topic Re: Upgrade my canon T6? in EOS DSLR & Mirrorless Cameras

Upgrade my canon T6?

Jared16 — Tue, 01 Oct 2019 19:55:35 GMT

I would like some input on what I should upgrade to from a Canon t6. I've had it for about a year and it is a great entry level camera that helped me learn a lot. Now, I think it may be holding me back though. I mostly photograph a wide variety of wildlife in all sorts of lighting conditions. But lately, I've been becoming increasingly interested in astrophotography. So I'm looking for a camera body that would be good for both wildlife and astro photography. I'm currently thinking about the T7i, 77D, and 80D.

The lenses I have are:
Sigma 100-400 telephoto,
Tokina 11-16 wide angle,
Canon 35 macro, and
Canon kit 18-55

Re: Upgrade my canon T6?

RobertTheFat — Tue, 01 Oct 2019 21:05:55 GMT

@Jared16 wrote:
I would like some input on what I should upgrade to from a Canon t6. I've had it for about a year and it is a great entry level camera that helped me learn a lot. Now, I think it may be holding me back though. I mostly photograph a wide variety of wildlife in all sorts of lighting conditions. But lately, I've been becoming increasingly interested in astrophotography. So I'm looking for a camera body that would be good for both wildlife and astro photography. I'm currently thinking about the T7i, 77D, and 80D.

The lenses I have are:
Sigma 100-400 telephoto,
Tokina 11-16 wide angle,
Canon 35 macro, and
Canon kit 18-55

Possibly the biggest improvement you could make at the most affordable price is the Canon 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM lens. It's much better than your 18-55 kit lens.

But if you have your heart set on a new camera, consider (in addition to those you named above) the 90D (80D replacement) and the 7D Mk II. The latter might be available as a refurb in Canon's online store.

Re: Upgrade my canon T6?

Waddizzle — Tue, 01 Oct 2019 23:17:59 GMT

@Jared16 wrote:
I would like some input on what I should upgrade to from a Canon t6. I've had it for about a year and it is a great entry level camera that helped me learn a lot. Now, I think it may be holding me back though. I mostly photograph a wide variety of wildlife in all sorts of lighting conditions. But lately, I've been becoming increasingly interested in astrophotography. So I'm looking for a camera body that would be good for both wildlife and astro photography. I'm currently thinking about the T7i, 77D, and 80D.

The lenses I have are:
Sigma 100-400 telephoto,
Tokina 11-16 wide angle,
Canon 35 macro, and
Canon kit 18-55

I would be very interested in seeing a sample of one your wildlife photos. When you say astrophotography, do you mean landscape shots of the Milky Way, or more detailed shots of galaxies and nebulae?

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I understand your pain with the T6. The T6 can be quickly outgrown by a true photo enthusiast. I think you would want to move from entry level camera to a true photo enthusiast camera. The 80D meets that description. While the T7i and 77D are very good cameras, but they are still entry level cameras. I suspect that you would outgrow them within a year, too.

I would suggest the 80D, or the newly released 90D. Both camera bodies are compatible with all of your current lenses. The 7D Mark II is still a great camera for wildlife. But I think the 80D and 90D are better choices because they have better high ISO performance. They also include updated versions of Canon's Dual Pixel AF, 2nd and 3rd generation respectively.

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If you are interested in astrophotography, then I strongly suggest that you buy the BEST tripod that you can buy. It could last a lifetime. You would want to use the most sturdy platform you can find for astrophotography. You need something that will not shake in the wind when you take a long exposure.

I have purchased all of my tripods online from B&H in NYC. I like Benro and Induro tripods. They both share the same parent company. B&H has introduced a new house brand called Robus, whose tripods are getting rave reviews. I think the Benro and Induro tripods may still have the edge, due in large part to the high quality, padded cases that come with their tripods. The bags are large enough to allow a video head to remain mounted in the bag, which is not true for the Robus bags. Solution: buy a bugger bag.

None of my tripods have center center columns, although I did purchase an optional center column for one of them. A raised center column only adds instability by making a tripod top heavy. A raised center column can also resonate and shake in the wind like a tuning fork.

I have found having a very robust tripod is good for wildlife photography, too. When you have a very long lens, having a stable platform to shoot from is essential. Many professionals can hand hold big heavy super telephoto lenses. The rest of us are better off with a tripod or a monopod to give our arms a rest.

Re: Upgrade my canon T6?

ebiggs1 — Wed, 02 Oct 2019 20:37:12 GMT

This is the correct answer...

" the Canon 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM lens. It's much better than your 18-55 kit lens. But if you have your heart set on a new camera,... buy... the 90D"

"I'm looking for a camera body that would be good for both wildlife and astro photography."

Here is your mistake. The camera isn't so much important than the lens is. You want wildlife and astrophotography. However, you don't have the best, or even good, lenses for either. The lens makes your shot not the camera. Oh, yeah, its nice to have all the new bells and whistles but not mandatory.

Take a look at the Rokinon 14mm f/2.8 IF ED UMC Lens For Canon EF for astro work and one of the150-600mm super zooms for wildlife. My pick is the Tamron G2.

Re: Upgrade my canon T6?

Jared16 — Wed, 02 Oct 2019 21:08:50 GMT

Do you have any recommendations for an astrophotography lens with more zoom? I'd like to try deep space photography in the future. Could the canon 17-55 be good for that?

Re: Upgrade my canon T6?

Jared16 — Wed, 02 Oct 2019 21:09:57 GMT

Thanks for the info! I am new to the forum and not sure how I can post sample pictures though

Re: Upgrade my canon T6?

Waddizzle — Wed, 02 Oct 2019 21:13:42 GMT

I would stick to basic landscape shots of the Milky Way for now. Astrophotography gets really complicated and expensive when you start talking about images off deep space.

The first trick to learn is how to find the Milky Way.

Re: Upgrade my canon T6?

ebiggs1 — Wed, 02 Oct 2019 22:46:10 GMT

"Could the canon 17-55 be good for that?"

No, not the best. Not even in the good category. No zoom will do as well as most primes. You need an ultra wide for Milkyway shots like the 14mm I suggested.

Re: Upgrade my canon T6?

ebiggs1 — Wed, 02 Oct 2019 22:48:28 GMT

"I'd like to try deep space photography ..."

You need a real telescope for that.

Re: Upgrade my canon T6?

ebiggs1 — Wed, 02 Oct 2019 23:41:31 GMT

Now don't take this wrong as I am being truthful and hopefully instructive. But...........

"The lenses I have are:
Sigma 100-400 telephoto,
Tokina 11-16 wide angle,
Canon 35 macro, and
Canon kit 18-55"

The Sigma is a pretty decent lens, if it is this one, Sigma 100-400mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM Contemporary Lens. It is a pretty decent lens. It is just a bit short for wildlife, IMHO. And, it is a bit slow. It will work so it should be the last to upgrade.

I don't know what 35mill you have?

The Tok and kit 18-55mm are the ones to upgrade. You can probably sell them to help finance the better choices. The only Tokina I am high on is the Tokina 16-28mm f/2.8 FF Lens for Canon EF. It is embarrassingly good compared to the Canon and Nikkor offerings.

Of course the above already mentioned Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM Lens. If you get that lens don't replace the 35mm at all.

Even on a T6 these lenses will make a big difference. Even better on the 90D. The biggest improvement is the fixed fast aperture of f2.8 on the suggested Tok and 17-55mm f2.8 Canon.