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Best camera for HS yearbook

EC-AHS
Apprentice

Hi, Canon-ers. I'm a high school yearbook advisor looking to upgrade our equipment. I buy the camera with my personal money, so getting the most "bang for the buck" is definitely a concern. We currently have a T4i and a T6i, and a Samsung NX300 (compact mirrorless). The T4i has seen better days, and the NX300 (now 11 years old) is out of commission. So, I started looking at the T8i. Then I went down the rabbit hole and started looking at the Canon R series. My budget - all in, should be around $1,000. But, I might be convinced to wait and save some more money for an upgrade.

So, here's my question: What camera do you recommend for action, knowing I'd love to stay <$1,000, but might save up for under $2,000?

1 ACCEPTED SOLUTION

The R50 will run circles around your DSLRs, shooting football under the lights.

For one, it has Anti-Flicker mode, which your older Canon DSLRs lack. Many sports venues use lighting that cycles on and off rapidly (60 cycles a second). This cycling is so fast we don't notice with our eyes. But our cameras sure see it! The result is a lot of underexposed images, when the shutter happens to trip at just the wrong time in the cycle. This is where Anti-Flicker helps tremendously. It detects the cycle of the lighting and times the shutter release to the peak output. I have extensively used a pair of EOS 7D Mark II, the first Canon cameras to have Anti-Flicker, shooting venues that had always given me problems. At least half my shots would be underexposed... sometimes ruined, by the lighting! With Anti-Flicker, I almost never have a bad shot any more (well, when I do it's my fault, not the camera's!) There is little to no downside to using Anti-Flicker. When I started using it I was concerned there would be apparent shutter lag and I'd miss some shots during fast action. But I only very rarely notice any lag and missed moments are even rarer. It's been a real game changer for me.  More info and some image examples can be found here.

EDIT: I just discovered your T6i (EOS 750D) has Anti-Flicker mode. AFAIK, Canon is now putting that feature in all but the most entry-level DSLRs (Rebel T7/1500D/2000D, T100/4000D, SL3/250D). .

In addition, very likely the newer camera also will hav more usable high IS0... better high ISO noise handling thanks to newer sensor, more powerful processor and improved algorithms. It is probably safe to expect at least one stop of improvement (one stop higher usable ISO). FYI: There also are post processing software that can do wonders reducing noise while preserving fine detail in images, such as DXO Pure Raw.

Further, the mirrorless cameras like the R50 are able to meter in lower light and autofocus in much  lower light conditions. Canon rates the R50's meter to be good to -2EV, which is probably two stops lower than your current cameras can do. The R50's autofocus system is rated to be able to work in as low as -4EV light levels... probably four stops of light lower than your DSLRs.

Finally, the mirrorless like the R50 have hundreds of AF points covering almost the entire image area and are able to detect and focus on faces and even eyes! Add this to the camera's burst rate of up to 12 frames/sec (1st curtain electronic shutter) or even 15 frames/sec (electronic shutter, with some added risk of rolling shutter distortions), and the odds of getting a good, focused, usable shot are greatly increased compared to the way we had to shoot sports with DSLRs. 

Oh, and with Exposure Simulation enabled the R50's electronic viewfinder (EVF) will be brighter when shooting in low light conditions, compared to the optical viewfinders in your DSLRs.

That brings up one of the small drawbacks of using a mirrorless camera. The EVF draws power continuously while shooting, so you will get fewer shots per battery charge. Be sure to have extras handy. I think the R50 uses the same battery as your T6i (LP-E17). The fast frame rates also can rapidly fill up memory cards and computer hard drives!  Spares and backups, as well as judicious use of the high frame rates and ruthless culling of the results, may be needed.

P.S. You might want to contact Canon and/or some of the large retailers like B&H, Adorama to see if they have an educators program... there may be some discounts or other form of support.

***********


Alan Myers
San Jose, Calif., USA
"Walk softly and carry a big lens."
GEAR: 5DII, 7DII (x2), 7D(x2), EOS M5, some other cameras, various lenses & accessories
FLICKR

View solution in original post

8 REPLIES 8

rs-eos
Elite
Elite

I would definitely check out the new EOS R50.   A version with a single 18-45mm lens costs $799.  And a version with both the 18-45mm lens and 55-210mm lens costs $1,029.

--
Ricky

Camera: EOS 5D IV, EF 50mm f/1.2L, EF 135mm f/2L
Lighting: Profoto Lights & Modifiers

Thank you, Ricky! How do you think the R50 will handle action/sports, like a night football game under lights? We currently use a 6Ti (would love to have better) with a 55-200M lens. From the sidelines, we catch the action from our sideline to the middle of the field, but anything beyond is dark. I would love to go mirrorless, but worry that they won't handle the low light conditions as well as a DSLR.

Being newer by several years, the R50 should give you better ISO performance.  How much more, I don't know.   A guess is around 1-stop.  If that guess is accurate, an image at ISO 3200 on the R50 would have the same noise as an image at ISO 1600 on the T6i.

For low-light work with sports, having a lens capable of f/2.8 would be good.    And while it wouldn't have the same reach, an EF 135mm f/2 or especially the RF 135mm f/1.8 would be great options.   The RF version has IS.   Though such lenses would cost quite a bit.

--
Ricky

Camera: EOS 5D IV, EF 50mm f/1.2L, EF 135mm f/2L
Lighting: Profoto Lights & Modifiers

The R50 will run circles around your DSLRs, shooting football under the lights.

