Okay, help me spend some money!

[WDWFWfan]

I'm planning a trip to WDW in a couple of months. So far my camera kit will include my Canon 50D with a 17-55 2.8 IS lens, a 580EXII flash, tripod, etc. I am hoping to purchase one more lens before I go. I have narrowed my search to a Canon 85 1.8 and a 70-200 f4 IS, which would you take and why?

These lens are not being bought just for the trip and I hope to acquire both in the not so distant future. However, I am trying to figure out which one would be the most beneficial at WDW. I have been thinking the 70-200 all along, but then I'm wondering what I will use the longer reach for at WDW. Then I thought the faster lens would be great for dark rides and maybe interior stage shows...decisions, decisions, decisions.

 

[Suburbanmom]

The only park I used my 70-300mm at was AK. I'm glad I had it on the safari, although the ride is SO bumpy, it was still hard to get a good shot...really, just point and shoot! I used my 50mm f/1.8 on a few dark rides and during the Christmas Parade, but mostly I used my 24-70mm f/2.8.

That said, I use my 70-200mm f/2.8 & 70-300mm f/4-5.6 all the time for other events...especially my kids sports. I couldn't do without them.

 

[Golf4food]

I'd go with the 70-200. You can't always walk right up to everything and sometime the better angle is from a little farther away. You already have the wide and fast covered for indoor rides/shows. The 70-200 would be more handy for walking around.

Of course, the true moral here is that whichever you don't get now you'll need to make another trip to WDW after aquiring the other one to make sure.

 

[WDWFWfan]

That's kinda what I was thinking. I realize a 1.8 might buy me a little faster shutter speed in some of the darker venues, but I'm hoping that the 2.8 with IS will offset some of those gains. Now if Canon would just put the 70-200 back on sale!

 

[Master Mason]

Personally I would get the 70-200, but in the 2.8 variety. For my style/subject matter, the IS doesn't help me, most of my shooting other than at WDW is of moving subjects, so the faster lens is more helpful than the IS.

 

[matthew_hull]

I have both, and I love the 85mm f/1.8, but I find the 70-200mm f/4 IS on the camera-body a whole lot more. I find the zoom and the longer reach more practical than the speed. For speed, I crank up the ISO and correct the noise later with software.