30D Upgrade?

scoff

scoff

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Looking for an upgrade for my 30D.
Looked at the 40D but it doesn't seem a big step, the 50D does however, but jumping to a 60D seems to be more of a multifunction camera, i.e. the movie mode which is something I don't need!

So I think the 50D is what I need... but I'm happy to hear views to the contrary??

Can I still get 50D's new, or do I need to look 2nd hand?

Thanks :)
 
I went 30D > 40D > 7D. You can skip the 40D, 50D and 60D and go straight to the 7D. You know it makes sense.
 
What's your budget?

I believe kerso is selling 7D's for around £999
 
What do you want to upgrade for? What is it that your current camera doesn't do well enough?
 
SamHH said:
What do you want to upgrade for? What is it that your current camera doesn't do well enough?
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Its more so I have a back up.
Was planning on keeping the 30D for this reason.

The other reason is so I have something with better low light capabilities!

what does the 7D do that a 60D cant?? apart from the full frame sensor (I'm guessing its a 5D upgrade? :) )
 
scoff said:
Its more so I have a back up.
Was planning on keeping the 30D for this reason.

The other reason is so I have something with better low light capabilities!

what does the 7D do that a 60D cant?? apart from the full frame sensor (I'm guessing its a 5D upgrade? :) )
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The 7D has the same crop sensor as the 60D and 550D.

Assuming you're talking about the capability of the imaging sensor, not the autofocus, then any of those three are an improvement over the 30D. The 7D is the one that wouldn't be a downgrade in any department but is the most costly.
 
7Ds can be had for £850 used. I got one on 800 clicks for that :)
 
SamHH said:
The 7D has the same crop sensor as the 60D and 550D.

Assuming you're talking about the capability of the imaging sensor, not the autofocus, then any of those three are an improvement over the 30D. The 7D is the one that wouldn't be a downgrade in any department but is the most costly.
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An improvement over the 30D? I'd be interested in what the improvements are thought to be as I've been looking at this myself and ignoring in camera jpeg's and looking at sensor performance on a well known testing site real improvements seem a little slim although I'd hope to see better high ISO from the latest cameras but even that stands a chance of being offset by possibly if anything slightly poorer lower ISO performance according to the testing site.
 
woof woof said:
An improvement over the 30D? I'd be interested in what the improvements are thought to be as I've been looking at this myself and ignoring in camera jpeg's and looking at sensor performance on a well known testing site real improvements seem a little slim although I'd hope to see better high ISO from the latest cameras but even that stands a chance of being offset by possibly if anything slightly poorer lower ISO performance according to the testing site.
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Try taking pictures rather than pouring over data.

Yes the 7D is an improvement over the 30D.
 
DemiLion said:
Try taking pictures rather than pouring over data.

Yes the 7D is an improvement over the 30D.
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But in what way?

The thing is that image quality is very subjective and much is down to processing so measurements should help prospective buyers to make a decision and measuring things and showing differences should be easier now as it's digital than in the days of film when things varied soooo much and as I said, the actual numbers don't show great differences.

I suppose I'll make my mind up when I can compare two identical shots taken with the same lens, one with my camera and the other with, possibly, a 60D.

I don't doubt that newer cameras do more things and do them faster but I'm interested in image quality not what for me is FG.
 
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woof woof said:
But in what way?
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with regards to image quality the 7d would give you the ability to crop with higher IQ. Noise handling is better, look for ttodds pictures if his dog running or the basket ball players, all high ISO and are impressive. On potn there are over 800 pages of pics from 7d - some don't look all that great but others are amazing. 12,800 ISO is not just a gimmick, you could use it if really pressed. Be aware that the 7d does not like under exposure, this does seem to be its drawback.

Stepping away from IQ its party piece is the AF system - if you are doing wildlife or sports it will be a huge upgrade in this area.
There's also stuff like ettl built in.

Search for my posts, I put links up last week to some videos that are in the b+h site, worth watching.
 
daugirdas said:
7D because out of focus photo is a bad photo. Good AF is the main reason to get 7D or 1d mkIII. All xxD's have rather sad AF implementation.
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He's wrong about this again... The 50D, at least, has very good, fast and accurate AF. Possibly not as good as the 7d, but VERY good non the less.

It also depends on the budget and what you think is worthwhile. You can get a good used 50d for half the price of a new 7d.
 
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First off, I had a 30D and it was a great camera with very good IQ. However, things have moved on.

7D, 60D and 550D can all take decent images at high ISO settings the 20D/30D simply don't have. Even though the 20D/30D have ISO 3200, it's not a real ISO 3200, rather ISO 1600 underexposed a stop and then pushed.

