Looking to Upgrade from Canon T8i to Mirrorless, Help! (DSLR to Mirrorless)

[vcgaona]

I had previously owned the t3i (since 2010/2011) and currently using the t8i (since 2020) but now looking to upgrade to mirrorless and not sure what would be best.

I am looking towards a full frame mirrorless body, I am currently using a Canon EFS 35mm, f 2.8 MACRO IS STM Lens with my t8i body, and my current type of work is capturing beauty behind the scenes photos and video, I need sharp image/video.I am currently struggling because I hate how my 4K Footage is cropped on top of the enhanced features. When it comes to editing I feel like I lose alot of the details and sharpness of my videos. All the images currently have to go through "denoise feature" on lightroom as well.

My work: https://www.instagram.com/thebeautycine 

I would love to upgrade my body and lens to be able to get both wide and closeup shots, what do you recommend? 

Current Gear

Body: T8i

Lens: Canon EF-S Macro 35mm f/2.8 IS STM, Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 STM and Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM Lens

Lighting: Aputure Amaran AL-F7 On Camera LED Video Light

Flash: Godox V1

Budget for Upgrade to Mirrorless Body & Lens: 4-5K

[rs-eos]

Note that while you can use EF-S lenses on Canon's R-series mirrorless cameras via an EF to RF adapter, when using such lenses on full frame R-series cameras, they'll go in to crop mode.

Can you provide a budget on what you'd be able to spend?  Also, do you have any other lenses with your Rebel T8i?

[deebatman316]

When you use Full Frame lenses on an APS-C R series cameras. You will have a reduction in megapixels. This is due to the lens projecting a smaller image circle. For instance the R5 is 45 megapixels in Full Frame mode. But in 1.6x (APS-C) mode it will only be 17 megapixels. Also what lenses do you currently own. EF & EF-S can be adapted to RF Mount cameras. The opposite is not true. Not all lenses support ALL features on the EOS R series especially older lenses. Only newer lenses support Dual Pixel AF. Older Micro Motor, AFD (Arc-Form Drive), Micro Motor USM & Ring Type USM lenses released prior to 2009 don't support it. ONLY newer Ring Type USM and Nano USM support Dual Pixel AF. STM zoom lenses also support it. What is your budget for a new camera or kit (lens + camera). Here are Canon's current APS-C options R100, R50, R10 & R7. For Full Frame R8, R6 Mark II, R5 & R8. I have listed them from entry level to advanced. What features do you need. The R7, R6 Mark II, R5 & R3 provide IBIS (In Body Image Stabilization). The EOS M is discontinued. 

[shadowsports]

Greetings,

The T8i is a is a nice little camera and very capable DSLR.  Do you have a budget for your new camera and lenses?

Here's the situation when moving from APS-C to full frame.  The image circle of an APS-C lens is smaller and not capable of utilizing the entire size of a full frame sensor.    You can't use APS-C lenses on a full frame DSLR. You can however, adapt APS-C lenses to newer full frame mirrorless body's ( a benefit) 😀.  Full frame mirrorless bodys have a special crop mode (1.6x) which allows you to use lenses with the smaller image circle.   There are some things you need to consider.

Since the image the APS-C lens projects does not utilize the full size of the sensor, the images which are captured are a lower resolution that what the camera's full resolution is.  Here are some examples:

Resolution of body 24MP full frame sensor,  If used with an APS-C lens,  9.3MP images are captured

Resolution of body 45MP full frame sensor,  If used with an APS-C lens, 17.5MP images are captured

This might be fine if you plan to produce lower resolution images for social media and a smart phone.  If you require higher resolution images, then using an APS-C (EF-S or RF-S) lens with a full frame mirrorless body might not be a good option.

For makeup, studio and runway type work, I would use a full frame body.  Better light gathering capability, wider field of view and better depth of field separation between subject and background.  Canon has some great options and this is a great time of year to be buying a camera.  Black Friday and Christmas deals, many of which have already started.  We can make recommendations which can easily mimic your existing camera, but with all of the improvements offered in a modern mirrorless platform.  Better AF, ISO performance, and other conveniences that will showcase your work in its best possible light.  Speaking of lighting, I'd also like to know more about your lighting and flash requirements.  Full frame body's don't have a built in flash like your T8i.   

This will give you some things to think about.  Once you provide answers to the above questions we can make some recommendations. 

I'm also including an image of what the camera sensor "sees" when you use a APS-C lens on a full frame body.

Last piece of info to keep everything separate:

Lens designations:

DSLR:

EF - Lens intended for full frame

EF-S - Lens intended for APS-C

Mirrorless:

RF - Lens intended for full frame

RF-S - Lens intended for APS-C

[deebatman316]

The EOS R7 also does not have a built-in flash like the rest of Canon's APS-C cameras. So flash requirements will follow full frame camera flash requirements. 

[vcgaona]

Hello Ricky,

Thank You for your response! 🙂 

I also have a Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 STM lens but at 50mm I need a wider shot for full body shots when in tight spaces, I was looking into possibly investing in Canon RF 24-70mm f/2.8L IS, do you think this would be ideal?

I would ideally like to invest on one lens for now if I upgrade to a mirrorless body. Overall with body and lens I would like to save under 4-5K.

[deebatman316]

Are you primarily doing video work or stills. With video work you would use a wider lens. Such as 14-35mm F/4 or 15-35mm F/2.8 on Full Frame. Or 10-18mm on APS-C.

[vcgaona]

Greeting Rick! 🙂 

Thank You So Much for your informative response! My current budget would be to stay under 4-5K

What I am currently using for additional Lighting:

Video: Aputure Amaran AL-F7 On Camera LED Video Light Color Temperature 3200-9500K CRI/TLCI 95+ Led Panel Versatile On-Camera LED Light 

Photo (Still Learning How to Use) Godox V1 Canon

Thank You for taking the time to help!

[deebatman316]

The Godox V1 has an incompatibility with EOS R series cameras. In which High Speed Sync and E-TTL don't work. 

[vcgaona]

Hello Demetrius!

Thank You for taking the time to offer feedback and recommendations, my current gear includes:

Body: T8i

Lens: Canon EF-S Macro 35mm f/2.8 IS STM, Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 STM and Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM Lens

Lighting: Aputure Amaran AL-F7 On Camera LED Video Light

Flash: Godox V1

Budget for Upgrade to Mirrorless Body & Lens: 4-5K