WHAT should I upgrade first???

[mandiemac]

Hello all! New here...

I NEED to upgrade badly and I only have $2500 to do so (for now.) Currently I have a 5D, a 50mm 1.4, a basic PC and ONLY PSE7. I want to either A: get a 50mm 1.2 and CS5, OR B: get a Macbook Pro and CS5. What do you think I should do?

I am strictly a portrait photographer and the 50 does the job I need it to. I don't want to get a different type of lens right now. I'm not a fancy editor, I love basic, clean edits, and I do little to my pictures, but I feel like a better computer and Photoshop would improve my workflow so that I can spend more time with my family. On the flip side, I would really love it if my SOOC shots were better, and I love my 1.4 but I really do think the 1.2 will make a noticable difference.

I'm a little stuck because if I get the lens and photoshop first, I am buying photoshop for PC. I really do want to switch to MAC, but if I invest in PC CS5 then I will have to buy it all over again when I get the Mac.

So there's my dillema. Whaddaya think?

MandieMac
www.mandiemcmurdie.com

 

[Misfitlimp]

If your edits are simple and non invasive then why invest in so much gear to do that? dont get me wrong I love my macbook and cs5, but to be honest I would love more glass right about meow. I bought my labtop because the classes I was taking simply required it seeing as how my lab time was very limited. So to get my work done it had to be done at home. You might consider getting a student copy of cs5 seeing as how they are much cheaper. Maybe enroll in human sexuality class (smiley face) at your local CC to be able to do that and then shine it. I think the only drawback to that is that you dont get a break on upgrades. These are just my thougts and suggestions.
-love limp

 

[Derrel]

The 50/1.2 focuses slowly, and has even more CA than the 50/1.4...it's very high-priced for what it brings....Sigma's 50/1.4 is a better lens,optically, but it's a Sigma, so a new one is like throwing 50% of your money away, unlike a high-end, name-brand maker's lens. I do not thin k the 50/1.2 will make much of a difference at all, in your portraits...just not that big of a difference...

 

[Cedar]

I agree. Don't go for the 1.2.

Honestly I love my Macbook Pro + cs5, but new glass is always a better choice especially if you are only doing light editing. I use my MBP for freelance design / photography / 3 different OS' for different things, and light music production..

I would recommend a EF 85mm 1.2L II.. Canon U.S.A. : Consumer & Home Office : EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM

I have rented it a few times for wedding / portraits / etc, and it's incredible. Personal choice anyways. :thumbup:

 

[Nakean]

To be honest, it doesn't sound like you NEED anything just yet. I would wait until it was blindingly obvious what that next purchase should be. Sure you might have to decide from student version or not, or perhaps 85mm1.2 (gorgeous lens) or 50mm1.4 but those are reasonable questions.

 

[Kerbouchard]

To me, it seems like the best upgrade you could make is in some lighting gear, especially if you mainly do portraits.

As far as photoshop, why don't you download the free 30 day trial. You can save your images and there is no watermark or anything, so you won't be wasting your time. Just try it out instead of using elements during the trial period. At the end of it, you should know if it is something you need or not.