How do you guys do it?

[miketerndrup]

I am freaking the hell out about being able to afford the mirrorless camera and adapter how do you guys save money for it?

[wq9nsc]

Twitter would not be my first choice for any technical information (or my second, third, or 100th).

Your 80D is a solid camera as are the EF lenses.

Friday night I am shooting a game that is so poorly lighted that I am bringing my original 1DX that I purchased 8 years ago as a third body/lens setup.  My usual game setup for HS football is a 400 f2.8 on a 1DX III and a 70-200 f2.8 on a 1DX II.  For Friday the 1DX III will keep the 400 f2.8, but the 1DX II will be using an EF 200 f2 for the extra stop and the 1DX will have an EF 85 f1.8 for those situations where the 200 is too long.  It isn't my favorite setup having to manage three cameras but for the conditions, it is the best setup I can put together without springing for two more 1DX III bodies...

Incredible images are captured every day with Powershot and similar "point and shoot" cameras. You don't need a mirrorless to take good photos and they still aren't the best tool for some photographic jobs.They are important to the survival of the major photographic companies as smartphones will continue to reduce the volume of dedicated cameras sold.

Rodger

[Tronhard]

@miketerndrup wrote:

It was on Twitter a couple of months ago

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Sigh...

Social media has absolutely NO authority, NO editorial oversight, and NO academic or scientific rigor. It's full of opinionated people, some of whom have some idea what they are talking about, many either with their own agenda, or spouting mis-information that they have got through the same sources themselves. If you want authoritative information get it from reliable sources such as articles that are clearly researched or from professionals.

I started working in photography over 40 years ago, and I still practice for pleasure. Over the years I have shot everything from portraits, through city architecture, macros, and landscape, to birds in thick bush or apex predators, from the Australian outback via Asia to North America.

I have, and continue to teach photography both in the technical and artistic aspects. My oldest working film camera is from 1978, and my oldest DSLR is from 2000 and I still use it. It takes amazing images.

From there I have a decent sampling of gear up to the EOS R6.  I got that equipment, not because I thought it would make me a better photographer, but  because I had a technical interest in the equipment.  Some of my images are posted on this site if you want to look at them, and I have written articles reviewing gear, also published here and elsewhere. So I think I can express an opinion with some authority.

When you buy a camera it has certain capabilities, and as long as the camera is not damaged or worn out it will continue to have those capabilities. People also focus on the camera, but often ignore the optics: which, frankly, often have a greater impact on your images. However, the thing that makes the biggest impact is your skill in knowing your gear and being able to set up and capture an image that is both technically correct and artistically engaging. That comes from practice, practice, practice and study.

Study of your camera manuals and how to use the controls so they are like second nature to you and so you don't have to search for them, distracting you from that critical moment when your shot comes along. Study the work of good photographers, especially in the areas that you want to shoot in. Study ART - painters and sculpters knew a lot about positioning subjects within a landscape of field of view. I am still taking courses in art and art history to learn from the greats.

So let me say that the 80D is no less capable than it was when it came out.  It is still a great camera and will continue to be so.  There is a lot of hype about mirrorless, much of it from those who care more about the gear than the craft.  If you learn to be a good photographer you can pick up ANY camera and take good images with it.  For an example of this see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70vx4bgKzms   DO check out Sean's Youtube videos and website - he is an excellent photographer, but more importantly he is wise.

Also, you have given us absolutely no information about the context in which you will use the camera.  The suitablility of ANY tool depends on its application.  Check out my article in this site: Advice for those seeking new gear  Then, if you want more advice, come back with the answers to those questions and we can give you some good advice that is tailored for your needs about where to go in future.  In the meantime, you have a perfectly functional camera - go out and use it!

All of these images were taken on the Canon EOS 80D.  All hand-held, using available light.

Hopefully there is something amongst these to give you confidence that your camera is a capable tool.

[miketerndrup]

My apologies I do Sports photography and I am doing bird photography with a mix of different types, Here are some of my photos.  The reason I am scared my 80D is getting a spot on it and I am scared Canon won't fix it  

[jrhoffman75]

Where is the spot Mike?

[miketerndrup]

Here you Go and I do clean it a lot I even had it professional clean a year ago 

[wq9nsc]

That is a lot of spots on the sensor (well actually the LP filter that sits on the sensor) but a proper cleaning should take care of it.  My 1D Mark II saw a lot of outdoor usage with frequent lens changes and I had to clean it and the lens a lot.  I had a lot of spots after one trip to Colorado that made the beautiful blue CO skies from one hike look like a flak filled WWII bombing run 🙂

I definitely wouldn't replace the camera because of those spots, they should clean up perfectly.  I thought originally you were referring to defects in the sensor.  "Professional" cleaning can mean a lot of things, Canon may still offer cleaning for cameras for which they no longer replace parts and a call to Canon service will clarify it.  A lot of camera shops can't/won't do any better than the owner at cleaning.

I use L series glass with 1DX series bodies which are pretty well sealed but my cameras do get a once a year checkup and cleaning and when needed I will clean the sensor between visits to Canon.

Rodger

[miketerndrup]

I try cleaning it twice now and did everything other people have told me to do

[Waddizzle]

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@miketerndrup wrote:

Here you Go and I do clean it a lot I even had it professional clean a year ago 

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You should not have clean your sensor a lot.  Send your camera to Canon for a professional cleaning done right.

[miketerndrup]

The problem is baseball start for me soon and I need it for baseball 

[wq9nsc]

Mike,

If you need it in a hurry, then research cleaning it yourself and see if you feel competent to do so.  Adorama has a good writeup on their website that covers simple dry through more involved wet cleaning.

It is certainly possible to damage a camera through improper cleaning but it really isn't that difficult to clean a sensor and I have done it many times on all of my camera bodies, sometimes when you are traveling it is a necessity.  

Read up on the procedure and if you do it yourself, make sure you start with a known good fully charged battery.  Don't even think about trying to clean it using a camera with a plug in power adapter because a power glitch at the wrong point will result in damage to your camera.

Rodger