camera upgrade- t3i or 60d?

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We have a photographer here that had a focusing issue with his 85mm, sent it in to canon and now it is his sharpest lens.
 
Calibrating a single lens or single body is different than sending all your lenses in together and having them calibrated to a single body. When you send a single lens it is set to a specific standard set of parameters. When you send a lens and a body the lenses are calibrated to that body. The calibration will still be with in specs but could be all the way to the plus or minus end of the spectrum. That can cause problems when you switch a lens to another body or upgrade bodies in the future.


Dave
 
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I was going to start a new thread, but maybe build on this one. I was/am looking to get an SLR and had figured the T3i was the way to go, now there is the T4i, as well as the Nikon offerings. It will be one or the other (Canon or Nikon) But I am well out of the loop on this technology. I currently use a Canon powershot, and want better... Can any of you fine folk assist in laying it out to a layman? I have read all kinds of comparisons, and depending on what you read, you get a vote for one or the other. I would like advise form some real people. Thanks in advance!
 
I'll through a wrench into things by suggesting you look at a Pentax K-5. The K-5 II is out now, and the K-5 (a very highly-rated camera) is selling for the low $700s now as the last of the stock is getting sold off.
 
I always thought Pentax to be a lesser name. Am I off on this? Hadn't even considered looking outside the two I mentioned...
 
Had a look at the K5, quite nice, but not finding much "up here" and prices $1000 ish... I was hoping to be $800... I don't have much extra lately...
 
If you are just starting then you don't need anything fancy or expensive. any Canon or Nikon body will do the job.

But you can spend more on the lens to get better pictures.

What kind of pictures you will take ? do you want a prime or zoom lens ?
 
i would take a look at photography on the net (another forum)... you can buy used stuff there really cheaply and get great advise.
 
+1 on photography-on-the.net forums. tons of information and lots of good deals :)
 
If shopping used I'd be sure to put the buy/sell @ FredMiranda.com on your watch list as well.

Dave
 
I have been eye balling the same set of camera's. Big price difs. I was just about to pull the trigger on a 60D at 699 then decided to buy a lens instead. I didn't know if the 60 would be that much of an improvement over my 50D. Although video almost sold me.

I've decided to wait until I can spring for a 50 MK II or III if I'm flush.

BTW, picked up the Canon 17-40mm wide angle/zoom in the L series. Same price as the 60D
 
Salty dog said:
I was just about to pull the trigger on a 60D at 699 then decided to buy a lens instead. I didn't know if the 60 would be that much of an improvement over my 50D. Although video almost sold me.
Click to expand...

Unless you want the flip screen and assuming you want to keep a crop (1.6X) body when you do upgrade you may want to keep an eye on 7D prices as they fall with the introduction of the new models this spring. The 50D is still a very nice body. Are you saving for a 5DMKII (Full frame) or the 50L? FF body would make sense with your lens selection. There's been some killer prices on 5DII packages this fall.

Dave
 
MKII Full Frame.
I do like my 50D and I already have an HD video cam but I like the idea of using the lenses when shooting video.

Maybe some killer after Xmas sales?
 
The 5DII is probably about as low as it's going ($1800 on sale) to get unless it's still in production by spring rebate time. It's a big price upgrade and IMO the 17-40 is a great lens as long as your not shooting indoors but if you want a standard zoom on FF and the best option for video I think the 24-70 f2.8L doesn't change the app when you zoom. That might be something to research. I see a a LOT of guys using the 50 1.4 for video as well which is a lot less $$$.

Dave
 
I'm not looking so much as where to get them, but more to the point, what are the pros and cons. So with Canon, Nikon, and now Pentax, all in the intermediate level (not point and shoot, and not geting into pro stuff) Is tere any real gain or loss between them, which has the better sensors/processors, which do better in low light, better color faster shutter... I'm not all that well versed in the tech side of it all, so dumb it down for me please ;)
 
