Go full frame or Get a new lens???

Danny8oy

Danny8oy

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Danny
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Ok, I have recently got back into this hobby and am now at a crossroads... I currently have a T3i and 2 lenses 28mm f/1.8 and 24-105 IS L f/4. My question is I have about £1000 to spend so my first thought was to get a 70-200mm IS L but now I'm wondering if I would be better suited to get a 6D and just crop if I wanted more reach than 105mm. Since I do shoot more landscape and a full frame would be better suited at the short end. Other thing is I would like to shoot video and the T3i is awful at that. Not keen on spending a lot of cash on say an 18mm lens for landscape when I could just put that toward a new body? Any opinions/advice welcome!!

Danny
 
6D is the perfect landscape camera, go for it!

Although 70-200mm are very nice, what would you need it for? you said you mostly shoot landscape, the 24-105 covers what you shoot nicely.
 
Well I like to do family events and some wildlife. But with a full frame I'm not sure the 70-200 would be long enough anyway... But since I only have the funds for one the real question is could I get away with the 105mm and crop them up to 200mm with acceptable quality for now? Or is that not worth bothering with?
 
I'll let you be the judge on this one. This was taken with 24-105mm at 105mm and then cropped by quite a bit, down to about 1/4 of the original image.

7962203658_973d74b757_c.jpg

Vulcan by wuyanxu, on Flickr

But at 105mm, you ain't shoot any wild life. You'd have to crop way too much.

6D should manage perfectly fine at family events. although it lacks a built-in flash, it's something you got to take into consideration when using pro-level bodies as snapshot cameras.
 
Excellent! Things like the above photo are just in line with what I would be doing probably won't need anything more than that. I really prefer natural lighting so not worried about the flash as I avoid using the built in one anyway. Thanks for responding! I'm now leaning toward the 6D will eventually need a longer lens but for all my landscape shots I think that will be money better spent....
 
Hi, I'm not a Canon user but the same principle applies. Go for the F/F, you can still work in cropped mode if you really want to but by going F/F it releases so much more freedom to your shooting plus of course the extra quality that comes with it. You will not regret it.
 
Remember, if you go full frame to get the same field of view as you are used to on your 24-105mm you will have to crop the frame down anyway. If you want more reach than the 105mm you are going to be cropping very heavily indeed.

You could always pick up the full frame camera and also consider the Canon 70-300mm IS. You get the reach you want without cropping in a relatively cheap package - plus the beauty that is a full frame sensor.
 
Thats the thing I can't afford the 6D and a new lens.... so here is what I can see. Let me know what I am missing? Also, would it even be worth getting a 70-300 non-L lens because they are in the £250 range versus £850 for the 70-200?

Keep T3i+24-105mm+28mm 1.8 prime Purchase 70-200mm

Pros:

Telephoto lens past 300mm (because of crop sensor)

Cons:

Need to purchase an EFS 18mm for landscape at some point.

18mm seems like a waste if I do upgrade to FF later.

Lower quality body.

No usable video mode because of manual focusing.

Need to carry 3 lenses


Buy 6D +24-105mm +28mm 1.8 prime

Pros:

I can use 24&28mm lenses for landscape as closer to wide angle.

Better quality body

Usable video mode

Higher MP so some cropping could be used to make up for the shorter lens (not ideal)

Cons:

No telephoto capabilities
 
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Danny8oy said:
Thats the thing I can't afford the 6D and a new lens.... so here is what I can see. Let me know what I am missing? Also, would it even be worth getting a 70-300 non-L lens because they are in the £250 range versus £850 for the 70-200?

Keep T3i+24-105mm+28mm 1.8 prime Purchase 70-200mm

Pros:

Telephoto lens past 300mm (because of crop sensor)

Cons:

Need to purchase an EFS 18mm for landscape at some point.

18mm seems like a waste if I do upgrade to FF later.

Lower quality body.

No usable video mode because of manual focusing.

Need to carry 3 lenses


Buy 6D +24-105mm +28mm 1.8 prime

Pros:

I can use 24&28mm lenses for landscape as closer to wide angle.

Better quality body

Usable video mode

Higher MP so some cropping could be used to make up for the shorter lens (not ideal)

Cons:

No telephoto capabilities
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hmmm, I'd go full frame but video will be pretty much the same just you'll get manual control I think and it still will be manual focusing but also the 6d has telephoto capability's just you'll need a longer lens - its sort of the opposite of you having to buy an 18mm lens for a crop sensor
 
also let me add the extra MP's lets you crop in a lot more too
 
Danny, forgive me for being blunt, but I don't think you have thought this through. Full-frame is about image quality, all aspects of it, but everything else is downsides. If you are happy with a random image posted small on the web (nice though it is) then there's no point in going full-frame.

