Possible upgrade advice needed!

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Jonesy83

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Steve
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Hello!

I'd like some thoughts and advice on what to do with my camera gear as I feel I'm at a bit of a crossroads.

I don't get the chance to go out shooting much nowadays and my photography has moved from bands/dogs/street shots to family stuff.

When I was doing more photography for myself I use a Canon 7d MK2, sigma 18-35 f1.8, canon 70-200 f4 and have a few other primes as well as off camera lighting (which I don't use loads). It's great, really love 70-200 and it's by far my favourite lens. The sigma is brill too, but heavy.

Years ago I bought an Oly m10 MK1 as a forray into MFT. Pair this with the Oly 17mm 1.8 and it's a cracking setup to just chuck in a bag and use when the family get together or on days out.

I love the af speed of the 7d mk2 and 70-200, but aren't so keen on the weight of the sigma. The Oly is fantastic, but I haven't got a 70-200 equivalent and the af isn't as hot as the 7d.

Do I..........

Buy a smaller everyday lens for the 7d MK2. Something like the 24mm STM would be ideal size wise. Or maybe the sigma 16-50 2.8? I used to own that and liked it, but prefer the 18-35 1.8.....just not it's weight.

Or....

Buy a 70-200 equivalent for the Olympus. Maybe even upgrade the body at some point to something with a better FPS and auto focus system. That way I retain the portability and have a decent MFT lens for action shots.

Or......
Jack in both systems and buy something mirror less and possibly a bigger sensor.


Whatcha reckon I should do?
 
I tried buying a smaller lens for my 5D a number of years ago, but it didn't work for me. So I ended up switching to Fuji, which was a great move for me, as the kit was smaller and lighter. However, it got me back in to photography again, so started looking at better lenses etc, as I too missed my old 70-200. For me, Fuji hits the sweet spot between quality and size.

In your situation, I would trade in the Canon kit, and get the 70-200 equivalent for your Olympus and see how you get on with that. Then you can always add to your MFT kit, or look at other options.

Quite a few of the camera companies to free 48 hour test drives, so you may be able to borrow some kit and see how you get on with it, before making any firm decisions.
 
It sounds like you want a smaller system than the 7D with better AF than the Oly but with a 35 f1.8 and 70-210 f2.8 or equivalent. A mirrorless system could be what you want, possibly using the zoom with an adapter.
 
I'm surprised that the AF speed of your Oly isn't so good for family and day out shots. I never had an Oly but have and have had Panasonic MFT cameras and the AF seems to be pretty much instantaneous.

Anyway. For my Panasonic cameras I have a Panasonic 45-150mm which is small and light and excellent. There must be something similar in the Oly range or if not I assume the Panasonic lens would fit and work... If it wasn't for those AF issues you've found which I am surprised at.
 
It all depends on your budget I suppose. I moved from a Canon 80D to a Fuji X-T4 early last year and it's reinvigorated my photography. I take my camera out much more now as it's smaller and lighter than the Canon while giving me much nicer images. Fuji do 48 hour test drives of their camera & lenses for free. I am biased but I'd definitely look at the Fuji system if you're up for a total gear refresh
 
woof woof said:
Anyway. For my Panasonic cameras I have a Panasonic 45-150mm which is small and light and excellent. There must be something similar in the Oly range or if not I assume the Panasonic lens would fit and work... If it wasn't for those AF issues you've found which I am surprised at.
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There are 3 40-150 Olympus lenses, all of which focus quickly. The cheap and cheerful f4-5.6. Plastic, cheap feel and price, but still gives good results. The f4 Pro - well-built, very water resistant and mid-range in price, and the f2.8 Pro, again superb results and with a wide fixed aperture. Obviously the most costly of the three.
 
andrewc said:
I replaced my 7D2 with an R7 and an EF adaptor.
Slightly lighter, and coupled with a small RF lens would be a good travel combo.
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I have the R7 and find it to be versatile and light-weight. With the RF 18-150mm kit lens it is a great walkaround combo. Just the thing for family stuff, but expandible with the right lenses to more serious work.
 
