Beginner Camera Advice

Mich56

Mich56

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Michalene
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I currently have a canon 1200d. I really like bird/sport photography but I am finding that the camera I have is slow on the fps. I was thinking of buying a new camera body - a second hand one - canon so I can still use the lenses I have. Any advice? Is the 7d any good for that type of photography? (I've a seen a couple of used ones of these) or any other recommendations. thanks :)
 
If you're sticking with Canon and you're on a budget, a used 7D is about as good as it gets for that sort of thing, as much for the focus system as the nice FPS, and solid enough to withstand a lot of knocks.

If mine was a little better at higher ISOs, I'd never think of replacing it, and even then it only really annoys me in the winter - it's still a very solid performer today.
 
Dave70D said:
I have a Canon 70D, but might well be going for a 7D MkII as I love birds and wildlife. The 7DMkII has 65 focus points and a great 10fps is my reason for getting one, not too bad second hand price on MPB, hope this helps :)
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Thanks for that - maybe just a bit more than I'd want (or should I say afford!) to pay. I could save up but I want it sooner! :)
 
7D mark one is perfect for what you're trying to do, and they aren't that expensive used, even through dealers.

It's not the greatest regarding noise, but expose to the right and you shouldn't go far wrong. I had mine for a number of years, but recently traded it for an X-T2. I still have my 7D2 and a couple of long lenses.
 
I moan about it all the time, but the 7D isn't a complete disaster at higher ISO. For wildlife shooting raw, under ISO 800 I'll often use no NR at all unless wanting the images full size, 800-1600 will tidy up a treat with little effort, 1600-3200 is usually okayish with some extra attention to NR in post, 3200-6400 is in the "Might be salvageable if exposed well and it was an extra special moment but it's going to be a huge pain, and why is everything suddenly slightly purply?" camp, and the less said about 12800 the better. :D Weirdly on mine, 200 is a lot less noisy than 100, and 1000 is almost spookily clean - no idea what's going on there!

It's definitely a camera which rewards you for exposing well, and is not very forgiving if you don't. Underexpose and the 7D is not your friend, get it right (or expose to the right a bit) and it'll love you for it. I think I learned more about correct exposure with the 7D than any previous camera.
 
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mazdaman said:
MPB used are always a good bet they will take your 1200 in PX maybe worth £100 in px Nice one sat there at the moment with low shutter count. Should be able to pick up one between 350-400 no more than for a minter. I had one pretty solid performer, high ISO not its best point but overall really good

https://www.mpb.com/en-uk/used-equi...-digital-slr-cameras/canon-eos-7d/sku-654852/
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thanks @mazdaman - yes forgot I could trade in the 1200. There's a little camera shop in my town - I'll jump in there first to check if they have anything as I know they sometimes have used cameras.
 
Random example of ISO 5000 in pretty terrible light with my 7D1 last month with a little very-rough-as-I-only-have-five-minutes NR. It's not great, but it's certainly usable at smaller sizes.

Munchkin_ISO5000.jpg
 
Mich56 said:
wow! Looks so much sharper that what I get. ty for that.
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That suggests your problem isn't the camera but the lens. Have you got your upgrade priorities right? What are you using currently?
 
StewartR said:
That suggests your problem isn't the camera but the lens. Have you got your upgrade priorities right? What are you using currently?
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Hi Stewart I've got the canon 1200d and I was using a 70-300 lens. What I find is the camera doesn't take the shot quick enough for sport & birds.
 
The 7d is a good upgrade but it depends on what you want the end results to be the 7d2 is a better choice and they are now coming onto the second hand market
 
wave01 said:
The 7d is a good upgrade but it depends on what you want the end results to be the 7d2 is a better choice and they are now coming onto the second hand market
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thanks @wave01 - I'm debating whether to save up to get a used 7d2 and curb my rashness of wanting it 'now'.
 
Same camera, this time on my Sigma 150-600 Sport, handheld.

ƒ/6.3
FL 401.0 mm
Shutter 1/160
ISO 1600


Vole_1 by Steve Jelly, on Flickr

Edit: I meant to add, take a serious look at your glass first. Upgrading glass should always be the first step, unless your body is over 10 years old. Better, faster glass will give you more flexibility.
 
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Mich56 said:
Hi Stewart I've got the canon 1200d and I was using a 70-300 lens. What I find is the camera doesn't take the shot quick enough for sport & birds.
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When you say 'doesn't take the shot quick enough', how would you describe that exactly? My brother has a 1200D, and although it feels like I have a hand chopped off to use and it's a bit nobbled in a few departments compared to the 7D, I had no problems capturing birds in flight, running dogs, etc with it, although it was indeed nowhere near as easy as with my 7D. Which 70-300 are you using? I ask as that may (as stated above) be more of your problem than the camera.
 
