Canon Refurbished Lenses & DSLR Cameras: EOS 5D Mark II 21.1MP DSLR (Body) $1407, EOS Digital Rebel T3i 18MP DSLR w/ 18-55mm Lens $448, Speedlite 430EX II Flash $192, 40mm EF f/2.8

Quote from raffstyle : Should i jump on this 5d2? Im currently saving to buy 6D and 28-75 2.8 tamron. for the price of 6D Body i can get the 5d2 with the tamron lens. hmmm..

This might just be me but the 6D kit with the 24-105 seems like a better deal than getting the 6D body and then getting the 28-75. You save a good amount buying it with the kit. If you don't like the 24-105 then you can sell it for a profit. I originally bought the kit planning on selling the 24-105. Almost one year later and I still have the 24-105. One of my most used lenses. Certainly not the best lens out there but very versatile and pretty decent.

Quote from guoguo914 : where do you see "20% Off Select Refurbished EOS Digital Cameras (Excludes 5D Mark III Refurbished)"?

Yeah, it doesn't seem to be discounting the t3i or t4i refurbished.

I ordered a 5Dmk3 (body only) and currently the only full frame compatible lens I own is an EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM. Any suggestions on a wide angle (prime or zoom) to start with? I do a lot of amatuer landscape and personal social events. Less than $1500 please...

Quote from warmwxrules : My wife wants either the 135 or the 70-200 for her mark ii... I like using her tamron 28-75 f/2.8...it doesn't have IS but its still very nice glass.

He's talking about me. And I am leaning towards the 135mm. Anyone else use both that and the 70-200 f/4 IS to compare? Thoughts?

Quote from raffstyle : Should i jump on this 5d2? Im currently saving to buy 6D and 28-75 2.8 tamron. for the price of 6D Body i can get the 5d2 with the tamron lens. hmmm..

I bought my 5DMark II last April when they had them for $1484 with the "trade in your old broken junk = money off" sale. LOVE it. You will too; it is a great camera and one National Geographic photographers still use.

Quote from ottingerc : I ordered a 5Dmk3 (body only) and currently the only full frame compatible lens I own is an EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM. Any suggestions on a wide angle (prime or zoom) to start with? I do a lot of amatuer landscape and personal social events. Less than $1500 please...

I read a lot of reviews and for my wide angle, ultimately decided on the Tokina 16-28mm. It got good reviews and I think I made the right choice. Bought off Amazon.

Googling "Tokina 16-28mm" now...thanks for the suggestion

Quote from ottingerc : I ordered a 5Dmk3 (body only) and currently the only full frame compatible lens I own is an EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM. Any suggestions on a wide angle (prime or zoom) to start with? I do a lot of amatuer landscape and personal social events. Less than $1500 please...

Check out sigma's new 35mm f/1.4 (around $800-900). Maybe not as wide as you'd like for landscape, but I've shot many a landscape using the 35mm and 50mm focal lengths, and it certainly gets the job done (and panoramas are an option more often than not if you need a wider angle), and the 35/50mm focal lengths are better suited to social events than a 28mm or 24mm. Other recommendations - if you can put up with no autofocus, look at the rokinon/samyung/bower 35mm f/1.4 (about $375) - great optically, especially for the price, but manual focus/aperture is less ideal for social events. The 24mm f/1.4L II ($1500) is also a nice lens, great for landscape but rather wide if it's the only focal length you are using. For zooms, check out the Tamron 24-70 f/2.8 with image stalization (about $1200) - better optically than Canon's 24-70 f/2.8 (the original, not the II) and IS is useful - although I personally rather have a wider aperture than zoom when taking photos indoors. One last option - the 40mm f/2.8 STM pancake lens - so small, very cheap ($150), great optics - pretty much the perfect backup lens.

I'm a little embarrassed, but I never heard of a pancake lens before now. I just looked it up on Amazon and it seems like it's a great staple for its ridiculously low price. I'm hoping to get my camera before I leave next Thursday for a military training trip; and for $100-200 it'll be perfect for me to pick up just to familiarize myself with the Mk3!

Quote from ottingerc : I ordered a 5Dmk3 (body only) and currently the only full frame compatible lens I own is an EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM. Any suggestions on a wide angle (prime or zoom) to start with? I do a lot of amatuer landscape and personal social events. Less than $1500 please...

The 16-35 2.8L is a wonderfully versatile lens, I have a friend who is a pro and he says its the one that gets the most use.

Quote from ottingerc : I ordered a 5Dmk3 (body only) and currently the only full frame compatible lens I own is an EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM. Any suggestions on a wide angle (prime or zoom) to start with? I do a lot of amatuer landscape and personal social events. Less than $1500 please...

Why not try out the 24-105mm f/4L? These are kit lenses and very easy to find copies of this for very reasonable prices. When I upgraded my crop body to 5DMIII I had to give up my 17-55mm IS and needed a new walk around lens so I picked up a 24-105mm someone sold that was part of their kit. It was $750 if I recall on Amazon marketplace. The lens is very nice and light and you get the constant f/4. For a walk around I think it has a lot of nice reach as well as the ability to go wide. With the money you have left over I would even pick up the pancake 40mm. I too bought this lens and it's a great little fun lens. It's so light weight you'd think you just had a cap on the body.

