topic Re: Camera upgrade recommendations from EOS Rebel T100 in EOS DSLR & Mirrorless Cameras

Camera upgrade recommendations from EOS Rebel T100

Auntiebush12 — Fri, 05 Jan 2024 14:40:57 GMT

My 14 year old son recently bought himself an EF 70-200 lens for his Canon Rebel T100. He is taking photos of his friends high school sports teams (action shots). I would like to surprise him for his birthday with an upgraded body. Any suggestions for not breaking the bank. Maybe under 1,000. He says the rebel t100 is not great.

Re: Camera upgrade recommendations from EOS Rebel T100

Tronhard — Fri, 05 Jan 2024 19:03:01 GMT

Hi and welcome to the forum:
What a generous thing to do!
For your budget, I would suggest the Canon EOS R10, along with a EF-RF adapter to allow his lens to work with it. It is an excellent camera and can be purchased from the Canon site at this link: EOS R10 Body (canon.com) or
Canon R10 EOS Mirrorless Camera (R10 EOS Camera) - B&H Photo (bhphotovideo.com)

This is a link for the EF-RF adapter: Canon Mount Adapter EF-EOS R 2971C002 B&H Photo Video (bhphotovideo.com) .

The pair would come in a hair over $1,000, if that is acceptable.

[Third-party commercial links removed in accordance with community guidelines and replaced with screenshots to act as visual aids.]

Re: Camera upgrade recommendations from EOS Rebel T100

ebiggs1 — Fri, 05 Jan 2024 16:09:05 GMT

"My 14 year old son recently bought himself an EF 70-200 lens ..."

Dad or mom, is this the only lens your son has? That is a real nice lens. Normally I would suggest you look at R series gear, too, but this time you might look at a used Rebel. A Rebel T8i for instance. You can even find NOS at some retailers like Best Buy or Amazon some of which have very appealing prices. You should be well under your $1000 limit and you don't need any adapters. Going from the T100 to the T8i will be seamless for your son. The T8i has tons more ability and features than the T100 has. Yes I know it is older tech but still very capable.

I love it when younger folks take an interest in photography. I work with several in the yearbook class at out local school. They all use Rebels mostly the T8i.

Re: Camera upgrade recommendations from EOS Rebel T100

Auntiebush12 — Fri, 05 Jan 2024 18:06:05 GMT

Yes, he only has this lens along with what came with his camera. He bought the lens himself from marketplace for approx 750. He loves the lens but it is super heavy.

Re: Camera upgrade recommendations from EOS Rebel T100

rs-eos — Fri, 05 Jan 2024 18:26:10 GMT

I rented an EF 70-200mm III once and I found it too heavy for my liking.

Do note that if moving to a new R-series camera, while they are fairly lightweight, you'll need an EF to RF adapter to allow it to work with the existing EF lens. That will add a bit of extra size and weight to the entire setup.

Re: Camera upgrade recommendations from EOS Rebel T100

Tronhard — Sat, 06 Jan 2024 02:04:13 GMT

If you are not into the technical aspects of photography you could well be overwhelmed by the opinions expressed here. What I would strongly encourage you to do is to tell your son of your intent and let him decide what camera gear he wishes to get within your budget. There will be several options and his is the most important one.

1. Keep the original lens and go with the Rebel. While that will be seamless, the design is much older and less capable than an R10. The R10 has a better sensor, can track faces and eyes (which is a huge benefit for sports) and will have access to the range of existing and (more critically) further lenses that will come out for it. The DSLR range is no longer under development and is being phased our from the market, so you would be investing in an obsolescent system for a young man - that doesn't sound like a good investment.

2. Get the R10 with adapter: The 70-200 will work absolutely fine via the adapter. Yes, the 70-200 is a heavy lens, but that's not the body's fault (the R10 actually just over half the weight of the Rebel and even with the adapter would be considerably lighter than the Rebel body alone):
Comparing the two: Canon Rebel T8i weight: 515g, R-10 weight 420g, EF-RF adapter 110g, so even with the adapter the combination of the R10+adapter will be essentially the same as Rebel on its own.*
(corrected from a previous error - thanks to Stevet1 for finding that).