I had a 7D for ages, upgraded to the mkII and its a good upgrade, when I went for the 5D3 I refused to give up the 7D as its benefits outweigh the drawbacks.
As others have said, in some situations noise can be an issue, but I used mine for squirrels in forest areas without too much trouble. After that, decent glass will help to let you bring the ISO down.
 
Fuzzdog said:
When you say 'doesn't take the shot quick enough', how would you describe that exactly? My brother has a 1200D, and although it feels like I have a hand chopped off to use and it's a bit nobbled in a few departments compared to the 7D, I had no problems capturing birds in flight, running dogs, etc with it, although it was indeed nowhere near as easy as with my 7D. Which 70-300 are you using? I ask as that may (as stated above) be more of your problem than the camera.
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@Fuzzdog you sound exactly like my partner! I struggle to get pics of birds in flight. Maybe I need to be harder on the shutter or something but it's like it doesn't take the shot quick enough. When I'm at say the skatepark I notice it more that I can't get the second shot of something to come quick enough. (It's a sigma 70-300 I have - I also have a 50-250)
 
Jelster said:
Same camera, this time on my Sigma 150-600 Sport, handheld.

ƒ/6.3
FL 401.0 mm
Shutter 1/160
ISO 1600


Vole_1 by Steve Jelly, on Flickr

Edit: I meant to add, take a serious look at your glass first. Upgrading glass should always be the first step, unless your body is over 10 years old. Better, faster glass will give you more flexibility.
Click to expand...

amazing - the 150-600 is my dream lens but I wasn't sure if I'd be better upgrading the camera body before getting this lens in case I felt the same issue with the speed.
 
Mich56 said:
@FuzzdogI struggle to get pics of birds in flight. Maybe I need to be harder on the shutter or something but it's like it doesn't take the shot quick enough.
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It's unlikely to be shutter lag. It would help if you could describe the settings you use for birds in flight. There may be simple things you can do to improve things without upgrading.

Mich56 said:
@FuzzdogWhen I'm at say the skatepark I notice it more that I can't get the second shot of something to come quick enough.
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This might be a stupid question, but what are to trying to achieve and why is the second shot so important?

I think it would help if you were to post some example images, with information on how you took them (camera settings etc), plus some commentary on what it is that you don't like about them and that you're hoping to fix with an upgrade.
 
I would guess you are talking about burst/continuous shooting. I had an 1100d and it's burst rate in jpeg was so so, but in raw it was fairly woeful.
If there is a lag between shoots it's probably the lens not achieving focus quickly enough.
 
StewartR said:
It's unlikely to be shutter lag. It would help if you could describe the settings you use for birds in flight. There may be simple things you can do to improve things without upgrading.

This might be a stupid question, but what are to trying to achieve and why is the second shot so important?

I think it would help if you were to post some example images, with information on how you took them (camera settings etc), plus some commentary on what it is that you don't like about them and that you're hoping to fix with an upgrade.
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@StewartR i'm talking sports now - when I'm taking a shot of a bmx guy jumping I would like a couple of shots of him in the air - as opposed to the one shot in the air and one on landing - I think maybe @Nostromo is understanding what i mean and maybe it is the lens. I'm going to have to read up some more.
 
You could hire a lens for a weekend (a 70-200 2.8 for example), this would help you decide if it's the camera or lens that's the problem.
 
Nostromo said:
You could hire a lens for a weekend (a 70-200 2.8 for example), this would help you decide if it's the camera or lens that's the problem.
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the camera shop in town will let me borrow one so I'll prob do that. thanks Dominic
 
Mich56 said:
@StewartR i'm talking sports now - when I'm taking a shot of a bmx guy jumping I would like a couple of shots of him in the air - as opposed to the one shot in the air and one on landing - I think maybe @Nostromo is understanding what i mean and maybe it is the lens. I'm going to have to read up some more.
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If it's sequential burst shots you're wanting, then yes, the 1200D is rather dire at the best of times and no change of lens fix that, as even if everything is absolutely perfect and you have the fastest lens in the world, you've still got a third of a second minimum between shots. My brother's 1200D just feels somehow broken in that regard if I swap to it after my 7D, which in turn then feels like a machine gun when I pick it up again.

Although, if you're in servo focus mode (which I assume you are), a slow focusing lens will drag your FPS right down so will not be helping, and would slow down a 7D as well if set to focus priority.
 
Mich56 said:
@StewartR i'm talking sports now - when I'm taking a shot of a bmx guy jumping I would like a couple of shots of him in the air - as opposed to the one shot in the air and one on landing - I think maybe @Nostromo is understanding what i mean and maybe it is the lens. I'm going to have to read up some more.
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I take a lot of the BMX lads when in town, and have a few on Flicker flying through the air, so to me it does sound like the burst mode on camera might not be good enough.
 
Dave70D said:
I take a lot of the BMX lads when in town, and have a few on Flicker flying through the air, so to me it does sound like the burst mode on camera might not be good enough.
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@Dave70D give me a link to your Flickr and I'll have a look. I like going to the skatepark for BMX
 
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