Is my camera good enough?

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ratzz

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Hi all,

I've been pondering this for some time, and am a little reluctant to ask the question for fear of being told what I may already know(!).

I have a Canon EOS 400d and at the moment have the kit lens and a half decent zoom.

Ok, so here is the question: Is my camera good enough for paid work like weddings and portrait?

I know that decent lenses will give me better results, but is the hardware behind the lens up to it. I would LOVE a 1d, but that ain't gonna happen!

Am I being realistic about this, or do I need to move on and make an investment?

Are there any 400d (or equivalent) owners out there that are willing to hold their hands up and say "YES, YOU CAN MAKE A LIVING FROM THIS CAMERA!"?

I know that if you give Rankin a 99p disposable he will go something great with it, but I ain't Rankin!
 
With higher spec lens you would probably get by, but considering you are saying 'make a living' that would suggest being a full time professional photographer, in which case you are probably going to want a camera to match, if nothing else if you are using it everyday you are going to wear it out pretty quickly.

I had a fair bit of work in the 2 years I owned a D50 (a wedding, magazine shoot, quite a few published images etc) and never had any complaints, but I always had fairly decent lens (Nikon 50mm 1.8, Nikon 80-200 2.8 AF-S etc), which will hide whatever body you are using quite well. Nothing like full time work, but I easily paid for my 'hobby'.

Not so long ago wedding togs were using professional Canons that would be comparable to the 400D now, sure the game has moved on, but there is no reason why it wouldn't be sufficient for occasional work.
 
I think it is possible although you would do better with quality glass as well. If you look at my links below all the pictures are taken with either a 350D or 400D and one of three L lenses or my Canon 10-22. To do paid work you will need at least two bodies though just in case something goes wrong with one in the middle of a shoot.

I have been investing in lenses before I upgrade the camera bodies and it has suited me so far. whilst I might not earn a living at it I do earn!
 
Whilst the 400d may be suitable for paid work (I'm sure it is, but I don't really know Canon)

If you're considering doing paid work, you should at least have a backup 2nd body, plus a good selection of lenses as a minimum.

Realistically you need a much better selection of gear (yes, I know gear isn't everything ;));

2 bodies, 2 flashes, some form of mid-range zoom (24-70 f2.8 perhaps), nifty 50, 70-200 f2.8, memory cards and other accessories.

That'd be a bare minimum I'd want for weddings, with probably the 50mm 1.4 instead of a nifty 50.

You could do it with less, I'm sure there are lots of togs that don't have a second body, or fast glass. Which is fine, until the body breaks, or you're not allowed to use flash indoors etc etc.

JMO
 
It really depends on exactly what you are doing, ie. if you spend two hours out in the pouring rain doing X your camera will probably break. If your camera takes a heavy drop (down some stairs at a wedding) it will probably break. What then, do you have a backup body? What if the aperture blades fail on the lens how will you shoot the job?

If your working as a photographer your gear in general takes a huge battering compared to just hobbyist stuff. You will also need to back up everything. If you gear breaks or card corrupts when your shooting your sons football match it doesn't really matter. If it happens in the middle of a wedding what are you going to tell the bride that has just paid £££ for your services.
 
To add on to what i said above

I wouldn't turn up for a paid job with any less than

D3 (x2 maby or atleast a D2X)
17-35 2.8
70-200 2.8
2 X Sb800
3-4 cards

as a minimum, good quality gear that i know won't fail at the crucial moment
 
My 2pench worth, as that's all it's really worth!!!

1) Your camera is only as good as the lens you put on it.

2) Your camera is only as good as the tog using it!!

If you get my drift?

There's a certain member here who shoots weddings pro level, with a Sony a700 and the 17-70 kit lens............

Not being sarcastic with this post, btw.
Just basically saying with the right attitude, knowledge and skill, then yes, I personally think you could potentially shoot a wedding with your kit.
 
andy_fozzy said:
Just basically saying with the right attitude, knowledge and skill, then yes, I personally think you could potentially shoot a wedding with your kit.
Click to expand...

And borrow a backup that you know how to use.

I've not had anything fail on me yet but I would not want the middle of a wedding to be the time it happened.

The other advantage of two bodies as that you don't have to change lens so often and you minimise the chance of dust bunnies. That may be seen as a luxury but as a backup it's absolutely necessary.
 
I would definitely NEVER shoot a wedding again,:shake:
It was years ago and my cousin had no money ,so I did the car up and took my camera (a Oly OM1n) and did the wedding shots.

To cut to the quick my tripod mount give way whilst in the service and the camera hit the ground with a deafening clatter..............

No back up as I was only into photography as a hobby,so just carried on and hoped for the best.

The god's smiled kindly,and I got some good pic's that made Her day.

But if the camera had broken....good lord, :shake: You can't go back in time.

Back up back up back up.:thumbs:
 
Don’t get hung up on equipment, consider the most evocative images of the last 60 years, most were taken on equipment that was compared to today very basic.

Learn your craft and forget about kit.
 
Agree with Holden - i use a compact for much of my magazine feature work - it isn't the kit that sees the picture, the kit just records it. Some specialist kit makes recording what you see the way you want to portray it a bit easier, or working a bit faster, but the chip behind the lens is very much the same - the scene in front of you and how you react to it is what differs between photographers.
 
For weddings there's really no substitute for fast glass. The 400D does suffer a bit with noise above ISO400 and even at f/2.8 I'm often at ISO800+ for some wedding venues. Could you get away with a 400D and f/4? Probably but fast glass and low noise at high ISO do give you a degree of freedom, choice and confidence when you need it most.
 
A friend of mine shoots weddings he uses a 40D with the 400D as back up but he has the wide angle attached to the 400D so he will use it for some shots he has a 17-70mm L attached to the 40D and his pictures are excellent.

