Which T should I get?

[Davy123]

Hello, I started out with the canon rebel 35mm years ago. Great camera, couldn't take a bad picture with it. Still keep it in my bag ready to go.  I moved up to the digital rebel T1i years ago.  Also great camera.  Lens that I use are 18-55, 55-250, an 75-300 mm.  I shoot indoors, (make shift home studio), outdoors, plants and wildlife, also sports (two kids) probable grandchildren in a couple of years.

I am 47 years old and I want to upgrade one more time.  Probable be the last camera I buy. SO, What do you'll recommend.  The T2i, T3i, T4i, T5i, ?????

Thanks, DAVY

[Skirball]

What are your complaint(s) and shortcommings with your current setup?  Personally I wouldn't recommend upgrading to another "T model".  The difference in image quality isn't much, so unless one of them has a feature you want I think it's a waste of money.  You'd be better off putting that money towards a new lens.

[Davy123]

I really don't have any complaints.  I haven't researched all the new features on all the new models, so really don't know what I'm missing, if anything.  I just thought there might be something on the newer models that would say. "Man I have to have that feature to take good photos"  OR  Maybe a "Fix all" user error button. LOL.

OK, so that brings up two more questions.

Question one

Hypothetically, if I dropped my T1i and it broke into a thousand pieces, what camera would I get? T2i 3i 4i 5i?

Question two

If I spent that money on a lens, what lens would I get? Micro, Wide angle, or something above the 300.

Thanks DAVY

[Skirball]

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@Davy123 wrote:

I just thought there might be something on the newer models that would say. "Man I have to have that feature to take good photos"  OR  Maybe a "Fix all" user error button. LOL.

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There absolutely isn't.  Upgrading to a whole new platform, say 7D or a full frame, sure, they can make a big difference.  But there's very little difference in the next generations of the Rebel.  They release every year regardless of having something new.  Also, as someone who shot with a 450D for many years and did just fine with it, I'm confident the T1 is a very capable camera.  Don't upgrade because you think it will magically make your photography better.

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Davy123 wrote:Hypothetically, if I dropped my T1i and it broke into a thousand pieces, what camera would I get? T2i 3i 4i 5i?

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A T3 or T4, depending on my needs.  There is no difference between T4 and T5, other than an embossed button.  But you have to find the T4 refurbished, Canon discontinued it (to push sales of T5).

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@Davy123 wrote:

If I spent that money on a lens, what lens would I get? Micro, Wide angle, or something above the 300.

Thanks DAVY

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That depends entirely on what you want to do with it.  If you want to shoot macro, I'd recommend a macro lens.  If you want to shoot something far away, I'd go above 300mm.  That's half the point of SLRs, the ability to customize your lens to your need.

[Davy123]

Thanks for the info. I really appreciate it.  Really,  you probable saved me hundreds of dollars, that kind of information, to me, is invaluable.  I figured it might be a money thing with canon, coming out with a new camera every year.

If I do have to replace my T1i, according to your info, I will take a good look at the T3i.

I'm sure some of the features are pretty cool, but I'm not about the (pretties and frillies) I'm about taking good pictures. I'm a little old fashion like my dad, He never would buy a car with power windows.  He would say, "unless you have two broke arms you can still roll down you window, if you had two broke arms you would not be driving anyway." LOL

thanks again

DAVY

[ebiggs1]

I agree with Skirball, again?

But with where you are at, I think a Canon 7D would be a logical choice. It is a more professional level camera. Quite a move from the Rebel series. You may be ready to step into this level of body.

"Lens that I use are 18-55, 55-250, an 75-300 mm", are not stellar performers  and there are many that will do much better. So, it may be better to put your money into some “pro” level lenses. Maybe a 70-200mm f4 “L” or even a 70-200mm f2.8 L. That would be very cool.

[TCampbell]

As a former T1i owner, I can tell you that the T2i was a big jump.  The resolution improved slightly, but mostly the ISO performance improved.  But with the T3i, T4i, and T5i the difference in sensor performance has been negligible.  One would probably not actually "notice" the difference without doing careful scientific analysis.

The biggest differences between the T2i, T3i, T4i, and T5i are all body features -- not differences in image.  The T4i introduced a focus system which looks just like the focus system on your T1i... except that on your T1i only the center AF point is a "cross type" point (performs phase-detect focus in two axes simultaneously) and the remaining 8 points are single axis only.  But on the T4i (and T5i) _all_ 9 AF points are cross-type points.  These are more accurate and are difficult to trick into missing the focus.  Also the LCD screen on the back of the T4i and T5i is a touch-screen.

