KaMLuNg

iTrader: (5)

background: i have a 10+ yr old Rebel XTi with two lenses (a Siggy 10-20 and a Canon 28-135)... it was a great starter body that i was able to learn on and it didn't break the bank (even with my two lens upgrades)... it has allowed me to understand how to take decent photos not just using the AUTO mode... i'm really happy with the camera and wouldn't change a thing but the tech is now outdated and i find myself leaving the camera at home more times than others... on our recent trip to Hawaii i almost didn't take it but am glad my better half convinced me to because it renewed my interest ...

so here is where i stand: obviously over the last 10 yrs, there has been many changes to technology (Camera phones have come a long way and i have found myself not bothering carrying around the SLR due to it's size, weight and capabilities) but with SLR now having wifi and b/t capabilities, and also changes in my life (i have a bit more income than 10 yrs ago so can spend a bit more on some gear and i have two little ones as well i'd like to capture memories of)

i figure it was time to consider an upgrade... and of course do i go FF is always the question... with the release of the 6D and the newer Mark ii version, it puts a FF camera in my price range... however thinking about it, i keep asking myself do i really need FF, as i'm not doing this for a living or even a hardcore hobby.. i don't have time to do post processing or any editing and i'd then need new lenses... so now the price is starting to climb on the FF option... so then i started considering the 80D as an option and hoping to keep things under $1k... seemed to get great reviews and i could use my current lens until later on i could maybe pair in some L glass with it later on... thoughts???

do i even consider the 7Dmark2?

thoiboi

I'm looking to sell my 7D mark I if you're interested!!

I have a Canon 10-22 and Canon 17-55 as my lenses as well.

SamDoe1

Hold on there cowboy. You're going a bit too far off the deep end.

Answer two very important questions before we get into suggestions. What attributes of your current camera body (and lenses) do you want to change and what attributes of that body (and lenses) are preventing you from getting the pictures you envision in your head?

KaMLuNg

iTrader: (5)

yee hawwwww...

well at the moment i feel like i stopped using the the SLR for two reasons... first is convenience... as i mentioned before with two little kiddies, time is a luxury and even after using my camera to take a few shots, the images just sit on the memory card in the camera for months before i download them onto the computer or am able to share them with friends and family... it's easier and faster for me to use my phone to take shots of the kids and then send them out right then and there... i'm thinking with the new wifi or bluetooth features of the newer cameras, it will allow me to pull photos off the slr more easily thus encouraging me to use it more...

the second is image quality... i know i'm not blowing up large images and i know MP is just a number in it by itself... but at the moment, my phone at 12mp f1.8 is 'better' than what my 400d churns out at 10mp... yes i know it's 12 yrs difference and honestly this isn't really a game changer for me... but i like the versatility i get with the slr taking ultra wide shots etc...

maybe i just look into a wifi adapter for the camera instead?

EDIT: i also forgot to mention size would probably be a third item for me... when you are dealing with kids and carrying diaper bags and strollers... i don't want to have to manage something else... replacing a slr for another slr doesn't solve that problem but i wouldn't want to step down to a P&S... perhaps i consider a mirrorless like the sony instead?

nist7

I can see myself in your situation in 3-4 years (just got my lady a refurbed Rebel T6 as a beginner dSLR) and I think I mirror your 3 requirements: improved image quality (but nothing professional or pro-am level to require anything super fancy), portability, and ease of data transfer (wifi, BT).

I think my next camera (upgrading from my Galaxy Note 4) will be a mirror less camera as I was asking in the other beginner dSLR thread.

I used to be all into higher end dSLR and drool over all their features but realized the way I use them I probably will just waste money....a friend tells me the lens is more important (obviously with decent camera body...) and of course the most important is the skill to use the camera.

SamDoe1

Perfect response and, to be honest, this is the response I get from 95% of the people that ask me "What should I get next?"

Ok so here we go. The Rebel XTi is not inherently a bad camera. Learning the settings and such will help you to get better results out of the body itself. Running the camera in one of the scene modes and jpeg only configuration is really handicapping the abilities of the camera. You said that you don't want to take the trouble of taking things off the memory card so I'm guessing that editing photos is off the table as well? To that end, you're going to limit your abilities of any higher end camera from the get go. Your phone uses all kinds of conversion methods and such to make your photos better before you even see them. The higher end cameras don't do any of that for you because they assume you'll DIY it on a computer later. The newer ones may be able to do a better job but you're probably not going to get substantially better results with this path than a high end phone camera (Pixel 2, iPhone X, Galaxy S9, etc) would do. Where it really shines is when you edit images to make them your own but that's a whole different skill to learn too.

Next up is size. The newest Rebel is pretty much the same size as the one you have now and the Nikon is too. I'm a HUGE advocate of Sony cameras because of the size/weight aspect of mirrorless and I love using mine. The results are actually better than the competing Canon and on par with the competing Nikon (because they use Sony sensors) so you don't lose performance with Sony. If you're sticking to the APS-C bodies and lenses, the cost of glass is not out of control either. With that said, and if you want to stick with an interchangable lens model, I'd recommend a A6500 as it includes in body image stabilization and has an excellent video mode.

BUT! With your requirement that you don't GAF about editing and don't want to even bother with taking images off your memory card to begin with, I'd just recommend either upgrading to one of the higher end phones (and their cameras) or getting something like a Sony RX100V. The RX100V is a point and shoot but it's the very best one money can buy today. With your purposes, I don't think you'll gain a substantial benefit with an interchangable lens camera.

Hope this helps!

KaMLuNg

iTrader: (5)

i mentioned Sony because in my research i remembered that perhaps mirrorless was an option for size and Sony got great reviews here and all over the web... if i go with a A6XXX model, i could just get an adapter and use my EF-S lens right? if the lens has IS in it, would i need the body to have IS even with using Canon glass? or does Sony not make glass with IS built into it? i'm trying to see for my limited use if it's even worth getting the A6500 or just get the A6300 without the IS. it's essentially the same sensor inside right?

SamDoe1

Yes you can use your EF-S lens on a Sony with the right adapter. If your EF-S lens is IS, it will only work with the metabones high end adapter which is $400. The others won't include the IS function, I don't think. Also, a lot of it depends on the lens and how new it is on if it works, and works well, with the adapter and the Sony body. Sony does make a lot of glass with IS built in (they call it OSS) and that is used in conjunction with the IS in the body to make it even better. The A6500 just brings the IBIS, a better AF system, and better video capabilities. The biggest sell, IMO, is the IBIS system.

If you're going to update to all Sony glass and don't care about video then I'd say the A6300 is the way to go. If you're going to keep the Canon glass, and I wouldn't (and didn't), then get the A6500 for the IBIS. With the two lenses you posted that you have, I'd just sell the whole system and buy into the equivalent E mount system and just make a clean break. Not worth the effort and expense of the adapter to continue to use those two lenses.

Mizouse

KaMLuNg

iTrader: (5)

thanks for the input... the more and more i talk to people, the more and more i keep leaning towards a mirrorless... this past weekend i again found myself in the same situation... it was Mrs K's birthday. we were going out with the kids and i debated taking the dSLR... this time i opted not to because i couldn't be fussed and i couldn't find the battery charger (but that's a separate issue altogether)...

on Friday i was at best buy and held a A6000 and 6300... they didn't have a 6500 on display... it didn't feel too small in my hands... and i thought the electronic viewfinder was pretty cool making real time updates to the scene based on my manual adjustments... i might make the switch and just sell my canon glass to recoup some of the costs...