Hope this helps

Regards Mark
 
Done 2 weddings both as favours I hasten to add not paid work. First was a friends wedding they just wanted some "candid" type shots and a couple of posed shots. Took the entire wedding on a Kodak Point & Shoot 3.1mp CX7330, got some really great shots with it, even printed a couple of A4 shots, Bride and Groom were overjoyed, Second wedding I did was my god-daughters on my fuji S6500 bridge camera....did a good job again they were happy but that was more nerve-racking mainly because I only knew the Bride and her family and 2 of her friends, I'd only met the groom twice before, and that was horrendous. But the shots came out ok both couples were really happy with what I did for them, but paid work never not for me....and I would always take 2 cameras with me, when I did my god daughters I had the Kodak as a backup ok it's only a P&S but I had got decent results from it beforehand....
 
mercman please point me in the direction of the 17-70 L is this a new lens :p

however i am really starting to enjoy getting out there and shooting more on commisioned basis. i have turned down work due to lack of equipment. i.e a 2nd body would be really handy and yes i have done a few commercial shoots for a company using jsut a 400D but how unprofessional would it be if err 99 appeared in the middle of a shoot.
 
Thanks guys, some really good advice there ...

Been looking into some new lenses recently, so I guess I'll be back for more questions before I buy!
 
i am currently using a 400d for some freelance stuff, i have to its fine! but! and a very big one, i dont believe it is up to what i want to do after college and i do feel in some ways its limiting me. people have already mentioned this limitation and it is the ISO and Noise factor. when shooting for people i never go above 400, luckily ive never had a situation yet where i have needed to go higher (a tripod has always compensated, but non of the subjects a living/moving). I will be buying a 5D when i finish college and some more fast glass for all the reasons that are already mentioned. but i will be keeping my 400d as a backup which i feel it would be very suited too and cope very well, like Mercmanuk said.
 
Holden Caulfield said:
Don’t get hung up on equipment, consider the most evocative images of the last 60 years, most were taken on equipment that was compared to today very basic.

Learn your craft and forget about kit.
Click to expand...

Hmmm. IMO it's a bit more complex than that =
Learn your craft and understand, accept and respect the technology that accompanies it.

When you are sure that your gear is restricting results then maybe it's time to add to the itinary, but rather than primarily throwing cash at the problem first be sure it's not user error and an absence of knowledge that is the cause of disappointment.


pxl8 said:
For weddings there's really no substitute for fast glass.
Click to expand...

Agreed.

Wedding photography requires alot of ability and confidence IMO.
To equip yourself to even a basic level is reasonably expensive.

Also, when using high ISO, try to over expose if possible, I've seen awesome high ISO shots from a 400D but the photographer had over exposed considerably and then brought the exposure levels down in post.
If you under expose and then increase during post the noise levels increase significantly.
In addition, learning to hold a camera steady at slower shutter speeds is very lucrative, it takes practise and patience but it's very possible.
 
russbates said:
To add on to what i said above

I wouldn't turn up for a paid job with any less than

D3 (x2 maby or atleast a D2X)
17-35 2.8
70-200 2.8
2 X Sb800
3-4 cards

as a minimum, good quality gear that i know won't fail at the crucial moment
Click to expand...

Russ the 400d will blow away a d2x in poor light any day, trust me even the 300d is better, I know I tried it. Wayne
 
i dont think i could offer anything on all that, apart from enjoy the day,make people feel relaxed and everything else will fall into place.
 
I've done paid work with my 350D, I had the Sigma 17-70mm, 50mm f1.8 and a Tamron 70-300mm. I got by comfortably with them, but obviously if I'd suffered any equipment failure, I'd be in bother!

I now have a 40D and a 24-105L, I'm going to have the 70-200 f2.8L before my next wedding, this gives me a back up body and a selection of lenses. After my next few paid jobs, I intend to invest in a 5D and sell my 350D, this will then allow me to use my 40D as my second body.

Ideally you'd have all the kit before setting out, but very few people I know could afford that, so it's about buying wisely.

More important than having all the gear is knowing how to use what gear you have properly. Read the manual, again and again, buy a few good books, read them and practice what they tell you. Be confident that you know what you are doing before taking on paid work.

Dave
 
CarlukeDave said:
I've done paid work with my 350D, I had the Sigma 17-70mm, 50mm f1.8 and a Tamron 70-300mm. I got by comfortably with them, but obviously if I'd suffered any equipment failure, I'd be in bother!

I now have a 40D and a 24-105L, I'm going to have the 70-200 f2.8L before my next wedding, this gives me a back up body and a selection of lenses. After my next few paid jobs, I intend to invest in a 5D and sell my 350D, this will then allow me to use my 40D as my second body.

Ideally you'd have all the kit before setting out, but very few people I know could afford that, so it's about buying wisely.

More important than having all the gear is knowing how to use what gear you have properly. Read the manual, again and again, buy a few good books, read them and practice what they tell you. Be confident that you know what you are doing before taking on paid work.

Dave
Click to expand...

Thanks Dave, good advice.
 
I've been doing some outdoor portraiture, parties, events, etc this year. Not a 'living' by any means, but it's helping get me through uni. I use a 400D and some decent glass (see sig). It's ok, but I've struggled in some darker venues, I wouldn't dream of doing a wedding with my kit, my glass isn't fast enough, and I'm not too comfortable asking for cash for shots taken above 400ISO on the 400D.

Most jobs I've had a mate with a D300 and a D50 working with me so that's some backup. I did one on my own last week, and borrowed a 30D because, as said, you've gotta have a backup, people are counting on you.

Ordering a 5D and 24-70 L tomorrow, has to be done.
 
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