My friend's son is after an R7, but the relative lack of RF-S lenses would concern me. Whilst you can get small RF lenses, they are still designed for full frame, so bigger than an equivalent lens designed for a smaller sensor.
 
Thanks for all of the help everyone, it's very much appreciated.

Just to answer a few points so far.......

I guess what I really want is a portable/lightweight setup that I can chuck in a backpack without noticing it too much. Ideally it'd be made up of a body with a decent AF system, an every day lens (like a 35mm fast prime or 18-50 2.8) and a 70-200mm for more action shots/portraits (this lens wouldn't have to come out with me all the time).

There's nothing wrong with the AF system in the Oly for family stuff. I was thinking more if I ever wanted to do a bit of dog photography again then I'd need a fast AF system like I have in the 7dmk2. I haven't even tried dog shots with the Oly tbf, mostly because I don't have a suitable lens.

If I was to buy into a new system then this would come from me selling my current gear. I haven't been keeping an eye on prices so will have to do some digging, but reckon that'd free up about £1500ish.

Fuji is a great shout. A mate has the Fuji x100f (I think) and it's lovely. Not sure I could go down the fixed lens route, but will check out their other mirrorless bodies.

I'm open to sticking with Canon too, but would prefer a complete buy in to their mirrorless system. Using an adaptor is a good shout to keep costs down initially, but I don't think I want a lightweight body with a chunky lens attached to it. Especially seeing as I think the weight issue mostly comes from the sigma 18-35 1.8. If I had a pancake lens for the 7dmk2, I might be able to live with what I currently have.
 
Craikeybaby said:
My friend's son is after an R7, but the relative lack of RF-S lenses would concern me. Whilst you can get small RF lenses, they are still designed for full frame, so bigger than an equivalent lens designed for a smaller sensor.
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The EF-RF adaptor makes all the EF lenses I've tried work seamlessly, and works with EF-S lenses too which could be an option until Canon produce more RF lenses or open up the design to 3rd party producers.
 
woof woof said:
I'm surprised that the AF speed of your Oly isn't so good for family and day out shots. I never had an Oly but have and have had Panasonic MFT cameras and the AF seems to be pretty much instantaneous.
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It could be because the Oly he has is a 9 years old model. It appears to have similar tech to my Pen-F (although a smaller sensor) and I find the Pen-F slow, compared with the OM-1
 
andrewc said:
The EF-RF adaptor makes all the EF lenses I've tried work seamlessly, and works with EF-S lenses too which could be an option until Canon produce more RF lenses or open up the design to 3rd party producers.
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That is fine if you already have a load of EF lenses, but not ideal if you are starting from a clean slate.
 
Jonesy83 said:
Fuji is a great shout. A mate has the Fuji x100f (I think) and it's lovely. Not sure I could go down the fixed lens route, but will check out their other mirrorless bodies.
Click to expand...

I have one of those but I don't think the focus is as reliable or as fast as my MFT cameras.

If you are interested in Fuji and focus is a priority for you then I'd recommend doing your research and only buying if you think the focus is up to the standard you want.
 
Have a look at the Canon 750/850d Lighter than a 7d, bit smaller and IMHO better in low light.
 
Rather than lose a load of money selling your lenses, get a newish mirrorless and a suitable ef adapter for the body as mentioned earlier.
You can then get used to your new body and decide if it's worth getting new glass at a later date.

I'm in a similar situation and am going round in circles....
 
It's a tricky one to figure out what to do with!

Current thinking is I should pick up a the 24mm STM because a pancake lens would make the 7dmk2 a little more portable and lighter to chuck in a bag.

Then maybe later I could pick up a R10 and use an adapter until I pick up some RF lenses.
 
Thanks for all the help and comments on this.

Picked up a cheap 24mm STM and will see what that does to make the 7d a little more portable.

Might grab the Olympus 40-150 f4-5.6 too. They go fairly cheap and then I can decide if I want to go down the route of expanding the MFT side of things.
 
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