T5 or SL1 ?
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03-03-2016 06:06 PM
I am a hairstylist and I want to take my client portfolio pictures to a better level than my current Iphone 6 camera. I do have an old point & shoot canon s5is but it's been recommended that I upgrade to a dslr so I have been doing a tad bit of research and ended up at the refurbished section here on canon. My budget allows for either the T5 or SL1.
The T5 has one either with just the standard 18-55mm lens or I can choose that plus the 75-300mm lens. The SL1 is only with the 18-55. May I ask for suggestions on which would be a better fit for my specefic use? I desire better quality images than that of my Iphone.
I will use it primarily for taking pictures of my clients hairstyles both indoor and outdoor.
Thank you kindly.
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03-03-2016 06:37 PM
I think the T5 is a better camera than the SL1. Both cameras were designed to be entry level DSLRs. The SL1 was designed to be the smallest DSLR body. It is too small for my male hands.
The T5 is a great entry level camera. I suspect that it may soon be discontinued, which would explain the lower selling price. The prices they are asking for the T5 two lens kit is a steal. I bought a new one for my son last spring for nearly twice that price, including tax and shipping.
You may wish to invest in a quality tripod for indoor portraits. They do not have quality tripods at the big box stores, just plastic ones that shake and break too easily. People around here can help you with tripods, too.
"Enjoying photography since 1972."
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03-03-2016 08:06 PM
I would recommend T5 for your needs. Get 18-135 zoom for general use and 50mm f/1.8 STM for portraits of your clients.
Conway, NH
1D X Mark III, M200, Many lenses, Pixma PRO-100, Pixma TR8620a, Lr Classic
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03-03-2016 10:05 PM
Thank you kindly!
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03-03-2016 10:05 PM
I agree with jrhoffman's recommendation of T5 and the 18-135 lens. If there is not a kit offered with the 18-135 and you can't fit it into your budget separately, go for an 18-55 kit lens package. Also agree the 50mm f/1.8 is good to have.
Do do not buy the 75-300 telephoto lens. It gets horrible reciews for image quality.
Canon 5d mk 4, Canon 6D, EF 70-200mm L f/2.8 IS mk2; EF 16-35 f/2.8 L mk. III; Sigma 35mm f/1.4 "Art" EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro; EF 85mm f/1.8; EF 1.4x extender mk. 3; EF 24-105 f/4 L; EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS; 3x Phottix Mitros+ speedlites
Why do so many people say "FER-tographer"? Do they take "fertographs"?
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03-03-2016 10:10 PM
Thank you all very much. I was so stuck on which to purchase. Your feedback was truly needed and is appreciated. Have a great night guys!
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03-04-2016 08:42 AM
@jrhoffman75 wrote:I would recommend T5 for your needs. Get 18-135 zoom for general use and 50mm f/1.8 STM for portraits of your clients.
That guy's wise. The low f-number means the lens will work better in low light situations than one with a higher number.
Supplies are can be very limited at the refurbished store. If you plan to buy, don't wait too long.
"Enjoying photography since 1972."
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03-04-2016 10:16 AM
Ty Waddizzle for that tip as I don't know what any of these number/letter codes mean. I did order those items last night along with a lens cap. I'm searching the net on this model and just trying to learn as much about it as I can. I also plan to take a local photog class at our library. I'm scared I might actually like it and change professions lol. But again, thank each of you for your insight and speedy replies. You guys are awesome!
P.S.
If you guys know or could link me to any resources on the net that is good for a beginner photographers that would be awesome.
Have a great day loves!
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03-04-2016 10:38 AM
Canon has a knowledge base and video tutorials.
https://www.usa.canon.com/internet/portal/us/home/support/self-help-center/
Click on the link that's called Canon Digital Learning Center.
http://www.learn.usa.canon.com/galleries/galleries/tutorials/eos101_cll.shtml
That's a good start.
"Enjoying photography since 1972."
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03-04-2016 11:25 AM
In the Canon EOS Rebel line-up, you'll notice some models have the "i" suffix in the model number (e.g. T5i) and some models don't (e.g. T5).
The models with the "i" suffix denote the camera bodies that were at the high end of the Rebel line in the year they were released. The models without the "i" suffix were at the low-end of line in the year they were released.
As such, the "i" suffix models will have more features. The non-"i" models were specifically designed with affordability in mind.
The two exceptions to this are the T6s - which is a bit nicer than the T6i (both were released at the same time and the T6s starts to cross the line into the mid-range camera bodies) and the SL1.
The SL1 was released at the same time as the Canon T5i and it has features of the higher-end Rebel bodies... but it's main purpose was to provide a true APS-C DSLR camera body (same size sensor as every other Canon EOS Rebel body) but have the most compact camera body in the line. It was not designed to be the most affordable like the T5.
As I recall... the T5 doesn't have a microphone port (if you wanted to record video but use an external mic for better audio then you can get with the built-in condensor mic. It's pop-up flash can't be used as a "master" to remote trigger slave flashes (a shoe-mounted trigger would be required.) It also doesn't have the IR sensor on the front of the body so that it can be remotely triggered via a Canon RC-6 remote. It doesn't have "spot" metering (it has "evaluative", "center-weighted", and "partial" but not "spot"). It's continuous burst speed is 3 frames per second.
In contrast... the SL1 has all of those missing things and shoots at 4 frames per second. The SL1 also has Canon's CMOS AF feature which allows faster focusing when using live-view or video (the T5 can focus in live-view or video modes... just not as fast and it doesn't support continuous auto-focus while shooting vidoe.)
But would you miss those features? You're probably not planning to shoot in continuous burst mode for what you want to do so the continuous burst speed doesn't matter. You're unlikely to need "spot" metering. If you're also probably not likely to use the video features.
As far as the sensor goes... both have the same size sensor, same resolution, but the SL1 will let you set one additional stop of ISO sensitivity.
This means the SL1 is technically the "better" camera. If you have large hands, you may not like the body size and find it to be a bit cramped. If you have small hands, you may love the body size.
You may also want to pick up an EF 50mm f/1.8 STM lens (it'll be much better than the kit lens for the type of shots you want and also works much better in low light -- but I wouldn't shoot it at f/1.8 for a hairstyle portfolio as the depth of field will likely be too narrow to get everything in focus. Keeping things up around f/2.8 and for very close shots maybe even f/4. But the kit lens is a variable f/3.5-5.6 and at the long end (the focal length you want to use) it'll be limited to f/5.6. The 50mm f/1.8 STM lens can collect twice as much light at f/4, four times as much light at f/2.8, EIGHT times as much light at f/2, and about 10x more light at f/1.8. So that's quite a difference. The EF 50mm f/1.8 STM is only $110 (the best bargain in the entire lens line-up).
If budget allows, I know photographers that prefer to use macro lenses to shoot makeup, fashion, hair, etc. because macro lenses don't have to be used just for extreme closeups, but macro lenses tend to have the ability to resolve finer detail than a typical lens. That would imply the EF-6 60mm f/2.8 Macro USM (about $450 I think) for the SL1 or T5 body.
I used to own the EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro USM and was always amazed by it's performance. I also own the EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM which costs a little over twice the price -- and was always amazed at how well the detail of the 60mm macro rivaled that of the much more expensive 100mm "L" series macro ("L" series lenses are Canon's top-end glass.)
5D III, 5D IV, 60Da
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