to lesser extent, bulk). You come from a small super zoom, a 7F already weighs a lot more. A 70-200 f2.8 adds 1.5 kilos to that. It might be wise to try out first if that is really what you want to use. The also wonderful Canon EF 70-200 f4 L IS USM is half the weight and half the price. I certainly prefer the f4 version, because of the weight.
Then about lenses. Why do you want a 50mm f1.4? Of course, nothing wrong with that, but I am not sure if you know your way around APS-C focal lengths yet. A 50mm f1.4 will mainly be for portrait shots. A "normal" focal length would be around 28-35mm. So if you want a prime for general usage, a 35mm lens makes a bit more sense.
The choice is then quite big still:
Sigma 28mm f1.8 full frame
Sigma 30mm f1.4 APS-C
Canon 28mm f1.8
Canon 35mm f2
Canon 35mm f1.4
About standard zooms:
The obvious (main) differences between the 15-85 and 17-55 are:
The 15-85 has a bigger focal length range.
The 17-55 has a big advantage aperture wise, especially in the long end where it counts most.
What has your preference only you can answer. My preference would be with the wider aperture.
Of course, there are other options too. For wider aperture, I am quite impressed by the Sigma 18-50mm f2.8 EX DC Macro, actually a very nice lens. Better than the Tamron counterpart, even though the photozone tests might make you think different.
This then would be a budget alternative to the Canon 17-55 IS, without IS though.
The new Sigma 17-50mm f2.8 EX DC HSM looks to be very promising too, but will give a smaller advantage money wise.
Since you plan an EF 70-200mm f2.8 IS USM II in future, I would not worry all that much about the 55-85 range the 15-85 offers over others. What I do want to warn about it WEIGHT (and to lesser extent, bulk). You come from a small super zoom, a 7F already weighs a lot more. A 70-200 f2.8 adds 1.5 kilos to that. It might be wise to try out first if that is really what you want to use. The also wonderful Canon EF 70-200 f4 L IS USM is half the weight and half the price. I certainly prefer the f4 version, because of the weight.