cancel
Showing results for 
Show  only  | Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

What's a good older Canon dslr?

Dragoncamera7
Enthusiast

I'm interested in birding, landscape photography and nature shots animals. What is a good older Canon dslr to get? I have used a T1i and 450D and like both. How does the 40D and 20D compare to the 450D? And is it possible to find cheap 1D mark II or 5D mark I? Can these older high models stack up against the newer mid series models?

 

Thanks,

 

Ben

119 REPLIES 119


@jrhoffman75 wrote:

It's helpful to periodically review the original posting. 

 

"I'm interested in birding, landscape photography and nature shots animals. What is a good older Canon dslr to get?"

 

But, with a limited budget, I'm not sure that the suggested choices will offer a noticeable upgrade. I would save my money and wait until I had enough for a true upgrade. 


I couldn't agree more.  I've pointed that out at least twice already.  Save up for a real upgrade.   I hope the OP hears you.

Buying a used $200 camera only makes sense to me if you're looking to replace an old camera that has died.  As long as your old camera is working properlly, it doesn't make sense to buy another outdated camera.  

 

If you must buy something now, as a gift or something, then consider a lens upgrade.  Take a look at what is available in the Canon Refurbished Store, which seems to only sell gear that is in like new condition, AND it will have a full one year warranty.

--------------------------------------------------------
"The right mouse button is your friend."


@jrhoffman75 wrote:

It's helpful to periodically review the original posting. 

 

"I'm interested in birding, landscape photography and nature shots animals. What is a good older Canon dslr to get?"

 

Landscape photography is only one of three indicated needs. 

 

Different folks have have different visions of birding and wildlife photography. A Rebel or xxD body with nine focus points and 3 or 4 frames per second is going to struggle for birds in flight or action photography. Setting up on a tripod and waiting for birds to arrive at a feeder or hummingbird feeder demands much less of a camera. There's nothing wrong with that and I have gotten some great images that way. 

 

I've also been to Kenya, the Galapagos, Sanibel Island and the Everglades with friends. I was able to get more keepers with my 1D Mark IV than the others that didn't have one.  More focus points, faster AF speed, better AI Servo capability and more frames per second. None of which would matter if I was just shooting landscapes. 

 

But, with a limited budget, I'm not sure that the suggested choices will offer a noticeable upgrade. I would save my money and wait until I had enough for a true upgrade. 


 

The 40D is an upgrade,  It is no slouch in the frames per second department at 6.5 fps. 

 

GolfPic demonstrates this on in his PBase gallery and shows what the 40D is capable of in the wildlife photo department. With the exception of the 'Some recent shots' folder where he's upgraded to the 7D Mk II, all of the other shots were taken with either the 300D or the 40D.

I'm travelling and don't have access to the photos my wife took with her 40D or I'd post some of those.

 

While the 1D Mk IV was a great camera in it's day, even it has been eclipsed as a wildlife camera b the 7D Mk II which has a better AF system, nearly matches it's fps, as good or better high ISO performance and has the added advantage of additional reach due to its APS-C crop. There is nothing magical about a 1 series camera, when it is first released they are the pinnacle of Canon's line, yet as they age lower end cameras start to outperform them. The 1D Mk IV is now almost 8 years old and 2 generations of 1D cameras succeed it.  And yes, I've used a 1D Mk IV on a number of occasions and I'm familial with it's capabilities.

 

After getting the 40D the OP should focus on upgrading his lenses, that will give him much greater improvements than moving to an older 1 series camera. 

Sorry TTmartin, but i beg to differ when it comes to the ISO performance of the 7D Mark II.  

 

I shoot regularly with a 6D, with which the 7D Mark II cannot compare to in low light.  While you may not like th 6D, is a great camera for general photography.  The full frame sensor produces some incredibly detailed images, even in low light.  I can go to ISO 25,600, or whatever the exact number is, and still get acceptable looking shots.  

 

The shot just below is ISO 10,000.  I was using Auto ISO, f/2.8, and shutter speeds of around 1/320.

EOS 6D2017_05_068836.jpg

 

Compared to a 1D Mark IV, the 7D Mark II produces noisier looking images, which is due in large part to the size of the pixels on the image sensor.  Their frame rates are comparable, but the 7D Mark II is much quieter.  The 1D Mark IV has enough battery life to take 1000 shots with ease.

Even the newly released 80D beats out the 7D Mark II when it comes to low noise, low light performance.  The only thing the 7D Mark II has going for it is the sophisticated AF system.  The 1D Mark IV has nearly the same system.  The biggest difference is that the 7D Mark II gives you a menu of preset settings called "Cases".

Does the 7D Mark II have a better image sensor than a 1D Mark IV?  I guess it depends upon what you're looking for.  The 7D Mark II is a great pro-sumer camera.  Many professionals use it, too.  But, despite it's age, the a used 1D Mark IV can typically command a higher price than a similarly used 7D Mark II for a host of very good reasons.

--------------------------------------------------------
"The right mouse button is your friend."


@Waddizzle wrote:

 

Compared to a 1D Mark IV, the 7D Mark II produces noisier looking images, which is due in large part to the size of the pixels on the image sensor.  Their frame rates are comparable, but the 7D Mark II is much quieter.  The 1D Mark IV has enough battery life to take 1000 shots with ease.

Even the newly released 80D beats out the 7D Mark II when it comes to low noise, low light performance.  The only thing the 7D Mark II has going for it is the sophisticated AF system.  The 1D Mark IV has nearly the same system.  The biggest difference is that the 7D Mark II gives you a menu of preset settings called "Cases".