So if you "broke" your T1i and needed to repace it, I'd just get a T5i.

But the key here is that you haven't broken your T1i.  You're looking to upgrade.  And apart from the ISO performance boost, you wont notice much else.

The 7D is getting old in the tooth and due for replacement.  Rumors speculate but the latest rumors suspect it's probably still a year away (those who actually "know" aren't talking.)

The 70D, on the other hand, is quite a jump.  It has all the ISO performance of the rest of the cameras, it's a mid-level body (the Rebel series are entry-level bodies), and it's only 1 single frame per second slower than the 7D when shooting in continuous burst mode (for sports).  But it does have this new dual-pixel AF on the sensor which allows the camera to perofmr on-sensor auto-focus continuously while shooting video and it's much more accurate than the contrast detection auto-focus systems of previous generations.  For video... it's a huge step up.

As a mid-level body, it gets a degree of weather-sealing (not weather-proof and you should definitely not submerge it in water) and it has two control dials (rebel bodies only have one).  The second dial (as with all "pro" bodies) is on the back positioned nicely for use by your thumb while the front dial is near the shutter positioned nice for your shutter-finger.  This allows you to adjust both shutter and aperture silmultaneously when shooting manual and when shooting in any of the semi-auto modes (Av, Tv, or P) the second dial serves as an exposure compensation dial.

It also has a top-LCD screen which several extra buttons along the display for instant access to commonly used functions that a Rebel body normally requires longer to set.

The biggest dramatic difference, however, is the 6D (and up... such as the 5D III and 1D X but those are extremely expensive bodies).  The 6D has a massive boost in ISO performance.  You can shoot, for example, at ISO 6400 and not really worry about it.  On a Rebel body I try to keep it ISO 800 or lower and begrudingly move up to ISO 1600... but pretty much refuse to go any higher.)  Sure you'll have some noise at ISO 6400... but it's actually fairly low.

Both the 6D and 70D are WiFi equipped (and the 6D is also GPS equipped) and can be remotely controlled (Canon offers a free smart-phone app).

[Davy123]

I'm sorry I gave you the wrong info on one of my lens. I have the 70-300mm F4-5.6 IS.  I know it's not a professional lens but it is better then the 75-300.

 ebiggs1--  I think a Canon 7D would be a logical choice

Thanks I will take a look at the 7d

ebiggs1--"Lens that I use are 18-55, 55-250, an 75-300 mm", are not stellar performers  

Up until recently I didn't realize how big a difference a lens makes. I guess I could rent some of those lens you mentioned and see what kind of difference your talking about.  I don't even tell people I have a canon 35-80.  It is a peace of crap even though it says canon on it.

thank again

DAVY

[Davy123]

Thanks Tim for spending the time, for all that info.

Ya'll have gave me a lot of great choices and direction I can go.

On a lighter note.

As most of you have already detected, I must admit...

I am a guy.

I am married.

I am trying to talk her into letting me spend more money on my hobby.

Thanks for the info, I can now baffle her with all this knowledge in hopes of convincing her that I know what I am talking about.

The way I see it, I can either,

1 Stick with my T1i and up grade to the L series lenses. Now that I know that lens quality will boast my performance.  And see how long the T1i last before I go to a better body.

2 Up grade to the T3i $499.00 or T5i $749.00 and see where that gets me with the sub-par lens I have. Let her use the T1i as my side kick. (good selling point)

3 Dive into the 70d $1,199.00 or 6d $1,620.00 or 5d lll $1,800.00  but will be a while before I can get a good lens for it.  But I can still use the, good selling point card.

Thanks again

DAVY

[Davy123]

Thanks Tim for spending the time, for all that info.

Ya'll have gave me a lot of great choices and direction I can go.

On a lighter note.

As most of you have already detected, I must admit...

I am a guy.

I am married.

I am trying to talk her into letting me spend more money on my hobby.

Thanks for the info, I can now baffle her with all this knowledge in hopes of convincing her that I know what I am talking about.

The way I see it, I can either,

1 Stick with my T1i and up grade to the L series lenses. Now that I know that lens quality will boast my performance.  And see how long the T1i last before I go to a better body.

2 Up grade to the T3i $499.00 or T5i $749.00 and see where that gets me with the sub-par lens I have. Let her use the T1i as my side kick. (good selling point)

3 Dive into the 70d $1,199.00 or 6d $1,620.00 or 5d lll $1,800.00  but will be a while before I can get a good lens for it.  But I can still use the, good selling point card.

Thanks again

DAVY