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Upgrade?

Amegrapher
Apprentice
With Black Friday deals being released I see there is a new Canon option available for purchase. I have the original T1i, and I am in the market for a new lense - at the very least. With the release of the T6 I'm wondering if buying a new lense is the way to go, or if I should upgrade my camera altogether.
2 ACCEPTED SOLUTIONS


@Amegrapher wrote:
It is an EOS Rebel T6 - no i
I currently have an 18-55mm lense and a 55-250 lense.

What improvement are you looking for over your existing lenses and camera? 

 

CAMERA - Your current camera has a 15MP sensor.  The T6 has an 18MP sensor, and is not good in low light.  If you shoot video, the T6 lacks an external microphone input.  The T6 is truly a beginner's DSLR.  Aside from a Wi-Fi system that is not as flexible as people expect, the T6 may disappoint you.  It is not much of an upgrade over a T1i, but more of a replacement camera, and your T1i doesn't seem to be broken.

 

LENS - There have been a couple of versions of those lenses.  I assume your current lenses are what came with the camera kit, or were what was available when the camera was new.  Most of today's lenses should offer noticeably better image quality over those lenses.  Are you looking to replace one or the other?  If so, which lens?

 

What is your budget?  You can rarely go wrong buying a quality lens, except for when you're buying one that duplicates a lens that you already own.  Almost no one needs two 50mm f/1.4 prime lenses.  Unless you purchase a camera body that represents a technological advancement over your T1i, which a T6 definitely is not, a lens purchase could be a better investment.

 

The T6 is not sold as a body only kit, but some better Rebel cameras are sold as body only kits.  The T6, like all of the Rebels, comes with "starter lenses", which are not much better than what you already own, if not identical to them.  No, I would not recommend a T6.  Check out the "body only" Rebel camera kits.

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"The right mouse button is your friend."

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TCampbell
Elite
Elite

I used to own a T1i.  It caps at ISO 3200 and even at ISO 1600 it's very noisy.  So a major advantage to upgrading the body is that you'll immediately notice better low-light performance and you'll be able to use higher ISOs (and much less noise than you see now at equivalent ISOs).

 

Unless a camera body is significant (and offers capabilities that you would actually use) then normally lenses will do more for you than the camera body.

 

When I had my T1i, I had both the 18-55 and the 55-250.  The 18-55 was a solid performer, but I was never very happy with the 55-250 opitcs.  

 

Canon has since replaced both lenses with newer versions that use their "STM" focusing motor and updated the optics.  Both are better and sharper than their predecessors.

 

BTW, there's a Canon T6, T6i, and T6s.  All Rebel series bodies are consumer-oriented cameras (as compared to the xxD and xD models which are enthusiast through pro level bodies and usually more technical cameras.)  Anyway, the T6 (with no suffix) is at the entry-level of the range while the models with the "i" or "s" suffix are at the high end of that range.  They have completely different sensors, different ISO performance, lots of different features, etc.  So the T6i isn't just a T6 with a few more bells & whistles... it's a completely different camera with different performance and feature characteristics.    The "i" and "s" models are at the high end of the consumer range with the "s" model starting to sneak in features normally only found in enthusiast grade or above cameras (such as a rear control dial and a top LCD screen.)

 

Tim Campbell
5D III, 5D IV, 60Da

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10 REPLIES 10

Amegrapher,

 

The reasons to upgrade to a newer camera is more that what is readily apparent. Maybe some of these are important to you.  Maybe not.  But the reasons given by one poster is short sighted.

 

Consider....

NFC Simplifies pairing your camera with supported phones
BUILT-IN WI-FI  Share your photos wirelessly
LONGER STILLS BATTERY LIFE
MORE INFO

500 vs 400 SHOTS Capture more photos
SHOOTS 60P VIDEO  A faster framerate can give you more editing options
MORE PIXELS 18.0  MEGAPIXELS Higher resolution photos
NEWER 7 MONTHS. The T1i is 8 YEARS OLD Newer cameras often support more advanced features
SHOOTS 24P VIDEO  Gives your movies a big-screen feel

 

If I were you I owuld opt for the T6i over just getting the T6 as the advantages are even more dramatic.  But the T6 can be a nice upgrade.  If you decide to go this route look for a body only (less than $300 bucks).  Upgrade your lenses later as you are able.

EB
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