The 40D is a great camera, but I went with the 5D because a) pro photography means larger format sensors, b) 1 stop better on handling noise, c) even though new 5D will come out this year, by the time it has at least 6 months in the market will be 12 to 18 months from now and at that point I can use this camera as a backup. You can get the 5D and 24-105 lens as a kit and save $300.

This or the f/4 version which is 1.5 pounds lighter and $650 cheaper? I felt like LONG telephoto needs the extra stop to freeze subject motion since you are likely to be close up. Also, I didn't want to spring for a 200mm prime lens for low light. Lastly, with the 24-105 in my bag rather than the 24-70, I don't have to pull this out at 70, but only if low light or if I need to go past 105.

So when you are in low light, there is nothing better than a great prime lens. This baby is well rated (www.fredmiranda.com), relatively inexpensive and goes a full stop below the 70-200 f/2.8 and two stops below the 24-105 f/4. Great to have it when I need it.

The classic flash for Canon.

I got three of these. I figure I can get about 400 5D Raws on each one of these. That gives me 1200 for a wedding and I can offload to my laptop as well if I need to go beyond that. I will probably pick up at least 2 more of these over time. Also, didn't go for the super high speed ones since this isn't sports photography where we are trying to clear the camera buffer for continuous shooting.

I just received this backpack and it looks reasonable for transporting the equipment on this list.