You can't just crop your way to longer reach. A 6D will be worse than your current camera as it will be less than 8mp equivalent and what's the point of going full-frame if you then throw it all away? Full-frame needs bigger, longer lenses to fill the whole sensor.

The basic question is an easy one - do you want/need/like/whatever the image quality of full-frame? If yes, then get the camera and start to build a new system around it. The 24-105 will make a great start :thumbs:
 
Well Hoppy thats exactly why I posted here to get peoples take on both the positives and negatives. I fully understand that cropping for more reach is not ideal but I guess my budget isn't ideal either so I will have to make do with certain aspects.
 
Danny8oy said:
Thats the thing I can't afford the 6D and a new lens.... so here is what I can see. Let me know what I am missing? Also, would it even be worth getting a 70-300 non-L lens because they are in the £250 range versus £850 for the 70-200?
Click to expand...

If it is a non L 70-300mm vs cropping from the 24-105mm then yes, it is absolutely worth getting it. As Hoppy said, cropping is not a good solution for more reach...

If you do get the 6D then save a bit longer and get a cheap tele lens - that is my point. It will be better than no tele at all if you need reach...
 
Well went ahead with the 6D. Looking forward to comparing it to my t3i! I probably will get a 70-300 non-L just for the times I need some more reach. As everyone has stated that's a better/only option that would have good results.

Anyone needs a T3i let me know probably going on eBay eventually.
 
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why not hold on to the t3i match it up to the 70-300 for when you need the extra reach?
 
A question I'd ask is what do you do with photographs you've taken?

If you just view them on your PC, never print large images etc then there's probably little benefit from going full frame as you'll not really notice the extra detail, best spending the money on a better/faster lens that will allow you shoot in a wider variety of situations.

Just my thoughts

Simon
 
simonkit said:
A question I'd ask is what do you do with photographs you've taken?

If you just view them on your PC, never print large images etc then there's probably little benefit from going full frame as you'll not really notice the extra detail, best spending the money on a better/faster lens that will allow you shoot in a wider variety of situations.

Just my thoughts

Simon
Click to expand...

Mostly I just give them to friends and family in the case of events ect.. But the landscape ones that I really enjoy shooting are mostly viewed on my pc. But I use my retina MBP and unlike most computer screens you really can see a difference in quality depending on the camera and lens used. Obviously FB and the like you would be hard pressed to see a difference.
 
Danny8oy said:
Mostly I just give them to friends and family in the case of events ect.. But the landscape ones that I really enjoy shooting are mostly viewed on my pc. But I use my retina MBP and unlike most computer screens you really can see a difference in quality depending on the camera and lens used. Obviously FB and the like you would be hard pressed to see a difference.
Click to expand...

To be honest, in this situation, if it was me I wouldn't spend the money on full frame, your photography will benefit much more from the added flexibility of an additional lens than it will from having a full frame sensor, you'll also get more enjoyment from being able to shoot a wider array of images than you will from being able to see a small amount of additonal detail and even that's questionable unless you view all your images at 100%. Having said that it's your cash so don't take any notice of me:thumbs:

Simon
 
There is a much better brighter+bigger view finder, better sensor and more solid body. There's more reason to go full frame than better image quality.

For me personally, the bigger and brighter view finder along makes it worth the upgrade. It made photography much more enjoyable.

At the moment, I'm minimising what I bring with me when going out. Although having large back catalogue of lenses is great on paper, it kills your back. You want to be working for the photo, not working to carry the gear. [1]

Out of:
1. 550D body 600g + 24-105mm 600g + 70-200mm f4 (?) 700g => 1900g
2. 6D body 800g + 24-105mm 600g => 1400g
I'd choose 2 any day of the week considering it covers 90% of general photography. In fact, I'd be happy with a RX1 and I often go out with my trusty 35 f2 on my camera.



[1] DigitalRevTV London special
 
Exactly, when I go to family events ect... I am not hired to be there so of course I don't show up with a huge case,tripod ect.. and take photos the whole time. I'm there to enjoy the time too so packing light is what I want to stick to. Besides the best pictures are almost never taken by the guy with the most kit.
 
Danny8oy said:
Well went ahead with the 6D. Looking forward to comparing it to my t3i! I probably will get a 70-300 non-L just for the times I need some more reach. As everyone has stated that's a better/only option that would have good results.

Anyone needs a T3i let me know probably going on eBay eventually.
Click to expand...

i went from a t3i to 6D you will not regret it! :thumbs: you have a nice focal range of lenses to if i were you i would just play with what you have and then think about what lens to get next!

you will be surprised how wide that 28-105 L is on FF ;)
 
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