The R10 will offer the benefits of integrated eye and face tracking: a serious benefit for sports photography that the Rebel does not offer; has a more capable and processor sensor that it shares with far more expensive models. If he tries video, it has better performance and can take videos twice the length of the Rebel. Canon have gone to some lengths to make it easy to transition: the controls and layout are very similar to the cameras he will be used to and there are built in help systems that can be turned off when he is familiar with it. Also many excellent tutorials on You Tube: for example:
Canon R10 Tutorial Training Video Overview Users Guide Set Up - Part 1 - Made for Beginners (youtube.com)

I would encourage your son to check out the specs and reviews. He can use this camera, get better performance and develop with it while using his existing lens until he invests in the lenses specifically designed for the R-series - which are brilliant lenses.

He is investing in the future - the R10 was released in 2022 while the Rebel T8i was released in 2019 and no Rebels since while the R-series camera platform is expanding fast - a lot has happened in those two years in the development of camera technology.

3. Get the R10, and at some stage sells the EF 70-200 if he finds it too heavy. Neither body will make the lens lighter if that is the issue. If he does so, he could invest in some of the much lighter native R lenses that have great optical performance, and equivalent ones to his existing optic exist on the R platform and that range is expanding fast.

Without doubt, there are differing opinions in this. That's what you get when you come to a platform such as this, but the issue is really investing in the future vs investing in the past.
In the end, that is why I recommend bringing your son into the decision-making process at his age - it is he who will likely be into the technology and he who will use it now and in the future.

Re: Camera upgrade recommendations from EOS Rebel T100

Tintype_18 — Fri, 05 Jan 2024 21:12:57 GMT

Good advice from the members. The T8I will be good. I have a T7 so it is a bump or two up the ladder. As for the weight of the lens, watching photographers at sports events as baseball (my main interest), I see them using a monopod where allowed. Help steady the camera while allow movement to catch the action. Have him download the manual and study it, starting with some of the basics and moving on as his skills develop. Nice thing about modern cameras, you don't burn film but can see the results on the screen. Good luck.

Re: Camera upgrade recommendations from EOS Rebel T100

Tronhard — Fri, 05 Jan 2024 21:37:24 GMT

I will repeat that I implore you to bring your son into the decision-making process. That way you avoid getting something that one of us suggests but is not what he wants, and creating a disappointing or frustrating situation for you both.

If he knows the budget he can make his own decision and you could both go out shopping to get what he eventually chooses, which is a great bonding moment you can share together. I am absolutely convinced that he will cherish that experience and you avoid the risk of providing him with a gear fait accompli.

Re: Camera upgrade recommendations from EOS Rebel T100

stevet1 — Sat, 06 Jan 2024 01:55:45 GMT

Trevor,

You wrote, "Comparing the two: Canon Rebel T8i weight: 800g, "

Body only, the T81 weighs 471g. Wth the battery, it weighs 515g.

Steve Thomas

Re: Camera upgrade recommendations from EOS Rebel T100

Tronhard — Sat, 06 Jan 2024 02:02:05 GMT

Steve, thank you so much for finding that out! I mis-read from the line above on the DPR comparison site. I shall make a correction in the original post.

Even so, I will stick with the assertion that the R10 has a lighter body, and yes, with the EF-RF adapter attached it will be marginally, heavier that 8Ti, but I still think it is a far better and more capable camera (for the reasons I listed) and is better value for its ability to be an investment for the future.

Above all though, I think the OP's son needs to be in on this, I hope you will agree!

Re: Camera upgrade recommendations from EOS Rebel T100

stevet1 — Sat, 06 Jan 2024 02:04:15 GMT

Aunttiebush12,

I will admit. I own a T81 and like it very much.

You could look at one of those and a 55-250mm IS STM lens, which weighs a whole lot less than a 70-200.

Trevor's suggestion of an R10 is also a good one, along with his suggestion that you include your son in the decision-making process.

