Beginner

[Shervin]

What is a great camera for a beginner at a good price. Also looking for wifi and video capability. For over ten years I have wanted a camera. I held off for financial reasons. My dad loved taking pics. He recently passed. I want to preserve all my life memories as did my father. Tired of iPhone pics. Thanks for the help 🙂

[ScottyP]

Hi, Shervin.

If you MUST have wi-fi, then you really only have 2 choices, and the more economical of the 2 is the 70d. It costs about 1,049.00 and it really is a nice camera. http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/986389-REG/canon_8469b002_canon_eos_70d_dslr.html?showMap=N

That is the price with no lenses. You can get a good deal buying a "kit" for just a bit more, because they throw in lenses at a considerable discount.

Here is a review. http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-EOS-70D.aspx

If you don't have that much in your budget, and if you are willing to give up on the wi-fi, then the T5i is a great choice. Here is a review. http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-EOS-Rebel-T5i.aspx

You can get that camera WITH a 18 - 135mm kit lens for just $929.00 right now.

[digital]

What is your budget? 

I was helping my wifes friend look for a package and i asked at several sites. Had some pretty good feedback on this set up. This is from a local camer store and was a christmas package deal which is still on sale now. Now you don't have to get this exact body but for aournd $1000 you can get started and have failry decent gear with a nice range of coverage. The 55-250 is surprisingly quite good for the price. Make sure the lenses have STM in them. Better image quality and faster focus. You may not get the monpod and bag but this may be a good start for you.       

[Skirball]

 +1 digitals suggestion.  I would either try to get a refurbished T3i, or get the T5i bundle.  WiFi is ok, but I wouldn’t put much weight on it unless you’re absolutely sure you need it.  I have it on my 6D, and it’s kind of neat, but I don’t really use it all that much.  I’d trade it in for an articulating screen if I could.

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@digital wrote:

Make sure the lenses have STM in them. Better image quality and faster focus. 

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Disagree.  No relation, and untrue.

If the lens you want has an STM version than that's something to consider, but I wouldn't weigh it heavy in consideration.

I look more at the optical performance than worry about STM.  STM was made for video, it’s silent and smoother.  It has no (positive) impact on still photography.  Ultrasonic is still faster, though not by much.  STM lenses require use of a motor when manually focusing; you essentially push a button to focus in and out.  I can’t say I’ve tried it, and perhaps I’d get used to it, but it sounds awful to me.  Yes, in the case of the new 55-250 the IQ is better, but that’s because it’s a new version of the lens, it has nothing to do with the STM. 

[Shervin]

Hey thank you so much for taking the time to respond. I like shooting video but it's secondary to taking photos. I guess the next step for me is to read up on the models. I love taking pictures as want a product that will last for years. Like computers my only fear is will the camera become outdated after two years. So I can see that wifi isn't as big as a deal as I thought after reading your response. Thank you for the wonderful info.

[Shervin]

Thank you for the feedback as great information. Why is the STM an important mark on the lenses. Is it the quality? I am willing to spend anywhere from $900-$1400.

[Shervin]

Hi Scott! Thank you for the response. I am leaning towards the 70D after reading your feedback. I want to take full advantage of the camera. Wifi isn't mandatory but a luxury. If you had to chose between the two, which would you pick?

[Skirball]

If you're absolutely set on getting Wifi, then get the 70D.  And this is coming from someone that owns a 6D.

[ScottyP]

Hi,

To answer your question, assuming the higher price is ok with you, I would choose the 70d over the T5i, and not for the wifi.

The 70d has micro focus adjustment so you can tune your lenses without mailing all your gear to Canon.

It is a bit bigger and has a few more buttons so ergonomics are better.

It focuses faster in video or live view than any other EOS camera because of the dual pixel focusing.

That dual pixel thing just might enable something very neat someday, like improved dynamic range, some day in the future if/when Canon figures out a firmware upgrade.

[TCampbell]

If you want to be able to do full-time auto-focus during video (all DSLRs do video... but most cannot do continuous auto-focus while shooting video and/or the auto-focus triggers the camera to do "focus hunt" which is very distracting as it "guesses" it's way to better focus) AND you want WiFi then *the* camera that does both of these is the Canon EOS 70D.

It's a mid-range camera with controls laid out a bit more like the pro-level cameras.  It also has a better focus system than all of the Rebel bodies (but then it's a notch above the Rebel class) and it's continuous shutter speed is better as well.  It's not quite, but nearly as fast as the 7D (which is regarded as more of a sports/action photography camera.)

None of the Rebel cameras have built-in WiFi nor support continuous auto-focus during video.

With that said, you can get an "Eye-Fi" card for a Rebel camera.  This is an SD card that has a built-in WiFi radio and as you shoot, it can transfer images to your computer or smartphone/tablet.  It's a bit slow to do this I'll warn you because in order to preserve battery the system shuts off the WiFi while it's shooting.  After you stop shooting, it waits about 5 seconds... if there is no further user activity it switches the WiFi radio on and begins transferring the images.  This means you do get the images delivered via WiFi but with a bit of a delay.  Also, unlike the 70D where you can actually use a smartphone to control the camera, an Eye-Fi card only uses the WiFi to transfer images... there is no remote control capability like there is with the Canon built-in WiFi cameras.