Rightfully so, I think. The IQ improvements are not at all huge, based on what I read, and in any case v I is still rated excellent by virtually everybody I've heard from and by any test I've read.

Interestingly, however, v II weights just as v I, which is good.

Lousy bokeh on that lens, but everything else about it is fantastic. Rugged (dropped it twice already, oops!), very, very sharp, incredible zoom range, authentic macro capability, amazingly affordable price tag, etc. A superb travel and walkabout lens; one that will be on the camera far more often than not.

So I've now gone whole hog and ordered a polarizing filter and an ExpoDisc to fit it.

Until now, I've made do with a single 72mm ExpoDisc for all of my lenses, but this Sigma lens is going to get used a lot, so having the proper size (62mm) ExpoDisc for it will be a boon.

Cheers

The Canon EOS 7D body has a built-in Canon "Speedlite Master" controller, which is accomplished through use of the built-in flash to send commands to slave Speedlites.

Since Canon has been offering point-of-sale rebates on Speedlites here through December 31, I decided to take advantage and try out the system, purchasing a pair of 320EX Speedlites from a local dealer at the sale price.

Using the 7D as the controller, with its onboard flash as a fill lamp (or even not used for exposure), the system works very well with the two slave 320EX strobes. Well enough that I'm inclined now to carry one in the bag on future travels for use as an outboard fill lamp and macro strobe. Which is saying a lot, since I've only rarely lugged along an external flash before now.

Canon's Speedlite exposure system has puzzled many (most?) users, myself included. But it begins to make sense once outboard slaves are employed.

Cheers

Ok, one very first impression after finally taking the 6D out with me for some more extensive time, is that it gave to my 24-70mm lens (yes, Mark, the one I got from you, still a favorite of mine) a whole new meaning. 24mm is a real "wide angle" focal length, while 70mm is still a nice zoom. Quite obvious for many here, but I just thought I'd mention it.

I am probably going to miss the zooming capability of the 70-300mm, but I have not really used it extensively since I have the 6D to tell.