Just my opinion but I always think it's best to stick with either Nikon or Canon. Lens selection is larger with those two than many other brands. There is aftermarket glass available but it can be hard to find in stock for Pentax, Sony etc and third party glass is reverse engineered. Resale is better and easier for Canon/Nikon. Technical assistance via Googlefu, forums etc is a huge upside by staying with the two majors. DSLR's have progressed to a point where for a casual shooter they are all very good. Hard to make a "bad" choice. As with many things it gets down to personal preference. Right now the general consensus on the photo forums seems to be that Nikon has the edge in noise thanks to their sensor. Canon has a vastly better selection of prime glass.
Nikon has the edge in FF (IMO) and Canon has the edge in 1.6x bodies.
I always think it's best to look at the glass line up for any brand and decide what your perfect set of glass is. That should help narrow down your choice. When you buy glass it should be an investment. Bodies come and go with technology.
Shutter speeds are fast enough to be a non-issue even on the base models.
There is quite a lot of difference between bodies depending on what you consider "pro". Clearly we would set aside the 1DX and D4 but from there you need to decide on FF or crop. That will determine what glass you buy. Most start by setting a budget and for many that means starting with a crop body. I've shot Nikon and Canon but since I've been using Canon for the last few years I'll just focus on the differences in their line. The Rebel series offers some great value. One thing Canon does is put some of their latest greatest goodies on each new Rebel. The down side to the Rebels is that unless you have perfect vision the viewfinder is small. A real pain in the neck if you wear glasses. The XXD series is a BIG step up in viewfinder and features.
From there you may want to narrow it down to a few choices to look at specific differences.
Once you get past that the simple truth in photography today is that the rubber really hits the road in post processing.

Dave
 
@salty i like my 60d better than the 50d's i've tried. Also, i prefer crop to full frame right now. I dont want to deal with the size of the FF cameras (though the new 6d is pretty nice, but there are things on the 60d i wouldnt be able to give up based on a move to a 6d)
 
Salty dog said:
I have been eye balling the same set of camera's. Big price difs. I was just about to pull the trigger on a 60D at 699 then decided to buy a lens instead. I didn't know if the 60 would be that much of an improvement over my 50D. Although video almost sold me.

I've decided to wait until I can spring for a 50 MK II or III if I'm flush.

BTW, picked up the Canon 17-40mm wide angle/zoom in the L series. Same price as the 60D
Click to expand...

Nice pick on the lens Salty. last year i went for 24-70 2.8 L over upgrading my Canon 5D mark I.

It is always better to upgrade lens over bodies.

I suggest you wait for 6D to come out then 5D mark II prices will go even more down.

Once you go FF you can never go back :)
 
Just keep an eagle eye on the 5DII because once the 6D hits the street production will very likely end for the 5DII. It's a real bummer when instant rebates come out and there's zero inventory. The FF bodies are slightly larger but it's pretty nominal when you set them SxS. FF IQ is definately better but crop cameras offer a feature set that's hard to ignore.

60D 5.7 x 4.4 x 2.8 1.71#

5D MKII 6.0 x 4.6 x 3.0 2.1#

Dave
 
PierreRodrigue said:
I'm not looking so much as where to get them, but more to the point, what are the pros and cons. So with Canon, Nikon, and now Pentax, all in the intermediate level (not point and shoot, and not geting into pro stuff) Is tere any real gain or loss between them, which has the better sensors/processors, which do better in low light, better color faster shutter... I'm not all that well versed in the tech side of it all, so dumb it down for me please ;)
Click to expand...

If you will use the auto setting then all of them will be equal. but lens options are more wide with Canon and Nikon.

Picking a used body will get you a better one for the same price.

At Potn forums i can see a Clean looking Canon 50d for 450$+ Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 for 320$

for 770$ you get a killer set :D
 
I agree with Dave. on the size as i have not noticed any difference when upgrading to 5D from 40D.

But it depends on what kind of pictures you will take.

For studio, landscape and other wide pictures the FF will be best.
But for sports, wildlife, etc Crop will be better
 
eaglerock said:
For studio, landscape and other wide pictures the FF will be best.
But for sports, wildlife, etc Crop will be better
Click to expand...

Yup there it is in a nutshell. After that it's a series of compromises as to what's "best" for each shooter. #1 on the 17-50 Tammy for the 50D. I think I'd look for the older version and not the OS but it's hard to find fault with that combo.

Dave
 
The 5DMKII has been discontinued. Any one hoping to score a deal on a new one may want to check inventory now.
 
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