Time to upgrade

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sstar

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I currently have a Canon 400d which i brought from second hand around 2 years ago and i love it but.... Mr tax man has come along and paid me back some money and its somewhat burning a hole.

I have played with a friends 550d which i really like the feel of and the image quality seems like a real step up.

Just wondered if anyone had any suggestions for or against. I'm also wondering about waiting till after CES to see if canon announce anything new.
 
What lenses do you have, and what do you shoot? If you are using the kit lens you would find upgrading the lens more beneficial.
 
I have a 17-55 non IS (kit) 50mm 1.8, 75-300mm 4-5.6 and some god awful 55-75mm canon

I shoot alot of landscapes and wildlife but also like to do portraits and night shooting.

Ive heard the newer canons have much better higher iso performance
 
Get a better lens, Tamron 17-50 Non VC or a Canon 70-200 F4 non IS.

Otherwise read the 400d upgrade thread a few posts down from this one, saves me repeating myself.
 
sstar said:
I have a 17-55 non IS (kit) 50mm 1.8, 75-300mm 4-5.6 and some god awful 55-75mm canon
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Hi,
I presume you mean the 18-55 kit lens ?

I'd probably suggest as above, invest in some new glass.
The Canon 70-300IS is a belter of a lens and you'd notice significant improvement over you're 75-300 lens.
The 18-55 is okay, but can be improved on.

Do you feel you are missing in an area of focal length - what about an ultra wide angle, like the Sigma 10-20mm, or a macro lens.

If you are thinking of upgrading your body, what do you feel your body isn't doing and you'd like the new one to do ? A faster fps for example.
 
the reason i was looking at bodies was because i don't feel the 400d performs brilliantly in low light and id like a few more pixels to be able to crop plus il be honest having hd video to play around with is a nice idea.

i know bigger better glass would help me but for my glass i tend to shop around and pick up cheaper 2nd hand stuff when i can afford it.

Having £500 set aside is a bit of a rarity for me, also if i then go on to sell my 400d i can then invest that money in a new lens.

18-55 is kit yes.

(sorry for missing the other 400d upgrade post, rookie mistake
 
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I, personally, would still look at upgrading your existing lens. Investing in a couple of good lens would be a long term investment. The 18-55 non-IS is a terrible kit lens, if you use this lens the most think about investing in something better. Some options for consideration should be:
- Canon 17-55mm F2.8 IS (£500 used)
- Sigma 17-50mm F2.8 OS (£450 new)
- Tamron 17-50mm F2.8 non-VC (£200 used)
- Sigma 18-50mm F2.8 EX DC Macro (£200 used)

The above lens will able you to shoot more in lower light and will be a lot sharper than your kit lens.

Depending on which lens you choose, you may also have enough to replace the telephoto lens or upgrade your body for a body with video. The Canon Outlet on ebay has a 500D for £329 refurbished here, which I think is a bargain. You could then sell on the 18-55mm and still have change for a lens upgrade.
 
The 550D is a very good camera for the price you can get it now. I got mine at xmas 2010 and have recently given it to the wife after upgrading to a 7D and a 5D2. I didn't want to sell the 550D cause it's such a good camera and didn't want to lose money for second hand as it's still like new.
However, if you can find a 600D for a good price then I would try for that one if only for the wireless flash ability. The moveable screen is IMO just a gimmick to those coming from bridge cameras and really not an update I'd use.
As others have said though, if your 400D is still in good order I'd be tempted to go for glass over body. Then again there's nothing beats the feeling of getting a new camera to play with so go with what you feel. I had people telling me to go for glass when I went to upgrade to my 7D but I already had some great glass so I went for it, and similar when I went for the 5D2 as well.
 
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