New equipment priority

[bmcknc]

I am needing to shoot some indoor sporting events (swimming) over the next few months and am looking for some opinions on purchasing new equipment. I currently have a 1D Mark II body and the main lens I would shoot the swim meets with would be a L series 135mm f2 with and without a 1.4 converter. This is short course swimming so the swimmers are swimming 25 yard laps (not a significant distance to cover).

I am looking at picking up a 7D Mark II and a 70-200 2.8 zoom, but cannot purchase both at the same time. Would I be better off to pick up the 7D MK II body first and use the 135 or pick up the 70-200 for use on the 1D Mark II? I also have a L series 300mm f4, but am not sure how much use this would be under the lighting conditions I will be faced with.

I could be looking at several months between the purchases, and just want to get the maximum improvement in shooting experience with the first purchase.

Thanks!

[Skirball]

Lens first.

[cicopo]

I'll argue that with "depends on whether or not you need higher ISO" to get an appropriate shutter speed. The 7D2 should offer a minimum 2 stop increase over the 1D2 (iso 1600 can become ISO 6400) based on everything I've read & still be cleaner. Pools can be pretty bright so you'll need to evaluate your shooting conditions to decide. 

[jrhoffman75]

If you are currently happy with the 135/1.4 combo as far as image quality goes do you need shorter than 135mm? I think that would be the only advantage of the 70-200 vs what you already have.

By all accounts the 7D Mark II is a much improved camera over the 1D Mark II, and you are picking up almost a 25% increase in effective reach with the 1.6 crop.

[ebiggs1]

"... the 7D Mark II is a much improved camera over the 1D Mark II"

This is an understatement by a long way.  The 7D Mk II beats a 1D Mk II everywhere and in everything.  But your delima has no correct answer except to replace both.

I own a 1D Mk II and have shot it for years.  I love it and all 1 series cameras. In truth it can not even compete with the new 7D Mk II or even the 7D which I also owned.

In your case you could have a better camera and, IMHO, a better lens combo.  I would not like being put in that situation.

Bottom line, I guess, is get the 70-200mm f2.8 L first.  On your 1D Mk II it's widest is going to look like 90 mm.  Not very wide to say the least.  The 24-70mm f2.8 L and your current 135mm/1.4 could be a much better lens choice. 

[bmcknc]

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@ebiggs1 wrote:

"... the 7D Mark II is a much improved camera over the 1D Mark II"

.....Bottom line, I guess, is get the 70-200mm f2.8 L first.  On your 1D Mk II it's widest is going to look like 90 mm.  Not very wide to say the least.  The 24-70mm f2.8 L and your current 135mm/1.4 could be a much better lens choice. 

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Thanks ebiggs1,

@I actually own the older 28-70 2.8 L but rarely use it for swim meets since I'm primarily interested in shots in the pool during the events requiring longer focal lengths. With this info, would you still recommend the 1D M2 @ 1.3 crop factor with the 70-200 2.8 over the 7DM2 @1.6 crop factor and the 135 2.0? A contributor in an earlier post suggested as much as a two stop advantage to the 7DMK2 over the 1DMK2 with equal or improved image quality. Would this be consistent with your experience with  the 7DMK1? If this is the case, my 300mm f4 on the 7DMK2 could have some potential, even in these lighting conditions.

[ebiggs1]

You actually have me at a disavantage as I have never shot a swin meet and really don't know what is involved.

My suggestion just comes from my experiences with simular circumstances and cameras.

I will say the 7D Mk II should have way more than just a two stop advantage over the 1D Mk II.

Let me understand a little more.  Are you saying the 1d2 and the 135mm/1.4x is a good fit for swim meets?  If that is truly the case than the 70-200mm f2.8, to me anyway, is the thing to buy first.

If you like the 1 series as I do, before you buy a 7D Mk II, take a look at the 1D Mk IV.  It is as good as it gets in a camera body, excluding the 1Dx.

I have owned and shot almost every camera Canon, and brand-N for that matter, makes.  I have sold all the others, except a couple Nikons, and my 1 series.  I would not trade the 1D Mk IV for any camera including the 1Dx although I would love to add it to my inventory.

But back to you, what are the distances and lighting.  Are there any restrictions on where you can stand?  Chance of water splashing on the equipment, etc?

[cicopo]

I've never shot a swim meet either but did compete in my youth. The pools we competed in were well lit but they were still an indoor venue. Also keep in mind that going from an 8.2 Mpixel body to a 20 Mpixel body allows a much deeper crop if you're a bit short on lens length while still retaining a decent file size.

[RexGig]

I have shot several of my nephew's swim meets. Natatoriums (indoor swimming pools) are notoriosly dimly-lit. I used a 7D with my best lens at the time, with AF and enough reach, my EF 100mm 2.8L Macro IS. I found myself wishing for f/2, just a bit more reach, and for faster AF, and so I did my research, then during the off-season, when I had saved enough, bought the EF 135mm f/2L. The next year, however, my nephew did not compete in swimming.

I later acquired a pair of 1D Mark II N bodies, one generation newer than the 1D Mark II, with the intention of using them in good light for birds. The 1D II N  certainly has excellent AF, even in low light, often seeming notably better than the 7D, but it struggles to produce good low-light images, compared to a 7D, and now that I have added the 7D Mark II, well, there is no comparison.

In this case, I would say to upgrade the camera body first. The 135mm f/2L does have quite fast AF, though I have not yet used the 70-200mm f/2.8L lenses for comparison, but the 135L is certainly no slouch with moving subjects. The 7D Mark II should handily outperform the 1D Mark II, as it outperfroms my 1D Mark II N bodies. (I plan to keep my older cameras; they are still a joy to use in good light.) My 135L certainly exhibits fast AF on my 7D Mark II, with and without the Extender 1.4x III.

[RexGig]

I should add that the 7D Mark II has the anti-flicker feature, that will time the shots to coincide with the lighting present at most athletic venues, which cycles too quickly for us to perceive, but will cause inconsistent exposures with fast shutter speeds. I have yet to use it, myself, but reviews have reported that it works as advertised.