For one, it has Anti-Flicker mode, which your older Canon DSLRs lack. Many sports venues use lighting that cycles on and off rapidly (60 cycles a second). This cycling is so fast we don't notice with our eyes. But our cameras sure see it! The result is a lot of underexposed images, when the shutter happens to trip at just the wrong time in the cycle. This is where Anti-Flicker helps tremendously. It detects the cycle of the lighting and times the shutter release to the peak output. I have extensively used a pair of EOS 7D Mark II, the first Canon cameras to have Anti-Flicker, shooting venues that had always given me problems. At least half my shots would be underexposed... sometimes ruined, by the lighting! With Anti-Flicker, I almost never have a bad shot any more (well, when I do it's my fault, not the camera's!) There is little to no downside to using Anti-Flicker. When I started using it I was concerned there would be apparent shutter lag and I'd miss some shots during fast action. But I only very rarely notice any lag and missed moments are even rarer. It's been a real game changer for me.  More info and some image examples can be found here.

EDIT: I just discovered your T6i (EOS 750D) has Anti-Flicker mode. AFAIK, Canon is now putting that feature in all but the most entry-level DSLRs (Rebel T7/1500D/2000D, T100/4000D, SL3/250D). .

In addition, very likely the newer camera also will hav more usable high IS0... better high ISO noise handling thanks to newer sensor, more powerful processor and improved algorithms. It is probably safe to expect at least one stop of improvement (one stop higher usable ISO). FYI: There also are post processing software that can do wonders reducing noise while preserving fine detail in images, such as DXO Pure Raw.

Further, the mirrorless cameras like the R50 are able to meter in lower light and autofocus in much  lower light conditions. Canon rates the R50's meter to be good to -2EV, which is probably two stops lower than your current cameras can do. The R50's autofocus system is rated to be able to work in as low as -4EV light levels... probably four stops of light lower than your DSLRs.

Finally, the mirrorless like the R50 have hundreds of AF points covering almost the entire image area and are able to detect and focus on faces and even eyes! Add this to the camera's burst rate of up to 12 frames/sec (1st curtain electronic shutter) or even 15 frames/sec (electronic shutter, with some added risk of rolling shutter distortions), and the odds of getting a good, focused, usable shot are greatly increased compared to the way we had to shoot sports with DSLRs. 

Oh, and with Exposure Simulation enabled the R50's electronic viewfinder (EVF) will be brighter when shooting in low light conditions, compared to the optical viewfinders in your DSLRs.

That brings up one of the small drawbacks of using a mirrorless camera. The EVF draws power continuously while shooting, so you will get fewer shots per battery charge. Be sure to have extras handy. I think the R50 uses the same battery as your T6i (LP-E17). The fast frame rates also can rapidly fill up memory cards and computer hard drives!  Spares and backups, as well as judicious use of the high frame rates and ruthless culling of the results, may be needed.

P.S. You might want to contact Canon and/or some of the large retailers like B&H, Adorama to see if they have an educators program... there may be some discounts or other form of support.

***********


Alan Myers
San Jose, Calif., USA
"Walk softly and carry a big lens."
GEAR: 5DII, 7DII (x2), 7D(x2), EOS M5, some other cameras, various lenses & accessories
FLICKR

Thank you, Alan, for such a detailed reply! The R50 definitely sounds like a strong contender. I'll compare it to the T8i, since battery life is actually a concern for me. (Teenagers using the equipment often leads to misplaced extra batteries, or forgetting to charge them after use.)

ebiggs1
Legend
Legend

If you like what you have now with the T4i then the T8i makes some sense. It is basically the same camera with some major upgrades. But in the long run when the T8i is done you will be in a mirrorless world so do it now or then. Your current list of lenses will work on it with out adapters just like they do now. On a new mirrorless camera you will need the adapter or new lenses.

If you decide to go mirrorless consider the R10, too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSaDRg6Ykog&t=133s 

EB
EOS 1DX and 1D Mk IV and less lenses then before!

wq9nsc
Authority
Authority

I agree with Ricky that the lens is the most critical piece of gear with sports and location is the most important decision for the photographer.  A lot of HS sports fields are very poorly illuminated and until one conference school upgraded their field lighting, I had been using an 85 f1.8 for close work and a 200 f2 for medium distance at the field even with 1DX II and III bodies that do well at high ISO.

I have mentored yearbook photographers at a couple of high schools and the most important things I tell them is given equipment limitations you have to optimize your location AND concentrate on the areas of the field where your photo gear is most capable. 

Field lighting is never even so if your photographers stake out areas that have the best lighting, they will get some great shots instead of wasting time on areas where the lighting is too poor for decent results causing them to miss shots they would otherwise get by concentrating on the "sweet spots" for your camera gear.

The end zone at most football fields is the least well illuminated and most of the time is an area to avoid without a wide aperture lens.  The photo below was taken close to the end zone in an otherwise well illuminated field but it still forced the camera to ISO 12,800 @ 1/1000 with a f 2.8 lens wide open.

The students will learn a lot more by getting the most out of gear that isn't state of the art so keep them upbeat!

Rodger

AQ9I9143.jpg

EOS 1DX M3, 1DX M2, 1DX, 5DS R, M6 Mark II, 1D M2, EOS 650 (film), many lenses, XF400 video

Rodger,

Thank you! Definitely good advice for our photographers. I work a lot with them on the sidelines. Our field has a few darker spots, but we get good near-side shots with our current basic equipment. I am definitely looking into upgrading my lens, too. But, if I do, it will be for my use only, or by students only when I am there to supervise. (Teens don't mean to, but cameras and lenses get knocked around a bit.)

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