Advantages of the 60D over a 30D:

* Higher resolution for cropping
* Better high ISO performance
* Larger viewfinder
* Liveview for tripod / macro work
* Video functionality (meh!)
* Improved metering
* Improved AF (cross type sensors)
* Faster fps
* Much bigger high resolutions LCD (pop out and swivel on the 60D)
* Customisable auto ISO range

Downside is a more plasticky body, but it feels much better than the xxxD series. Also it uses SD cards rather than CF.

The 7D has all the above, plus:

* Even bigger 100% viewfinder
* Even better AF (19 point)
* 8fps shooting

Plus of course you get a magnesium alloy body and it takes CF cards.

Just a quick summary, I'm sure there's other points I've missed!
 
I have been looking at the same upgrade now for some time and have read pages of reviews on this. Personally I can not see a huge upgrade from the 30D to the 50D, noise levels seem pretty much the same and as I understand the 50D uses the same AF system as the 40D.

I have now narrowed my choise down to either the 7D or the 1D MK11. The main reason for my upgrade is the AF system. Now I have to decide how much I am going to spend i.e. £500 for a 1D MK11 or £1000 for the 7D.
 
sturs said:
I have been looking at the same upgrade now for some time and have read pages of reviews on this. Personally I can not see a huge upgrade from the 30D to the 50D, noise levels seem pretty much the same and as I understand the 50D uses the same AF system as the 40D.

I have now narrowed my choise down to either the 7D or the 1D MK11. The main reason for my upgrade is the AF system. Now I have to decide how much I am going to spend i.e. £500 for a 1D MK11 or £1000 for the 7D.
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The 50d's AF is tweaked slightly over the 40d and the Digic 4 processor is much faster than the 30d's old Digic 2 and the 40d's Digic 3 which is also a speed factor in AF. I found the High ISO noise (1600 plus) better on the 50d than the 40d as long as it was converted in DPP which is far cleaner than ACR/CS/LR.

But if AF is the overriding factor, the 7d has to be the obvious choice!
 
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I wouldn't go for the 60D. If you want either the 50D or 7D is a good upgrade. The 60D just doesn't fit into the xxD series imo.
 
manualfocus-g said:
First off, I had a 30D and it was a great camera with very good IQ. However, things have moved on.

7D, 60D and 550D can all take decent images at high ISO settings the 20D/30D simply don't have. Even though the 20D/30D have ISO 3200, it's not a real ISO 3200, rather ISO 1600 underexposed a stop and then pushed.

Advantages of the 60D over a 30D:

* Higher resolution for cropping
* Better high ISO performance
* Larger viewfinder
* Liveview for tripod / macro work
* Video functionality (meh!)
* Improved metering
* Improved AF (cross type sensors)
* Faster fps
* Much bigger high resolutions LCD (pop out and swivel on the 60D)
* Customisable auto ISO range

Downside is a more plasticky body, but it feels much better than the xxxD series. Also it uses SD cards rather than CF.

The 7D has all the above, plus:

* Even bigger 100% viewfinder
* Even better AF (19 point)
* 8fps shooting

Plus of course you get a magnesium alloy body and it takes CF cards.

Just a quick summary, I'm sure there's other points I've missed!
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For me most of these things simply don't matter.

The only things I'm interested in are better image quality (although this is highly subjective,) greater dynamic range and better higher ISO (and none of the settings are "real" as such are they?) while maintaining good low ISO. Other things that could tempt me are in body IS and a full frame camera with built in flash. The 60D's live view and articulated screen is mildly tempting.

I know I'm a stick in the mud but nothing is tempting me that much that I want to go and buy it.
 
If you don't need the focus system and image quality is your concern then go 5D Mk2 or a secondhand 1D (mk2 or something), but you'll have to ditch any EF-S lenses.
I suspect that a 7D would give you increased image quality though.

As manualfocus says the ISO settings are real, why wouldn't they be ?
 
sturs said:
I have been looking at the same upgrade now for some time and have read pages of reviews on this. Personally I can not see a huge upgrade from the 30D to the 50D, noise levels seem pretty much the same and as I understand the 50D uses the same AF system as the 40D.
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The 50D is a very good upgrade to the 30D. High ISO is a lot better, where I would stop at 400 with the 30D, I'd happily shoot at 1600 with the 50D. The screen is also MUCH better, it just feels like a better camera in every way.
Live view is very useful. MA is useful is you need it, it is there.
The menu is much more user-friendly.
I'd definitely recommend it as an upgrade or companion to the 30D. :thumbs:
 
Thanks for all the input chaps, much appreciated.

I dont really want to get tied up with the science, what attracts me to the 50D is the processor, and the higher ISO..
The 30D is a good camera, and one I would be keeping as a back up (and a loner to my son!) :)

If I can get a 50D for the right money, I think I'll be going down this route.
I'm not prepared to stretch to a 7D, It looks a great bit of kit, I just cant justify the difference in price!
 
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