Does the 7D Mark II have a better image sensor than a 1D Mark IV?  I guess it depends upon what you're looking for.  The 7D Mark II is a great pro-sumer camera.  Many professionals use it, too.  But, despite it's age, the a used 1D Mark IV can typically command a higher price than a similarly used 7D Mark II for a host of very good reasons.


Sorry, properly processed the 80D does not beat the 7D Mk II. And properly processed photos from the classic 7D nearly match the 1D Mk IV. I've shot with the 1D Mk IV and side by side with my classic 7D and the 1D Mk IV, and they were less than a stop apart in high ISO performance. The 7D Mk II is head and shoulders above the classic 7D (over full stop), and no doubt as good or better than the 1D Mk IV.

 

As for the 6D comparison, what exactly does that have to do with anything I've posted? Except that the 6D beats both the 1D Mk IV and 7D Mk II in high ISO performance. I never claimed otherwise. 


@TTMartin wrote:

@Waddizzle wrote:

Sorry, properly processed the 80D does not beat the 7D Mk II. And properly processed photos from the classic 7D nearly match the 1D Mk IV. I've shot with the 1D Mk IV and side by side with my classic 7D and the 1D Mk IV, and they were less than a stop apart in high ISO performance. The 7D Mk II is head and shoulders above the classic 7D (over full stop), and no doubt as good or better than the 1D Mk IV.

As for the 6D comparison, what exactly does that have to do with anything I've posted? Except that the 6D beats both the 1D Mk IV and 7D Mk II in high ISO performance. I never claimed otherwise. 


According to your favorite web site, the 80D produces lower noise photos than a 7D Mark II.  

 

I made no mention of the 7D.  If I did it was in error or another spell check thing.  The 7D Mark II is fantastic at ISO 100, but it does run out of gas fairly quickly compared to a 6D and the 1D Mark IV in the noise department.

What does the 6D have to do with it.  I thought you said you regretted ever buying one, because you had bought into the hype and were disappointed.  Not, unless that was a different thread, so I'll apologize now.

--------------------------------------------------------
"The right mouse button is your friend."


@Waddizzle wrote:

According to your favorite web site, the 80D produces lower noise photos than a 7D Mark II.  

 

I made no mention of the 7D.  If I did it was in error or another spell check thing.  The 7D Mark II is fantastic at ISO 100, but it does run out of gas fairly quickly compared to a 6D and the 1D Mark IV in the noise department.

What does the 6D have to do with it.  I thought you said you regretted ever buying one, because you had bought into the hype and were disappointed.  Not, unless that was a different thread, so I'll apologize now.


That's not my favorite website. And yes, Canon preprocessed the 80D RAW files, just like the other manufactures have done for years, so it scores better on the test. Do that same processing to the 7D Mk II files and the results are the same.

 

No I mentioned the classic 7D because, when I was shooting sports for pay a coworker had the 1D Mk IV and I had the 7D. When I was considering buying a 1D Mk IV he loaned me the 1D Mk IV to test it out. Both of us also often shot the same event with our respective camera. So my comparison with the 1D Mk IV was with the classic 7D and there isn't enough of a difference between those to cameras for me to justify upgrading from the classic 7D to the 1D Mk IV. There is a much greater difference between the classic 7D and the 7D Mk II than there was between the classic 7D and the 1D Mk IV. Ergo, the 7D Mk II matches or exceeds the 1D Mk IV at high ISO performance. 

 

Yes, the I regret buying the 6D, and that was in this thread. The times I need its increase in high ISO performance over the 7D Mk II are virtually nonexistent. 

 

920853_10156335116610693_2044056959877710657_o.jpg

Canon G1X

 

12471855_10156335429620693_7281399999153385818_o.jpg

Canon G1X

The 7D Mark II is an excellent camera. It was the next body Canon released after the 1D Mark IV and there are a myriad of YouTube videos evaluating "should I switch". 

 

For every proponent of the Mark II there is a proponent of the Mark IV because the feature of one that the other doesn't have appeals to certain users. 

 

 

John Hoffman
Conway, NH

1D X Mark III, Many lenses, Pixma PRO-100, Pixma TR8620a, LR Classic


@jrhoffman75 wrote:

The 7D Mark II is an excellent camera. It was the next body Canon released after the 1D Mark IV and there are a myriad of YouTube videos evaluating "should I switch". 

 

For every proponent of the Mark II there is a proponent of the Mark IV because the feature of one that the other doesn't have appeals to certain users. 

 

 


My shot of the guitar player was in your average bar with your average house lighting, not a stage performance with professional lighting.  If you want action photos, the 7D mark II is the ticket.  I'll take the 1D Mark IV for use as a work horse.

--------------------------------------------------------
"The right mouse button is your friend."

At this point I will be monitoring ebay for a good 40D body, and maybe the battery grip with batteries and charger of course.

Ben


@Dragoncamera7 wrote:

At this point I will be monitoring ebay for a good 40D body, and maybe the battery grip with batteries and charger of course.

Ben


My wife found her 40D in the used gear section on Fred Miranda. (just Google it)

 

The FM interface is a little weird until you sign up and log in you can only search B&H for gear. Once you've logged in to FM you can search the Buy and Sell forum itself. 

 

Right now they have a decent looking 40D for $150.

 

edit: they have a couple classic 7D's with battery grips for around $500, and one without a grip for $400,

Announcements