What camera upgrade?

Paul Male

Paul Male

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Paul
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Ok, I know this question has been asked a million times by others but would just like anyones thoughts, experience and advice on upgrading my camera to suit my lenses.
I'm currently using a 400d with, Sigma 10-20mm f4-5.6, Sigma 24-70mm f2.8 and the Canon 70-300mm kit lens. I'm hoping to upgrade my 70-300mm soon.

I would like to upgrade my body to something that will yeild good results with these lenses. My photography is very varied but I guess the majority of my stuff is lanscape. I will however want to be able to do wildlife and some motorsport.

Any thoughts ????
 
Yes I want to stick with canon, I got a bit confused by this crop sensor stuff. Would those lenses work ok on a 7D ?
Budget isn't to much of an issue, I will probably buy second hand anyway.
 
Paul Male said:
Yes I want to stick with canon, I got a bit confused by this crop sensor stuff. Would those lenses work ok on a 7D ?
Budget isn't to much of an issue, I will probably buy second hand anyway.
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Yeah, the lenses would work fine, the 7D has the same sized sensor as your 400D

All Canon cameras except the 5D 5D2 and 1Ds Series are '1.6x Crop Sensors' and can use the same lenses, the 1D series is the odd one out with a slightly bigger sensor than usual crop cameras, but not quite full frame (1.3x).

Lenses made for crop cameras will only not work on the 5D and 1D series
 
The thing you need to consider is the possibility that a 7D will punish a Sigma 24-70mm f2.8 and the Canon 70-300mm.
How about a used 40D or a 50D and upgrade at least one of these lenses?
 
I must admit I was considering a 50D. The 70-300mm is on the cards to be upgraded anyway.
When you say "punish the Sigma 24-70mm" what do you meen?
 
Paul Male said:
I must admit I was considering a 50D. The 70-300mm is on the cards to be upgraded anyway.
When you say "punish the Sigma 24-70mm" what do you meen?
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Because the 7D has such a high pixel density, it will magnify any imperfections in lenses, so cheaper lenses tend to look worse on a 7D.
 
Paul Male said:
I would like to improve on overall performance. I find the 400D ok but I would like to improve my image quality which I guesed an upgrade would do?
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If you want to improve image quality your first port of call would be to upgrade your lenses.
So a 40D/ 50D and upgrade at least one lens then the other when you can afford it would be a good upgrade path.
 
Well I've only just bought the 2 Sigma lenses. I was still on my standard 17-55mm kit lens. I don't have an endless supply of money so just trying to reach a compramise.
 
Duplicate post.
 
Paul Male said:
I don't have an endless supply of money so just trying to reach a compramise.
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Sadly, not many of us do but there ways around it by buying used.

Don't sell the Sigma 10-20mm, if enjoy you using a super wide angle lens, it's a keeper.
As you mentioned the 7D, I am going to assume you have around £1200 to play with.
With regard to the 70-300mm, I presume this is a Tamron, do you want more reach or are you happy with 70-300mm?
The Canon EF 70-300mm f4-5.6 IS USM is a good lens for the money and you get these for a good price in the classified section.

If you went the used 40D/50D route, £500 would be enough and it would leave you even more spare money if you went a 40D.
That should leave you £700 + and you are then into the territory of a used Canon 70-200L IS f/4 which is an absolute cracker.
depending on how much you could get for your 400D and lens, a Canon 1.4 MKII extender can be had used for around £180.

There are quite a few options open to you, there is nothing wrong with used kit but I would suggest avoiding eBay.
Here you can check out seller by looking at their threads/posts/feedback and you will soon work out that they have looked after their kit.
 
Thanks for all the advice. I bought my 2 Sigma lenses from the forum here. I am happy with them and find them a great improvement on the standard kit lenses.

I'm thinking that the 50D is probably my best option for now and focus on getting a better 70-300mm or indeed a 70-200mm F4 L.

In time I will hopefully progress skill wise and then invest in much better lenses. I'm just trying to get the best I can for the stage that I'm at right now.
 
Well that link says that the 40d has better dynamic range and better high ISO performance. And it says you need high end lenses to get the most out of it.

More megapixels on the 50d could be good for cropping motorsport and wildlife pics though I suppose. It just seems like they mainly added more megapixels for marketing reasons.
 
So with my current lenses or at least the 2 Sigma's, is going from a 400D to a 40D a move worth making?
 
grum said:
Have a look at 40d vs 50d - the 40d seems like a better idea personally

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canoneos50d/page31.asp
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That's old review and firmware updates resolved any issues.
I went from a 40D to 50D and there is no doubt an improvement.

The reviewers comment saying that better lenses are required is said without any explanation.
The 50D has higher pix count, therefore, more pixel density will show any flaws with a cheaper lens compared to a 40D.
Read my above comment on the 7D, the same applies.
 
Paul Male said:
So with my current lenses or at least the 2 Sigma's, is going from a 400D to a 40D a move worth making?
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It is and you will probably see an improvement with photos taken with your 10-20 but I'm not sure about the 70-300.

The 10-20 is a very good super wide angle lens for cropped bodies and without trying to offend or upset you, the 70-300 is a very cheap lens and quite dire.
I had one when I bought my 450D and I sold it within a few weeks in favour of a Canon 55-250 IS which for a cheap lens, totally blows the Tamron out of the water.
You can pick up a 55-250 for around £140 and if you can live without the extra 50mm, it's a very worthy lens.
Your 400D and 70-300 would more than cover the cost of a 55-250.
 
I know the 70-300mm is not a very good lens, when I had the camera bought for me as a gift I was out of work so couldnt afford to upgrade in any way. Having really started to get into photography now and having secured a job recently I'm now in the process of upgrading, hence the 24-70mm F2.8 and the 10-20mm.
My funds are not endless but at the same time I want something that will produce good resluts, I'm still a novice and have a lot of learning to do but would like to do it with semi good equipment.
 
50D or 550D if money is an issue, there are some good reviews on the 550 image quality & also has full HD Video,

7D if extra £300 ish is not a problem ...
 
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