Steve Thomas

Re: Camera upgrade recommendations from EOS Rebel T100

Tronhard — Sat, 06 Jan 2024 02:11:13 GMT

I was considering different lenses too, but I don't have enough data about what kinds of sports under what conditions to be able to decide. For reasonably close-quarter sports, the 55-250STM might work but it will struggle in the low light of indoor sports. For even more reach the excellent EF 70-300IS USM MkII would be a great unit, with super fast focus but, again, not sure about low light, or even for large field events like soccer. For that we need more data, I think. Which takes me back to the OP's son getting involved, so we know what he would most benefit from and value.
Given his purchase of the 70-200, I suspect he is shooting in lower light, perhaps closer in like basketball or ice hockey, or even field sports under lights. That's just me speculating...

Re: Camera upgrade recommendations from EOS Rebel T100

Auntiebush12 — Sat, 06 Jan 2024 05:35:32 GMT

Thank you for all your knowledge. I will definitely include him.

Re: Camera upgrade recommendations from EOS Rebel T100

Tronhard — Sat, 06 Jan 2024 05:39:26 GMT

Thank you, and if he requires further advice he can revisit the forum, or contact me via a PM.

Re: Camera upgrade recommendations from EOS Rebel T100

Waddizzle — Sat, 06 Jan 2024 15:49:51 GMT

@Auntiebush12 wrote:
Thank you for all your knowledge. I will definitely include him.

There is nothing more fun than a shopping spree for things that you love.

Re: Camera upgrade recommendations from EOS Rebel T100

Waddizzle — Sat, 06 Jan 2024 16:05:26 GMT

The only DSLR bodies I would recommend are the 90D and 6D2. Checking the Canon Online Refurbished Store shows the R10 package is still in stock.

https://www.usa.canon.com/shop/p/refurbished-eos-r10-rf-s18-45mm-f4-5-6-3-is-stm-lens-kit

Both the 90D and 6D2 are out of stock. I agree with the others, though. The R10 is a good way to go. The performance is superior to the T8i and probably even the 90D. Buy a spare battery and the EF-RF mount adapter by Canon.

Re: Camera upgrade recommendations from EOS Rebel T100

March411 — Sat, 06 Jan 2024 16:24:51 GMT

As Waddizzle noted the 90D is a very good camera and new they are available direct but slightly over your budget. I own one and it has been excellent for wildlife and sports photography. I have many EF lenses and don't want to spend the money to upgrade to mirrorless at this point as my DSLR's perform very well for my applications.

Quality EF lenses will be available through the used market and there are many reputable resellers (KEH) that offer extended warranties. One consideration if you purchase a DSLR is after purchase support. I have a local Canon repair center located right near my home that is very reliable.

Good luck and kudos for supporting the kids passion for photography!

Re: Camera upgrade recommendations from EOS Rebel T100

ebiggs1 — Sat, 06 Jan 2024 18:00:39 GMT

Auntiebush12 are you as confused now or perhaps even more so after reading all that. I would be.

Re: Camera upgrade recommendations from EOS Rebel T100

Tronhard — Sat, 06 Jan 2024 18:14:39 GMT

I think the main takeaway, which she seems to have taken on board, is to involve her son in the buying process. Our site generally focuses on the technology, but for issues like this we need to step outside and consider that the critical element is not so much a camera issue per se, as an interpersonal or purchase process one - which I know you understand. It would be really tough on both of them if she spent her budget on something that it turned out her son didn't really want for one reason or another.
I think we would all be in a difficult position if someone we loved bought something that was totally unsuitable.

Many years ago, not long after arriving in Canada, I met my mother-in-law and she gave me a very expensive sweater after I said I needed to get something warm for the Canadian winter. The trouble was it was NOT my colour (it was like she would wear) and looked awful on me. Rather than tell her that and potentially hurt her feelings, I dutifully wore it a few times before retiring it.
I would suspect we all have similar tales to tell.

Re: Camera upgrade recommendations from EOS Rebel T100

Auntiebush12 — Sun, 07 Jan 2024 14:35:58 GMT

Lol, absolutely. Hopefully he will do his research because this is out of my league.