Suggestions required for Canon DSLR Camera

[Umar19]

Hi,

Respected Members,

Hope you are fine. I need your suggestions regarding camera. I have a 650 Euro budget. In this range suggest me some models. Also I am beginner to this thing. Thanks

Waiting for your kind suggestions.

Best regards,

Umar

[ebiggs1]

"...here I am 6 (?) years later still with it and I will keep it."

Never stop kido! I am 7 (?) years and still love doing it.  MOF, I learned more about Photoshop after I retired from Hallmark than I did in the 40 years I worked there. At Hallmark we had "folks" that did that for us.  It was amazing to see how much they knew and how fast they were. Pressing the shutter button is only, and maybe not even, half of making  a great picture.

[amatula15]

Ebiggs, that's awesome you worked for Hallmark!

I use paint.net now since I got a new PC. I want to learn layering, etc. Maybe I will get Photoshop or Lightroom -- expensive though with the monthly fees. So maybe paint.net will be sufficient (plus Canon's raw converter).

Enjoy!

Annie

[ebiggs1]

"Maybe I will get Photoshop or Lightroom..."

You can't use LR alone. It is more grared to a database. It will do a lot but it is not a full photo editor.  PS includes Bridge which will do exactly and everything LR will do. I hate the monthly rental of software too but at $9.99 for the Photographer's package which is LR and PS it isn't a bad deal.  Especially if you remember and factor each PS or LR update was $100 to $120 bucks every year or so.

In the end PS is where it at.  There is all the others than there is Photoshop.  BTW, you can start and stop that subscription as you wish. The package, however, is figured on a yearly subscription.   You can still use the software for viewing after you stop paying.

[Tronhard]

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@amatula15 wrote:

Hi Trevor,

Good points!
I publish now on social media but am hoping to expand on that (photo contests, web site perhaps, and the like) so I don't pick a camera based on where I am publishing (since I am constantly thinking improvement and expansion).

However, now I am thinking ahead actually in my own selection, EOS RP vs EOS R (lighrweight). I am a landscape photographer and the dynamic range difference seems to be significant (can get 14 on the R at ISO 800) but not sure if that is important (images I have seen do not seem to indicate that). I know if I am exposing correctly and/or am patient in post-editing (do not like to be there)  then whatever camera I can work through dynamic range issues....

To any newbie I woudl say go to a store, handlle cameras, see how they feel and talk to a store clerk on their needs and goals and budgets.

Cheers, Annie

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So, obviously you are making an effort to say that you are experienced, and that's fine. However, when I asked the question about what you will produce your answer did not address whether you will be producing large, hardcopy images.  That is far more demanding on a camera and lens than producing for digital display.  I will assume from your answer that you are producing purely digital images - which is fine, but it gives you more choice flexibility than you might have considered, something I addressed in a private message to you.  I recommend checking out the Wildlife Photographer of the Year website, arguably one of the most prestigious competitions in the photography calendar, and look at the gear that has been used.  There are some amazing images there taken with relatively humble equipment.

The other thing that you are doing, and needs to be addressed, is focusing on the body rather than the glass - which is a trap you may regret.  Dynamic range and small size in the body is certainly important, but you say you want to shoot wildlife, landscapes and a wide range of other subjects, yet keep the camera small and light enough to carry if you go hiking.  That is where the glass comes in...

If you do not have a large commitment to earlier technology, then the new Canon R-series holds a lot of promise.  However, most of the lenses so far released for that mount are a) heavy and b) very expensive.  Since you gave us no idea of budget - a fundementally important factor - it is hard for anyone to address that.  Lens size and weight are factors we can address.

These days, outside small, pancake units, lenses provide the majority of cost, bulk and weight in a camera system. Futhermore, bodies are replaced with some frequency as the electronics change, but lenses have a much longer life-span, and thus represent a much more signifcant investment.

If you want superior L glass with the maximum range but miminum number of lenses then I see three possibilities:

1) Go for the classic "Holy Trinity" of lenses - in this case the EF-R 15-35, 24-70, 70-200  but that takes you only to 200mm and depending on the wildlife you are shooting that is not likley to be a long enough reach.  Cost for these, according to the Canon website would be: $2,200+ 2,200+ 2,600.  So that lot would set you back $7,000 for the glass alone.  I don't live in the US, so I don't know if tax is added to that.

2) Another combination: (optional 15-35), 24-105, 100-500  That one holds more promise at the long end but the cost, weight and bulk will be massive - so not good if weight is a factor.  Both of these first options will cost ($2,200) $1,100 +2,700, a minimum investment of $3,800 - not including the optional unit.

