Upgrading Lenses: Which Should I Get First?

[Teacherbytes]

I recently traded an 80D with EF-S lenses to get an R6 Mark II with the RF 24-105 F4-7.5 STM kit lens. Now I want to upgrade lenses to "L". The dilemma I am wrestling with is which lens to get first. Should I trade the 24-105 STM and get the RF 24-105 F4 L or trade a 70-300 USM for a 70-200 F4 L lens?

[Tronhard]

Hi and welcome to the forum:

Really what you want, or specifically need is a function of what you photograph and the conditions under which you do so, not to mention the critical factor of your actual budget figure. 
Can I suggest you view the article on the following link and come back to us with responses to those questions:
Considerations when buying or upgrading camera gear , particularly the part on the last page about understanding features vs benefits.  To add to that:  a feature of the EF 24-105L is that it has a constant aperture of f/4, but is that  a benefit to your photography if you don't need to shoot in low light, or to have a very shallow depth of field?
I would be particularly interested in what specific benefit switching from the excellent EF 70-300 f/4-5.6 IS USM II to the 70-200 f/4L (is that the IS model you refer to?) will render to your photography.  We can then give you far more useful responses.

[Teacherbytes]

Thanks for the info and the article. Maybe I am falling for marketing hype and what I have will take me to the next level. The photography I am most interested in is landscape and then urban landscape (not necessarily people) photography so I have been shooting with an aperture of F8 to F11 so I don't think F2.8 lenses will interest me. I rented a 24-105 F4 L lens for a weekend recently and my analysis of similar photos shot with that lens and my current 24-105 F4-F7.5 lens was a tossup in quality. So, I am thinking of the build quality and weather sealing of L lenses when I take them into the backcountry, beaches, deserts, or cities. My ultimate photography goal is to be able to sell enough photos in my retirement to make "movie money" as a supplement to my retirement income and keep me active. 

[Tronhard]

In consideration of misreading your camera model, I have removed this post and am replacing it...  I will PM you...

I have to eat humble pie here . not so much for not knowing your background, obviously that I could not do, but I misread the camera model you have and that would have significant implications - so apologies for that.

The R6II is a brilliant unit, I have one. and now I have sorted out that it is the R6II, I would recommend a set of different RF lenses from those that I had listed.

For extra wide angle, suitable for constrained spaces and cityscapes, I would recommend the RF 14-35L f/4 IS USM.  I have this lens and it is brilliant.  It is light, compact and extremely sharp.  It has excellent image stabilization and will actually fit a normal 77mm filter, which is amazing for this range of optic.   This lens uses significant software correction in-camera for JPG files, and when brought into Lightroom or Photoshop the same corrections will be applied to RAW files.   This is becoming a trend as lens designers strive to make lighter, cheaper optics that offer amazing performance, and is essentially a later application of the same computational algorithms used in cell phones.   Just don't turn off auto lens correction!

EOS R6, RF14-35L@35mm, f/20, 15sec, ISO-100

The next lens would be the RF 24-105 f/4 L, this is, IMHO significantly better than the EF version, so my comments about the difference being marginal are not applicable.

For landscape, TBH, I would still hold off on a decision at this time about th EF 70-300.  There are some new optics due out soon and there are rumors that this will involve some in the focal region. 

Just getting to know the camera, and any of those two RF lenses you might get should keep you occupied!

[Teacherbytes]

Thank you for the advice. Rest assured, I am not about to trade my day job for an illusionary career as a professional photographer who will not be doing either weddings or portrait photography. It will take time and effort but I have doing photography for most of my life. Regarding technology, I have expertise in educational technology and I have seen how technology has changed the educational landscape. Currently, educators are trying to figure out how to make peace with and incorporate artificial intelligence into instruction. Photography is no different and I started with a Minolta X-370 film SLR and progressed with the technology. What I do like is trying to figure out problems and photography is such a challenge. It will be work and I am working on my craft like improving composition, using Lightroom to improve photos, and learning the R6 Mark II. 

[ebiggs1]

I am not sure I would trade up for anything. Use and learn what you have first. Later that will tell you what you need to do or not do. The gain may be less than you hope for.