This all started with the 5d3 coming out and me not finding enough good reasons to buy one now. I have 5d and a 7d and am still happy with those.

But now there's this room with some spendable $$$ so I decided to invest in some other gear; this might interest others but I mainly post this because I'm really happy with it all:

1. Original Canon tripod ring for the 100L IS USM macro lens. Ridiculously expensive but I'm crazy happy with it :)

2. Two extra 580EXII flash units... price going down and I decided to not go with radio triggers yet, so I got two extra flash units.

3. Chinese clone ST-E2 flash commander. I choose the Chinese version (can't remember/pronounce the name) because it uses AA batteries and supports C-group of slave flashes. Works great

4. A Canon 500D close-up lens with 77mm threads. This thing is expensive and very hard to find. I took a gamble with an unknown seller on Amazon and got lucky. We will mainly use this on our 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM lens.

5. An original Canon 90-degree angle viewfinder. Works on both camera's and will allow captures that we couldn't make before... but wanted so badly. The $200 price tag is crazy but again, we're very happy with it.

6. A BIG one: the Canon EF 8-15mm f/4L fisheye zoom lens Using it makes me speechless, it's so good that I don't know where to start yet...

7. Another big one: the Canon MR-24EX Macro Twin flash. We already have the MR-14 but is has developed a problem and needs to be sent in. No problem now we have another unit which will also be often used when shooting from a tripod.

8. A couple of Crumpler 6-million-dollar-home camera bags. First impressions are good but we didn't use them yet...

I would normally not have bought a whole bunch of the above items but now think they make a bigger impact than another camera body.

Congratulations on all the new equipment.

Now we expect greatness.

Originally Posted by DeVerm 5. An original Canon 90-degree angle viewfinder. Works on both camera's and will allow captures that we couldn't make before... but wanted so badly. The $200 price tag is crazy but again, we're very happy with it. I would normally not have bought a whole bunch of the above items but now think they make a bigger impact than another camera body.

All useful stuff - if you have a use / need ... but 5 (im biased o) brings you into the world of previously unavailable povs :)

pp

Thanks guys,

We missed shots because we couldn't lay down in fire ants or croc infested water and all those have become possible with the 90 degree angle viewfinder.

We will soon leave on a 6 month tour with our new RV through the USA and will make plenty use of all the new items... we knew exactly what we were missing dearly and had slowly built up that list, but cost had been keeping it on that list until now :)

Originally Posted by DeVerm This all started with the 5d3 coming out and me not finding enough good reasons to buy one now. I have 5d and a 7d and am still happy with those. But now there's this room with some spendable $$$ so I decided to invest in some other gear; this might interest others but I mainly post this because I'm really happy with it all: 1. Original Canon tripod ring for the 100L IS USM macro lens. Ridiculously expensive but I'm crazy happy with it :) 2. Two extra 580EXII flash units... price going down and I decided to not go with radio triggers yet, so I got two extra flash units. 3. Chinese clone ST-E2 flash commander. I choose the Chinese version (can't remember/pronounce the name) because it uses AA batteries and supports C-group of slave flashes. Works great 4. A Canon 500D close-up lens with 77mm threads. This thing is expensive and very hard to find. I took a gamble with an unknown seller on Amazon and got lucky. We will mainly use this on our 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM lens. 5. An original Canon 90-degree angle viewfinder. Works on both camera's and will allow captures that we couldn't make before... but wanted so badly. The $200 price tag is crazy but again, we're very happy with it. 6. A BIG one: the Canon EF 8-15mm f/4L fisheye zoom lens Using it makes me speechless, it's so good that I don't know where to start yet... 7. Another big one: the Canon MR-24EX Macro Twin flash. We already have the MR-14 but is has developed a problem and needs to be sent in. No problem now we have another unit which will also be often used when shooting from a tripod. 8. A couple of Crumpler 6-million-dollar-home camera bags. First impressions are good but we didn't use them yet... I would normally not have bought a whole bunch of the above items but now think they make a bigger impact than another camera body.

sure, lens do make a bigger impact and everyone needs a few extra flashes