Camera upgrade recommendations from EOS Rebel T100

[Auntiebush12]

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. 

[Tronhard]

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.]

[ebiggs1]

"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.

[Auntiebush12]

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.

[rs-eos]

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.

[Tronhard]

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...

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.

[stevet1]

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

[Tronhard]

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!

[Tintype_18]

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.

[Tronhard]

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.