Upgrading my Rebel T7 to a mirrorless R7? R8? R6 Mk II?.. HELP!

[m_chur]

As the title states, I am upgrading my camera body. Currently own a Rebel T7 with these lenses 

• EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS II
• EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III
• Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L USM
• Tamron SP 24-70mm F/2.8 USD 82 DI VC SILENT DRIVE CANON EF

I plan to keep these lenses and use them on a mirrorless body with an adapter. I am no pro, but I really want good-quality pictures. Mainly shooting baseball, softball, cheer, and basketball, with the potential to shoot football. (Jr. Pro, middle school, and eventually high school sports.) I also want to do portraits, but I will shoot more sports than portraits. Games I shoot are typically played at night or in harsh gym lighting. 

I am looking at the R7, R8, and even the EOS R6 Mark II. The R6 is a bit out of budget currently, so I am hoping to either find one used or refurbished if that's the route I need to go. What are your thoughts?

[deebatman316]

What features are you looking for exactly. The lenses you listed can work with an adapter. But don’t expect these older lenses to work with 100% compatibility. Since you have older lenses a lot of the highly advanced AF system features are not available. Such as high fps shooting. Also some of the lenses you mentioned use already very slow AF motors. Which doesn’t make them ideal for sports. Then some lenses are not good optically. Or when used on Full Frame camera such as the EOS R8. The camera will automatically be put into crop mode reducing megapixels significantly. For instance the EOS R8 has 24.2 megapixels in Full Frame mode. But in APS-C mode it can only produce 9.6 megapixel images. Which is lower than your current EOS Rebel T7. The lenses you have can work but the camera is limited by the older lens’ hardware. Trying to adapt a lens from 1995 will have limitations when being used on a newer camera. The technology wasn’t there to begin with so the camera has to limit its useable features. Also some of your lenses lack stabilization which is very helpful in low light. Especially when shooting sports with a telephoto lens. Also note 3rd Party lens compatibility on the 3rd Party manufacturer. Canon cannot ensure compatibility with a 3rd Party manufacturer’s product. So 3rd Party compatibility can be hit or miss.

[m_chur]

I guess I don't know what I need, and that's why I am lost on what to do. I assumed the kit lenses are not ideal for sports. Since I am just getting started (and just taking pictures of my kids), I bought the 70-200mm and 24-70 on eBay hoping it would be what I needed since both lenses were decent deals. Sounds like I messed up all the way around on that one.

[shadowsports]

Greetings,

In addition to the type of photography you do, we need to have a budget $$$ in order to make meaningful recommendations.  The R6mKII would offer the most features and value for the type of photography you want to do.  

@deebatman317 has already pointed out possible compatibility and performance issues using older glass with a newer body.  In many cases, lenses can be adapted successfully, but you may find that some (depending on age or brand) will perform differently or better than others.  

If you're wanting to save a little money, consider Canon refurbished.  Refurbished products come with the same 1-year warranty as new but at a significantly lower cost.  

[deebatman316]

I have pinged my colleague @wq9nsc he’s a sports photographer. The EF-S 18-55mm F/3.5-5.6 IS II lens is an old lens and uses an old slow AF motor that dates back to 1992. This AF motor has been retired by Canon. That particular version includes Image Stabilization (IS) to counteract camera shake. Now that lens is designed for APS-C cameras. It can work on a Full Frame EOS R series camera. But the camera will switch to APS-C mode reducing megapixels greatly. Now the EF 75-300mm F/4-5.6 III lens is an old film era lens not know for its optical quality. In fact all versions of that lens were poor optically. They all lack Image Stabilization and use slow AF motors. Now the EF 70-200mm F/2.8L USM lens was released in 1995. The first version of the lens didn’t include Image Stabilization. IS would be featured in newer stabilized versions in later years. Now this lens uses a Ring Type USM AF motor which is know for fast AF. But since it’s an older generation of the technology. It doesn’t support newer features found in the EOS R series. Such as slow focus transitions or smooth aperture changes. Instead you’ll notice jumps for each aperture setting. Also this lens is NOT capable of high fps shooting. This is due to the lens’ aperture motor not being fast enough to stop down for 12+ fps that Mirrorless cameras are capable of. When this lens was released no camera at the time could shoot at that rate of speed. Now the Tamron is an older 3rd Party lens that may have compatibility issues with newer cameras. That lens was released in 2012 and it can be hit or miss with compatibility. Some older Tamron lenses have problems on newer cameras. Who knows what the compatibility status of a given 3rd Party lens without testing it. 

[m_chur]

I typically do buy refurbished! I would like to keep my spending around $1500. I do have wiggle room, but if I can accomplish what I want with something in that price point, I would like to. I know R6mkII is quite a bit higher than that, but am willing to spend it if I have to. This may be a dumb question, but would a "better" DSLR be a better option with my current set up? I am extremely new to all of this and feel so lost!

[deebatman316]

DSLRs are at the end of life and have been discontinued. Future support for DSLRs is becoming less. Not to mention EF lenses have been discontinued and support is running out. DSLRs are a dead end system. You’ll run into the same limitations with your current lenses on a newer higher end DSLR. Also EF-S lenses are INCOMPATIBLE with Full Frame DSLRs such as the EOS 6D Mark II. So to use all your lenses an APS-C DSLR such as an EOS Rebel, EOS 7D series or EOS 90D.

[March411]

I would have to agree with a lot of what Rick and Demetrius have said in an attempt to assist you finding a new body.  

Unless you purchase an R7 which is $1500 the EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS II is kind of a loss. Lucky the majority of the lenses you have will work with the new R series Full Frame bodies. Just be aware that EF lenses will not allow you to use the R body to it's full potential. Shooting sports will will not be able to achieve the higher burst rates. If you can stretch you budget around $400 the R6 Mk II ($1900) is a real nice body and would be a monumental upgrade to where you are today. Just know that if you purchase either of these two today both have a new release expected out shortly. I own the R6 MkII and don't plan to upgrade, it does everything I need and produces excellent images.

Both bodies I mentioned have IBIS (in body image stabilization) although I believe on the R7 in-body IS operation has to be selected when using a non-IS lens, the choices are always on or only for shot. This will help some with the older lenses that lack IS while you put away a little money to upgrade your lens stable. EF lenses work well but if you want to ensure compatibility make sure that you only use the Canon EF/RF adapter. I tried to do it on the cheap with the adapter when I converted to mirror-less and wasted money. Their performance was slow and inconsistent.

[LeeP]

I adore my R100 and the 28mm pancake lens. It's a very capable, go-anywhere, tiny, almost-pocketable camera that is so inexpensive that you don't worry excessively about it. It's simple on the surface but packed with capability for a ridiculously low price.

I also adore my R8. Very affordable for a full-frame camera and it's never missed a step.

I'm not a believer in buying expensive cameras or expensive lenses as a sign that I am "a photographer". Throughout my entire time as a photographer, I've preferred using basic cameras well rather than believing that the camera makes the photographer.

Would I turn my nose up at an R1 is someone gave one to me? Of course not, but the R1 isn't my "jam" as photographer.

The right camera is the crossroads of what you're willing to spend and an honest assessment of where you're "at" as a photographer.

[LeeP]

Indeed. It pained me to get rid of my DSLR Canons despite being old and well-used. I've slowly replaced some of my EF lenses with RF as well.