3) The RF 24-240mm - this lens will still be short on the telephoto end but as a starter it offers a chance for you to be able to carry a single, relatively light unit into the field and represents a much cheaper investment.  This lens is an interesting unit.  It displays massive masking (as if you had the lens hood on wrong) on the corners at 24mm and all sorts of other defects in RAW, but the JPGs are actually very good, and if you put the RAW images into Photoshop or Lightroom and use lens correction the images suddenly come right.  Cost $700.  I suggest checking out some reviews like the one by Justin Abott:

REVIEW  

Lastly, you had a massive and very wide-ranging list of wants for application.  What I would suggest is following this process, tried and trusted, for making purchases by businesses.

• Establish Your Criteria

   • Define benefits you want, rank them in priority - Identify them as critical, want, would be nice

• Research for Products

   • Find products that have features the match your benefits list

• Compare and Filter

   • Compare the features with your benefits list

   • Remove any that don’t match your “must have” criteria

   • Reduce the list to 2-3.

• Evaluate

   • Try out the gear with a hands-on evaluation

• Make your purchase

Frankly, I would suggest renting the gear you will think you want to invest in, it is the best way of getting solid experience without commitment, especially considering the investment you are considering.  I would also consider the EOS R6.  It offers way more capability than the bodies you identified.

[amatula15]

Hey Trevor,

Thank you!

But FYI: I am not the OP -- I added the questions for the OP to consider.

Over the past 5 months or so I have started to find my niche and where I want to go with my photograhy at this time.

And I know where I want to go with lens.

Currently, I have a EF 24 MM F/2.8 IS USM and love it!

I just got an ND filter for it.  So I want to focus on experimenting with that.

Overall I have decided to stay with primes for the weight advantage lower F stop and sometimes, better quality..At/under F 2.8 as I hand hold the camera alot. The RF zoom lens you mention are tempting. I have seen images produced from them on line and they do seem like very good lens. But F 4. + means I'd likely need to carry a tripod more and it is not something that is generally going to happen when I am out hiking.

With the R series (I decided RP is fine but I can check the R6 - thank you!) I am going to go wtth the RF 35 mm IS F 2.0

If Canon's nifty 50 were image stablized, I'd go with that. 

I think shooting prime has made me a much more creative photographer and added elements of fun to my photograhy, so I think I like staying with prime....but the tradeoff is I may miss some good wildlife images....  But then I realized what I love the most is landscape so I am focusing on that now.

But I have to admit that my search for new gear improved me as a photographer! I learned so much. I then started applying what I was learning from reading online, watching youtubes, and posting on forums.  

So, in an irony of sorts I started really loving the camera I was hoping to upgrade from (Canon SL1). 

But I have to admit online reviews and reading spec sheets threw me off and even for a moment had me thinking the RP was not right for me due to dynamic range issues. Sometimes I get too focused on the specs and reviews, but my heart tells me - as you say - if I have the right lens, as well as a camera that I can handle well (I can handle both the R and RP very well, loved them both!) then I can produce the images I want. And enjoy the craft.

So, short of it: I am really grateful for posting to forums -- I really have learned so much.
Thank you!

PS: I try to stay budget ranges (under $500/lens, under $1,400 body). I do not think I need the most expensive bodies and if I ever get good, I don't want others to think they need expensive bodies to produce good images. I like "humble equipment!" -- I will check for your PM! 🙂 Thank you!

[littleorme]

I've recently bought my first Canon camera; a 70D -very pleased too.

I also have a couple of lenses from my old Olympus e20, which I would like to use again - if it is feasible.

Despite looking everywhere I've not found any adapters to fit the lenses which have a 62mm thread, to my camera's mount.

Any advice would be very welcome.

Thanks.

[ebiggs1]

"Any advice would be very welcome."

Welcome, maybe not because it isn't a good idea.  If it is possible it will yield just so-so results. Even very poor results. Sorry.

20 year old camera lenses did not have to have the resolution that your 70D requires to get the best top notch results. That is because they only had 4 or 5 MP to supply info to.

I would not be surprised that someone does make an adapter but I don't know who or where it might be.  Save your money and buy current DSLR lenses for your 70D.

[littleorme]

Thanks for your response and advice. I just wondered if there was any mileage left in those lenses.

I accept what you are saying. I'm in my ninth decade but still have a lot to learn - if only I can keep up with developments! 

Cheers.