Quote from avatar13 : Why not try out the 24-105mm f/4L? It was $750 if I recall on Amazon marketplace.

That seems like a good price; not sure if I'll get it that low... I only bought the body alone because the website/credit company I was using didn't have the kit available. (AAFES)

Quote from Dianoda : Check out sigma's new 35mm f/1.4 (around $800-900). Maybe not as wide as you'd like for landscape, but I've shot many a landscape using the 35mm and 50mm focal lengths, and it certainly gets the job done (and panoramas are an option more often than not if you need a wider angle), and the 35/50mm focal lengths are better suited to social events than a 28mm or 24mm. Other recommendations - if you can put up with no autofocus, look at the rokinon/samyung/bower 35mm f/1.4 (about $375) - great optically, especially for the price, but manual focus/aperture is less ideal for social events. The 24mm f/1.4L II ($1500) is also a nice lens, great for landscape but rather wide if it's the only focal length you are using. For zooms, check out the Tamron 24-70 f/2.8 with image stalization (about $1200) - better optically than Canon's 24-70 f/2.8 (the original, not the II) and IS is useful - although I personally rather have a wider aperture than zoom when taking photos indoors. One last option - the 40mm f/2.8 STM pancake lens - so small, very cheap ($150), great optics - pretty much the perfect backup lens.

Tamron 24-70 with IS is nice as long as you don't mind bokeh onions. Otherwise it's a good deal for the performance.

I need 20% off on 5D mark III.

Quote from raffstyle : Should i jump on this 5d2? Im currently saving to buy 6D and 28-75 2.8 tamron. for the price of 6D Body i can get the 5d2 with the tamron lens. hmmm..

I picked up the 5D2 kit with 24-105mm lens when it was clearancing out at Fry's in Jan. This was for $2100, no tax. Took it out and blasted off a little less than a couple hundred shots. Awesome picture quality, and I loved the 24-105.

Here's the thing... I was shooting with a T4i, 17-55 2.8 prior to picking up the Mark II and I was already getting great picture quality with some of the features of the T4i. When I was using the Mark II, I kept looking for some of the features that I have in the Rebel that seemed missing from the 5D2 (5 fps, more robust metering modes, +/- 5 exposure compensation). Now, I am in no way saying that the T4i is a better camera than the 5D2. (The 5D's IQ was awesome!). However, I will say that my experience with Canon's 2012 Rebel camera made the 2008 5D2 feel just a bit dated (a little nagging feeling in the back somewhere). I felt like I could push the 5D just a little harder than I expected that soon, and that I would ultimately peak with it sooner than I would have liked. (I enjoy a bit of a learning curve, and growing into my equipment).

So, I ended up returning my 5D2 (+$2100), returning my 17-55 2.8 (+$1000), and now I'm just a couple hundred shy of the 5D3 kit with the 24-105. This took a LOT of thought and reading lots of boards, but I think this is the move that will work best for me.

So, I think if you're on the fence between the 5D2 and the 6D, you need to evaluate if the 5D2 tech will serve your needs for the next couple of years, so that you're not feeling like you want an upgrade shortly after investing in such a body.

Quote from DocMo : I picked up the 5D2 kit with 24-105mm lens when it was clearancing out at Fry's in Jan. This was for $2100, no tax. Took it out and blasted off a little less than a couple hundred shots. Awesome picture quality, and I loved the 24-105. Here's the thing... I was shooting with a T4i, 17-55 2.8 prior to picking up the Mark II and I was already getting great picture quality with some of the features of the T4i. When I was using the Mark II, I kept looking for some of the features that I have in the Rebel that seemed missing from the 5D2 (5 fps, more robust metering modes, +/- 5 exposure compensation). Now, I am in no way saying that the T4i is a better camera than the 5D2. (The 5D's IQ was awesome!). However, I will say that my experience with Canon's 2012 Rebel camera made the 2008 5D2 feel just a bit dated (a little nagging feeling in the back somewhere). I felt like I could push the 5D just a little harder than I expected that soon, and that I would ultimately peak with it sooner than I would have liked. (I enjoy a bit of a learning curve, and growing into my equipment). So, I ended up returning my 5D2 (+$2100), returning my 17-55 2.8 (+$1000), and now I'm just a couple hundred shy of the 5D3 kit with the 24-105. This took a LOT of thought and reading lots of boards, but I think this is the move that will work best for me. So, I think if you're on the fence between the 5D2 and the 6D, you need to evaluate if the 5D2 tech will serve your needs for the next couple of years, so that you're not feeling like you want an upgrade shortly after investing in such a body.

Thanks for the reply, and those who reply on my post.

After watching some comparison video on youtube im now looking on saving more and get the 6D kit or 6D body.