Canon Body and Lens Upgrade

[fox in the box]

Hi all,

I currently have a Canon 450d which I have used since late 2008 and I'm looking to upgrade in the near future. However, with the choices available I'm not sure which camera to choose.

I am aware that I need to upgrade my glass too and again I'm usure of which lens to go for.

All in all I'm stuck!!

I was looking at the 60d a while ago and I'm still impressed with it, especially at the relatively low prices now. However with the release of the 70d I'm not sure whether it would be worth waiting for this, at almost double the price of the 60d. I know someone who has picked up a 7d recently and having not looked at this in store before I liked the feel and robust body.

I recently sold my Sigma 10-20 which produced some really good landscapes but not sure whether a Canon version might be worth the extra pennies. As far a a walk around lens goes, I have the Canon 18-200 which I found particularly useful when tgravelling but understand the image quality isn't in the league of others. For crop sensor I was looking at 15-85, 17-55 or maybe some L-glass.

I mainly shoot landscapes, sometimes airshow and wildlife and the odd few portraits.

Budget wise, ideally no more than £1,500 in total for body and a lens.

Any help would be greatly received!!

Cheers

 

[fox in the box]

A quick bump.

Would really appreciate some input on what people think would be the best/most worthwile upgrade.

Many thanks

 

[Tangy]

Hi Stewart,

I saw this thread the other day and was about to give you my thoughts but stopped as I don't have any technical know how and I've only been taking pictures for about a year so I thought it would be better for someone more experienced to come along to help out. I can't really help with the body as I have the same problem in that I want to upgrade but don't know where to begin.

Here are my thoughts based only on my recent experience.

I also take mostly landscape and street shots and had been doing so with the kit lens 18-55mm non IS that came with my 1100D. I then Invested in a Tamron 70-300mm non IS so I could try and get bird shots and also do the occasional airshow. More recently I have been taking pictures of my girlfriend on horseback.

For me the problem has been focus speed for those bird shots and the 18-55mm just didn't have quite the range I seemed to need for a walkabout lens (although I was reasonably happy with it for landscapes)

Now to the point.

A couple of days ago I had managed to save enough to get myself one of those red ringed beauties but I just couldn't justify the outlay for just one lens (70-200mm f4 L) and as it was without IS a tripod was going to be needed for shots at the long end which isn't always possible.

What I ended up doing was getting the Canon 17-85mm f4-5.6 IS to replace my 18-55mm and I have to say I am in love with it. it seems to be just right for a walkabout lens for me as it gives me the reach I was looking for and is still wide enough for my style of landscape. I also picked up the Canon 70-300mm IS for bird shots and getting pictures of the Mrs on horseback. This lens has the dual mode IS, mode 1 is standard IS and mode 2 is for panning shots which should be ideal for birds, planes and women on horseback.

Both of the lenses have USM motors so are almost silent in operation and very very quick to focus, the 17-85mm also has full-time manual focus too.

Picture quality is fantastic (I'm no pro I just like taking pictures for me) and I couldn't be happier with my decision to get these two lenses.

Together they cost a total of £700 which would leave you enough for a new body too.

Yes, everyone wants L glass but the way I see it, If you're taking pictures for you and not making (or planning to make) money from your photography then you probably don't need it.

I hope I didn't bore you to death with my ramblings and that I might have helped in some way.

 

[D4rr3n]

Hi Stuart

I have a 60D and still use it, it stands up well next to my 5D3 and 60Ds are becomming very affordable right now.

The autofocus is not in the same league as the 7D but if you look at the wildlife, sport and aviation threads people are getting great results from the 60D. Compared to my 5D3 you don't notice the polycarbonate body, it feels very robust and has a little bit of weather proofing (yes I have put this to the test ). Put the Magic Lantern firmware on it and you have a very versatile camera.

The only things I think the 60D is lacking is the more advanced autofocus and MA.

Lens wise I love the EFs 17 - 55 F/2.8 IS as a general purpose lens on my 60D. Many find this a bit short and prefer the EFs 15 - 85 mm. There are some good third party lenses about but I've not used them.

