Anyone gone from 400D to 550D?

ZeroCooL

ZeroCooL

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Nick
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Hello people!

Im thinking of upgrading - as im getting married next year i want an HD camcorder for some parts, but figured why not just upgrade my DSLR?

Im wondering if anyone has done so what they have experienced good or bad over 'upgrading'.

I love my 400D but im still a novice, i feel i am struggling in low light a lot and i would love a viewfinder too, let alone the HD features..

thanks in advance!

Nick
 
This is what I did, I think the 550D is a worthy upgrade to the 400D. The extra bits on the 550D that I found useful:

- 18MP (allows for cropping)
- Spot metering
- Higher ISO (can actually be used at 1600, although it can be pushed to 12800)
- 3" LCD screen (3:2)
- Live view
- +/- 5.0 exposure compensation
- Better metering
- Highlight Tone Priority
- Sightly faster FPS
- Noise reduction

I've not played with the movie mode (it's on the to-do list), so I can't really comment on that. But as a stills camera it's a great bit of kit.
 
ZeroCooL said:
Hello people!

Im thinking of upgrading - as im getting married next year i want an HD camcorder for some parts, but figured why not just upgrade my DSLR?

Im wondering if anyone has done so what they have experienced good or bad over 'upgrading'.

I love my 400D but im still a novice, i feel i am struggling in low light a lot and i would love a viewfinder too, let alone the HD features..

thanks in advance!

Nick
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Whats happened to your 400d's viewfinder??!

What lenses are you using? This is the biggest factor of low light performance as fast lenses make the biggest difference, followed by decent high ISO performance but my old 400d was fine at 800 iso which, with a fast lens, should be ok.

EDIT - noticed you want a camcorder as well...
 
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yannick_reveur said:
why not jump about a mid range camera like 60d or so?
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Thats what I'd do, but if he doesn't have decent glass, its a bit of a waste...

Mind you, the 550d has the same sensor, so that would pick up on lens flaws just as much...
 
Yeah sorry I meant live view not viewfinder!

Tbh I think it's only viable because I can get £300 or so for my camera then the difference isn't too bad. Saves getting a separate HD. Camcorder.

I know I need better glass ultimately but can't afford that ATM. What lenses would you suggest, bearing in mind I shoot portraits mostly on 50mm prime
 
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What are you using at the moment, lens wise?

You may be better off getting a decent general purpose lens and a separate HD camcorder anyway?
 
I mostly use my 50mm 1.8, and i love it, i often use the 18-55mm stock just for everything else or my 70-300 if needs be. They arent expensive lenses i know.

Its hard enough carrying around the 400, flash, and 3 lenses but to add a camcorder to it as well its going to be nasty! Hence my reasoning for an all in one...

Problem is to get a 1080 HD cam, with optical stabilisation and optical zoom you are talking £300 for a good one - which i cant really justify on its own..
 
I've only just got my 550d so haven't had a chance to play with the video bit, but bear in mind that there is (apparently) a 10 minute max time for videos - don't know if this will have an influence on your intended use.
 
Me personally, I'd get a separate camcorder as I borrowed a DSLR with HD recording and I didn't like it. So I ended up keeping the 40D and buying a cracking little Panasonic HD Camcorder unit 2nd hand for £150! Much more flexible for me.

Zoe
 
Think your right i've got a canon 600d for stills but i purchased a sony HD camcorder for moving pictures. Worked out so much better. Always get the best you can afford for the type of medium in which you need to use.
 
I think I 'd struggle to justify 400D to 550D change, I went from 400D to 7D, a bit more ching but as suggested maybe a used 5Dmk I, 40D or something to give distinction from the 400D. Agree with your comment the 400D is not very good at low light but if you can do with a long expo it can be acceptable at night and 400-800ISO, but 1600 just not very good.
 
To be perfectly honest im saving for my wedding next year. Im trying to kill two birds with one stone.

I dont have a lot of spare money, well none really :D - i want to have some video from stag do/christmas/wedding prep and everything else. It just so happens someone wants to buy my 400D and kit for £300 so its only a £200 spend.

I looked and looked into HD Camcorders with good specs and was £300+ really - and i cant justify having both.. thats my reasoning
 
Regarding the video record times ive found this :

The maximum time per file remains 29 minutes and 59 seconds or 4GB, whichever happens first. You’re looking at about 330MB per minute in any of the HD movie modes, with the 720 option consuming the same as the 1080 due to its higher frame rates. So that 4GB file limit will actually be reached after approximately 12 minutes, regardless of the HD quality setting.
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Had the 400D before, now I'm using the 550D. IMO it is really a different camera, it is quite a big step from the 400D, brilliant for low light and the HD video is amazing.
To be honest I didn't upgrade for the video but I am finding it brilliant. What I did is I bought a few old manual focus primes to use for video, and it is just brilliant. If you shop around you can find amazingly sharp lenses that are cheap as chips because they don't have AF, and you'll see that you'll be using MF on video even with AF lenses, it is just better. You'll never get the low light and narrow DOF of the huge sensor of a DSLR with a nice fast lens on any small camcorder with their tiny sensors. You'll know what I mean if you use your 50/1.8 on video. What I would suggest is to get the 550D, buy an old 28mm f/2.8 for a 10er for the wider shots, or use your nifty fifty, and you wont regret it.
 
Stylgeo - thats exactly what i want to do!

Hit the nail on the head with that review, as far as i have researched people are saying its an amazing camera upgrade from the 400D - yet some people on here say they cant see the difference?

I appreciate all input but from what ive read there are some serious +ves. I am still an amateur so theres no point getting a 5/7D etc as its way too much and i wont be able to use it to its potential.

Looking forward to it now
 
Go with the 550d. It's absolutely fantastic.
You'll get some superb shots with the nifty fifty
 
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