@shantillee wrote:I want to gift my husband a better camera body to replace his Rebel T7. The T7 works well for general pics and stills but not for indoor sports. He wants to get great action shots as our daughter plays indoor collegiate volleyball. I am looking at the 5D Mark IV. Advice would be appreciated!
The 5D4 is an excellent camera, but it is getting long in the tooth. I would recommend the EOS R6 mark II, which can outperform the 5D4 by a wide margin. It costs quite a bit less, even with the addition of the EF-RF mount adapter.
Technically, you would still be able to use any of your existing Canon EF or EF-S lenses. There is a major caveat with using the EF-S mount lenses, though. The camera should automatically switch to “crop mode” when it senses a Canon EF-S lens. This means images will be captured using only the center portion of the image sensor, which will significantly reduce the resolution of the captured images.
They guys were reading my mind. The R62 was going to be my recommendation. Less expensive and more advanced in comparison. Many people do not believe mirrorless is within their reach, but in fact, they are, and can ultimately outperform their former DSLR counterparts, and provide a future proof solution in the long term. His current lenses are the only question that remains unanswered.
This is also attractive:
There are some added bundle discounts as well when you purchase specific camera bodies.
If you purchase a Canon EOS R3 or Canon EOS R5, you can add the Canon RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM for only $499 more. Simply add everything to your cart to see the kit discount.
You can also add the RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM to your purchase of either the Canon EOS R6 Mark II or Canon EOS R6 for only $99. Supplies are limited.
Hi and welcome to the forum:
As several of my colleagues have mentioned, it is challenging for us to give you relevant advice without some idea of budget. We could easily suggest equipment that you simply are not prepared to invest in. Also, you need to consider the optics as much as the body.
Personally, I would prefer to choose my own camera equipment, based on my shooting preferences and knowledge. While specs can be helpful, there is also the tactile feel of handling a camera and lenses to consider. Thus, my first suggestion would be to consider taking him out shopping - explain what you are wanting to do and go have lunch with him, then go to a store with him and let him enjoy, with you, the experience of a surprise camera shopping spree. That takes a lot of the responsibility off you, but lets you enjoy the whole experience with him and it could well give you both a great pleasure of the experience.
Alternatively, if you want to get the gear as a surprise, then you need to consider what gear he has apart from the basic camera body. The complexity of upgrading will be, to a degree, determined by what can be transferred to the new unit, if that is possible. While the camera body itself impacts many aspects of photography, the lenses have a huge impact on the performance in low light and long reach situations, so knowing the EXACT makes and models of the lenses will help us to help you to make a choice.
Basically, the camera he owns is a good, but very basic crop (APS-C) sensor camera - this means that the sensor that records the image is smaller than what is called a Full Frame (FF) sensor, which is the size of a frame of 35mm film. Canon and compatible lens makers made a range of EF and EF-S lenses that will work with this camera. However, EF lenses would be compatible with a FF and the APS-C camera, but if he has EF-S lenses they will work only with the APS-C body.
So, step 1 is to check if the lenses say EF or EF-S on the front of the barrel, and also the numbers thereafter, which are its focal range (e.g. EF-S 18-55) and size of aperture (f:4.5-5.6) - which indicates performance in low light - significant if shooting in low light situations.
If your husband has EF-S lenses that you want to use, and you want to stick with a DSLR camera (same style as he has but newer), then he must stay with an ASP-C body, such as the 90D that my colleague Ernie suggested. If you were to go for the 5D option which is a FF unit, the EF-S lenses simply will not physically attach, so you need to get a whole new suite of lenses too - and that can be a significant cost. Also, DSLRs are living on borrowed time and are being no longer developed.
The alternative is to consider a Mirrorless Interchangeable Lens Camera (MILC), which is the new generation of cameras that Canon is producing. These not only are where future developments will be, but they offer many features that DSLRs simply do not do, or do as well. Some of these can be quite significant to the intended use, such as the ability to focus on and track faces and even eyes. They also have better sensors for low light work and generally better performance as they are mostly much newer technology than the latest DSLRs.
These also come in the same two sensor formats: FF and APS-C. They have a different lens (RF) mount, but the good news is that if the lenses your husband has are of good quality, then it would be practical to use them on an R body via one of the Canon EF-RF adapters and they should work well. However the same principles apply as to compatibility between EF-S lenses and sensor size, but for a different technical reason.
So, if the intention is to keep any existing EF-S lenses and just get a new MILC body, then you should consider an APS-C R-series body, such as the Canon EOS R7, which would be the current best choice in this format for sports, and is the equivalent of the 90D DSLR, and it has eye and face tracking and In-Body-Image-Stabilization (IBIS) that helps to reduce camera shake when taking pictures at distance and/or low light with slower shutter speeds.
If he has EF lenses then, as my colleagues also offered, only those can be used on a FF body, such as the Canon EOS R6 or R6MkII (both are good) that have FF sensors, and his existing EF lenses should work with them.
The third option is to just buy him a whole new kit of body and lenses. For the purpose at hand, I would suggest the R6 or R6MkII for their tracking, low-light performance and IBIS. As regards lenses, then you would be looking at something like the RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM, and the RF 100-400 f:5.6-8 IS STM lenses. If that is too expensive, then consider the RF 24-240 f:4-6.3 IS STM lens.
If this all sounds too complicated (and I don't know your own photography knowledge), then option one might be the safest bet, but perhaps give him a bit of warning to let him mull over these issues to make his own informed decision - sometimes anticipation and planning are half the fun! This takes the responsibility off you for choosing the gear, but lets you enjoy his joy of the process and his pleasure at a surprise shopping experience.
click here to view the gallery