I also use an 8mm Samyang which is a fantatic little lens. At f/8 just focus it at 2 ft and it's point and shoot. It'l defish easily in post as well.

As far a longer lenses go I find that they're decided more by budget than anything else.

Does that help kick things off? (Neil beat me to it)

Darren

 

[Bondy]

Always a hard question to answer as all cameras will take great pictures if used correctly.
Ask yourself why do you what to upgrade? What is your current camera not giving you?.
What do you want from a new camera? - More pixels, better iso performance, better auto focus, better ergonomics, bigger body.
Then ask what do I want to do with it? - Landscapes, portraits, wildlife/birding, general shots.
As I said above any camera will be capable of doing all of these but as a generalisation have a look on flickr groups and see what other people are using for different types of shot.
Landscapes - 5d seems very popular
Portraits -5d again
Wildlife/birding - the 7d seems the go to camera or a 1d if you can afford it.
General - Any thing that has the features you like?
Sorry it's not a specific answer but any recommendation would be just what works for me i.e I take mostly bird shots and I like my 50d for the ergonomics, beefy size and the ability to control settings without going to the menu. What I would like is better iso performance and faster auto focus whilst keeping the rest , so for me a 1d iv would be great or a 7d.

Sorry for rambling but hope it helps a little

 

[pooley]

Are you willing to buy any used gear? I ask because covering all your 'wants' at new prices with quality gear will be tough.

No single lens will cover everything from landscapes to birding and airshows, taking in portraits along the way.

How about the following (approximate used prices listed) -

Canon 60d - around £450. Good all rounder, slightly cheaper than a 7d, from what I've seen, close enough in IQ to the 70d not to warrant the extra outlay on the newer body.

Canon 10-22mm - £375. Excellent ultra wide angle - optically similar to an 'L'

Tamron 17-50mm f2.8 - £200. Very good walk around and portrait lens, providing the lack of length at the longer end is not an issue

Sigma 150-500mm - £500. Will cover your wildlife and airshows.

Total cost - £1525. I'm sure you could get slightly lower prices if you hunt hard enough

 

[fox in the box]

Thank you to all of you for taking the time to reply, it is much appreciated. They all made for interesting reading with valid points and speak alot of sense too!!

Apologies, I certainly forgot to add one piece of information that in some respects may have led you on a merry dance. I currently have the Sigma 120-400. I'm more than happy with the performance and results that this lens gives so at the moment I have no intention of moving this on. It will continue to be my airshow, wildlife lens etc. In time I may decide to upgrade the lens so your input on a long lens is very useful but for now luckily I don't need to include this in my budget.

So, the main focus for the moment at least is a body and a lens. I completely agree with the verdicts that the 60d can be picked up a at a very good price at the moment, whether this be used (I'm more than happy to go down this route) or new (with a 3 year warranty from HDEW at £445). As has been said the difference in price is a fair few quid and that could be better spent on a lens or towards a lens.

Lens wise, I really like the look of the Canon 10-22 for landscapes. I have the Sigma 10-20 and in all honesty perhaps I shouldn't have sold it on. I think in time I'll be looking to pick up either one of those on these forums 2nd hand.

I suppose my main issue with which lens to go for is still the area in the middle of the 10-22 and 120-400, I suppose the walkabout lens if you like. As said in my OP the main options are 17-55, 15-85 or L-glass. Looking at prices these all tend to be about the same (if anything the 17-55 is the most expensive). The options here are the two non L or probably 17-40 (but that potentially doesnt give enough at the long end), 24-105 (sounds good, especially with the wide angle and telephoto already covered) or something else.

Tangy, No need to worry if (as you consider it) you have 'no technical know how'. I thought the reply was spot on and really gave some good points

D4rr3n, I've checked out the 8mm Samyang and it looks impressive. I'll be reading up some more on that one.

Bondy, The main reasons for an upgrade is occasional video (450d doesn't not have this function) better ISO performance and then generally I feel it's time for a change after almost 5 years with the same body.

Pooley, More than willing to buy used gear, have done so before from this forum and had always been excellent quality and at good prices too.