Upgrade on 450D

Csaba

Csaba

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Current equipment:

Canon 450D
Canon 100-400mm mark I lens
Canon 50mm f1.8 prime

I'm considering upgrading my 450D before I go on holiday to Tanzania. I'm planning to try and see chimpanzees in Gombe NP so something that enables me to take decent photos in low light without using a flash would be useful. I found the low light performance to be a bit lacking when I did the gorilla trekking in Uganda a few years ago. I was using the kit lenses back then though so I'm hoping that the lenses that I've bought since then will result in a big improvement. I also buy big prints (90 x 60 cm) of my better shots.

I would like to keep this under £200 as I've spent most of my disposable money on a camera trap. Would I see much of an improvement if I upgraded to a 2nd hand 550D or 600D? I've found conflicting opinions on this when looking at threads on other forums.
 
Csaba said:
Would I see much of an improvement if I upgraded to a 2nd hand 550D or 600D?
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Probably not. According to the DxOMark tests, you'll only see a small improvement in low-light performance. That seems plausible to me because at the time these cameras came out, the megapixel war was in full swing and Canon were more interested in increasing the pixel count (450D is 12MP, 550D and 600D are 18MP) then they were in improving the sensitivity.

You'd get a far bigger improvement if you were to use an f/2.8 lens instead of the 100-400. If you traded in the 100-400 for a used 70-200 f/2.8 IS Mk I, that might be within budget, though I don't know whether 200mm would be enough for you.

Alternatively you'd also get a far bigger improvement in low-light performance if you switched to a full frame camera - even the 5D 'classic' which is cheap as chips these days. Though I don't know whether the 5D would meet your needs in other ways, and of course you'd lose the extra reach afforded to you by the crop factor.

Personally, if I were you, I wouldn't be spending £££££ on a trip like this and then trying to do the photography on the cheap. But that's just me.
 
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I'd agree with Stewart, the Canon crop sensors haven't exactly given clean images at higher ISO's.

If you can't afford an 80d (the first step change in years), I'd be tempted to stick with what you have, or consider hiring.
 
Definitely not a 550D and probably not a 600D either. I have the 550D and its low light/high iso performance is pants. For what I use it for it's livable with. If I upgrade it will be to something very recent and almost certainly out of your budget.
 
Thanks for the advice everyone. Nice to get unequivocal answers from everyone.

I hadn't considered the full frame option so I'll have a look at that over the next few days.
 
The other thing to consider is if you go full frame you'll have much shorter reach with your lenses due to the lack of crop which may be a deal breaker for you. Unsure how close you can get to your subjects.
 
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