topic Re: Upgrade my t7 in EOS DSLR & Mirrorless Cameras

Upgrade my t7

WhitneyRothschi — Sat, 18 Jun 2022 11:40:18 GMT

Hi! I absolutely love my t7, but I'm thinking of upgrading. I have the nifty fifty, the sigma 150-600mm and the sigma 105 f2.8 macro. Can anyone suggest an upgrade that's similar to the t7? Thanks!

Re: Upgrade my t7

shadowsports — Sat, 18 Jun 2022 15:12:52 GMT

Greetings,

I'll start the conversation off.

Whats your budget?

Do you want to stay with APS-C or move to full frame.

What do you take pictures of primarily?

Re: Upgrade my t7

WhitneyRothschi — Sat, 18 Jun 2022 15:53:14 GMT

Hi! I primarily take wildlife and portraits. I have a Sony a7riii for real estate, but I would rather use my t7. I bought the sigma adapter to use the lenses on the Sony, but I'm not sold on it

Re: Upgrade my t7

Tronhard — Sat, 18 Jun 2022 22:38:07 GMT

Hi Whitney and welcome to the forum: 😊

From what you have said, you have a divergent set of needs:
- I have a Sony a7riii for real estate, but I would rather use my t7.
- I primarily take wildlife and portraits.

So to consider the features you might need for these activities...
* Real estate photography: is best done with a full-frame camera, the uncropped Field of View (FoV) can make the most of the wide-angle lenses you need to capture a room.
* Wildlife photography, on the other hand, will benefit from the advantages in a cropped FoV and image density which is enhanced with a crop-sensor camera like your T7.

If you do combine both into one body, then I am working on the assumption you can write off the cost of your camera body against your business, thus offering you a discount to invest in more expensive gear. If that would not work, then we definitely need to know some kind of budget!

In the case where you prefer an all-in-one solution, I would tend towards a full-frame, fairly high pixel camera, with a pixel density that is able to give you both of those capabilities. You will be able to use the high pixel count of the FF sensor to crop the FoV and achieve similar results to those of a lower pixel count, crop-sensor body.

Without doubt the best gear right now is in Canon's R-series of Mirrorless Interchangeable Lens Cameras (MILCs), offering the best future investment value. For the following reasons:
a) The R3, R5 and R6 (and soon R7) all have In-Body-Image-Stabilization, which is brilliant for working hand-held, especially with long lenses. When you evolve to the RF lenses over time, many of their own optical IS will work with the IBIS to give huge levels of stabilization.
b) The R3, R5 and R6 (not sure about the R7 - it's crop sensor and not really on the market), have excellent dynamic range, enhancing capturing a range of light from dark to bright - great for your real-estate work in particular. Furthermore they can all work in much dimmer light with hugely-improved ISO performance.
c) The same three have Animal Eye Tracking: which you will likely find a game-changer for your wildlife work and portraiture. The ability to automatically find the eye and follow it is amazing.

If you choose from current Canon gear, I would suggest going for the 45MP Canon EOS R5 for the following reasons: the R3 is very expensive but only 24MP, while the R6 is only 20MP.

1. The full-frame sensor will work best with ultra-wide angle lenses for your work in real estate. If you eventually combine that with the yet-to-be-released RF 11-24 f/4 lens, you will have an awesome unit for your work. In the meantime continue to use the Sony.
2. For portrait work, you will gain the benefit of FF sensor's ability to generate a very shallow depth of field, and make the most of fast lenses - and there are quite a few in the new RF line-up that might work for you. That said, your existing Canon EF lenses will work with the new RF mount via an adapter. Canon do make a custom macro lens, but also a couple of brilliant portrait primes if that is what you prefer.
3. Wildlife: At the long end, the 45MP sensor can take quite a bit of cropping - if you were to crop right down to the same area as that of a Canon T7, then you would still get about 18MP resolution, but you can have the added benefit of the wide end of the zoom range. With the EF-RF adapter you can continue to use your Sigma 150-600 quite successfully - see the following sample images taken with the R5 and the Sigma 150-600 Contemporary.

Canon EOS R5, Sigma 150-600c @447mm f/9, 1/640sec, ISO-1250

NZ Kereru, R5, Sigma 150-600c@464mm, f/6.3, 1/160sec, ISO-1600

CROPPED: R5, Sigma 150-600@262mm, f/5.6, 1/320sec, ISO-800

I shall post a couple of very wide-angle shots taken with the Canon R5 and the EF 17-40mm, when there is enough light - it's winter in NZ and the sun is not up yet!

Re: Upgrade my t7

WhitneyRothschi — Mon, 20 Jun 2022 12:23:18 GMT

Wow!! That was possibly the best and most thorough explanation I've recieved since I've started my photography journey. And I should've included my budget. I'd like to stay under 1700$ if that's possible. I'm also not afraid to buy used.

Re: Upgrade my t7

Tronhard — Mon, 20 Jun 2022 17:24:19 GMT

I would suggest looking at Canon's refurbished offerings - those cameras are essentially as new and come with a warranty. Canon Refurbished Products Information | Canon Online Store If that is too much money right now (remember the work investment possibility) then wait a while, keep an eye on the prices and save. It will be worth it.

Re: Upgrade my t7

ebiggs1 — Tue, 21 Jun 2022 15:18:47 GMT

"I absolutely love my t7, but I'm thinking of upgrading."

The lenses you have are suitable. So, if you want to stay in the same camera level there are only two logical choices.

The Rebel T8i which has numerous features that your T7 lacks. Or the very good and arguably the best crop camera ever made the 90D.

I have long thought the 90D along with the Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM Art Lens to be the holy grail of crop camera photography. This combo will not take a back seat to gear costing hundreds of dollars more and will shame some!

"I'd like to stay under 1700$ if that's possible."

I doubt the 90D and Siggy will come in under that figure but will not be a lot over. Perhaps a couple hundred over if you buy new. Perhaps a couple hundred under if you buy used gear.

Re: Upgrade my t7

ebiggs1 — Tue, 21 Jun 2022 15:27:29 GMT

"I have a Sony a7riii for real estate, but I would rather use my t7." "...but I'm not sold on it" Neither am I. 😐

The 90D and Siggy will blow the Sony away in every case and do an outstanding job for real estate. Sell the Sony to help finance the 90D combo. If you find the 18-35mm a bit too long for indoor real estate you can supplement it with the Canon EF-S 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 IS STM Lens.