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New or Used ??

Nick549
Apprentice

Hello all, I'm currently running an EOS Rebel XSi with kit lenses that I plan on using with whatever new camera I get. I shoot as a hobby and plan on keeping it at that. It was recommended to me to look for a used  EOS 7D MKII. In my mind I would be better of getting into a mirrorless for that price like the R50. The used 7D MKII's I've seen are 500-700 for excellent condition. Please school me !!

3 REPLIES 3

Tronhard
Elite
Elite

Hi Nick and welcome:
It would help to have some extra information about your needs.   Can you look at the following article, consider the questions it poses and get back to us with responses please?   Also, knowing precisely what lenses you have not (e.g. EF-S 18-55 is usm and EF 75-300 usm) would be useful.  Also considering budget, it is likely that any newer camera will show the age of any of the kit lenses from that era - we're looking at 16 years old technology here - so would your budget include a lens or lenses?

Questions to consider when buying camera gear 

Thanks.


cheers, TREVOR

"The Amount of Misery expands to fill the space available"
"All the variety, all the charm, all the beauty of life is made up of light and shadow", Leo Tolstoy;
"Skill in photography is acquired by practice and not by purchase" Percy W. Harris

That link takes me to Microsoft word ?? I have all EF style lenses of course including a 10-18 for landscape photography also a 18-55 and a 55-250. I’m also in the market for a sigma 150-600 contemporary. I like shooting wildlife. I didn’t plan on buying new style lenses if I got a mirrorless camera. Just an adapter.

Yes, I published it's in Word, because it displays more sharply than a PDF.  You can look but not edit.  I can edit to the on-line original if I need to, so it's more accurate for people referring as they get the latest iteration.

OK, well knowing that you have EF-S lenses simplifies matters, so you pretty much have to get a crop-sensor body.
The top of the line camera is the R7, but for both financial and technical reasons, I don't think that is the best fit for your purposes or purse.
If you can manage it, I would go for the R10.  While it shares many of its features with the R50, one significant difference is the loss of controls on the back of the camera, particularly for locking focus and exposure.

The default setup of the shutter button to also managing focus and exposure is a throwback to the days when cameras had very few controls.  There are significant advantages for wildlife and sports shooters to isolate those functions, which is where the extra buttons on the back come in.

Exposure Lock:   Given that the camera sensor system wants to generate a tonal value that is called 18% grey (because tone is not a function of colour), that is problematic if the subject does not have that level of reflectance, which is quite common.  So, it is helpful to be able to set the exposure at a point that is. The default of evaluative metering averages out a large area of the screen for exposure, thus tending to be challenge in very contrasty scenes.   I have always used spot centre metering to avoid this, and it is particularly useful for applications such as animals in shade or vegetation.   One can assign the exposure lock to the * button on the top rear of the body and configure exposure to cover whatever area you want.  So, to lock exposure you point at the selected spot and press the * button, to change that, point elsewhere and repeat.  It's simple but offers a lot of control.

Focus:  Unless configured otherwise, focusing tends to pick up the closest object to the camera, which is often not what is required. These mirrorless cameras offer amazing focusing features, such as face and eye detection and tracking.  Again, it is beneficial to be able to select the critical point (e.g. the animal's eye) precisely and have that locked and tracked, especially if there is a herd, horns (like a giraffe) or brush may otherwise fool the focusing system.   So, all one has to do is disable the focus function from the shutter button (see the orange menu for custom buttons) and the AF-On button is already set.  Finally, select Servo so if you need to  you can track moving subjects that are not caught by the face/eye tracking.

This is explained in many videos, but here is one from Canon Oz that is still valid today:
See: Master Back-Button Focus | How to Back-Button Focus on your Canon Camera (youtube.com)

So, how this works is as follows:
Select the exposure point in the centre of the EVF and lock with the * button
Select the focus point in the centre of the EVF and press the AF-ON (tracking will follow if turned on)
Recompose and shoot

It sounds a lot more complicated than it actually is, but it allows one to shoot in extremely challenging situations. With practise it is very fast.  For example: the following image of a red panda was taken when it was deep into the foliage of a tree.  If I had not used spot focus to lock the eyes (which face detect then followed) it would have been caught by foliage and been totally wrong. Similarly, there was a lot of contrast in the image and the panda itself was in very dim light, relatively speaking.  By metering on leaves (which BTW are about 18% grey) the exposure was correct.
Red Panda@10m: R5, Sigma 60-600@ 600mm, f/9, 1/500sec, ISO-6400Red Panda@10m: R5, Sigma 60-600@ 600mm, f/9, 1/500sec, ISO-6400
Similarly the following photo of a flamingo was taken when the bird was in a tiny pool of light in an otherwise deep, dark environment. Being able to be precise with focus and exposure allowed an accurate image for both exposure and eye focus.  
Pretty in Pink - R6, RF 200-800@539mm, f/8, 1/640sec, ISO-1600Pretty in Pink - R6, RF 200-800@539mm, f/8, 1/640sec, ISO-1600


cheers, TREVOR

"The Amount of Misery expands to fill the space available"
"All the variety, all the charm, all the beauty of life is made up of light and shadow", Leo Tolstoy;
"Skill in photography is acquired by practice and not by purchase" Percy W. Harris
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