Hi All,
I've been looking to upgrade to full-frame, but I'm working on a budget here. I'm starting to work professionally as a photographer, but I'm having trouble 1) labeling myself as a professional when I'm shooting with a prosumer Rebel and 2) the AF limitations of the t4i. I can't always quite get the shot with it.
So, I'm looking to upgrade to either the mkii or mkiii. I've found some secondhand mkii's in the $900-$1000 range with reasonably <20,000 actuations. Would a brand new mkiii be worth $1400 more than the mkii in terms of autofocus and quality? I have enough cash saved up for the mkii, but would it be better to save a few more bucks for the mkiii?
Thoughts?
Thanks in advance!
First, I'm a hobbyist when it comes to photography. I have
ZERO experience trying to convince anyone of anything, least of all they should hire me because I can throw money at equipment.
I
have spent several decades in high end consumer and pro audio and was often asked the question, "What do you own?" My answer was almost always, "I own gear you can't buy today." Which was largely true, I owned gear that pleased me and I wasn't required to please or to educate or to compete with anyone or anything else. I based what I wanted to use on the results I achieved with that gear.
Therefore, I find your question to be a bit odd.
Who are you trying to please?
Yourself?
Your potential employers?
Or, your competitors?
Oh, I get the idea you will be looked upon as a second class person (not just as a photographer but your entire being) if you aren't playing with the "approved" equipment. But that's mostly by the other photographers.
Not being in your position, I would take a wild guess and say no potential employer has ever looked at your portfolio and said, "Ya'know, this kid's good but damn! he could'a got that shot if he only had a better camera. Tell him to come back when he's no longer wet behind the ears and has better gear."
So before you go into debt to buy a camera that may not be that much better than what you already own, stop and consider just what it is you're selling.
Yourself?
Your results?
Or, your equipment bag(s).
I generally defer to TC as he has far more experience and far more knowledge at hand than I do when it comes to photography. He knows stuff I probably will never need to know.
I will, however, provide a quote from a fairly controversial writer who posts this in their review of the budget, baseline Canon Rebel SL1 ...
"Autofocus uses Canon's proven 9-point system. It focuses fast, and is fast and easy to set. I like it as much as the complicated systems that don't do any more on my more expensive Canons.
While more expensive cameras try to fool the innocent with a zillion more AF points, the reality is that the 9 AF areas of the SL1 cover a larger percentage of the image than the zillions of sensors crammed into a smaller area of the more expensive cameras, and the 9 sensors of the SL1 always work, while often people with more exotic cameras get them set into some screwy mode where the camera refuses to take the picture.
Personally, the SL1'as AF is wonderful as far as I'm concerned, for regular pictures. (No DSLR has great AF for video.)";
Canon SL1 Review
As I said, I'm a hobbyist but I would consider just how many more autofocus points you have ever wished were available to you up to now.
Rockwell's been called "the one whose name shall not be mentioned" because, I suppose, he's not impressed by numbers on a piece of paper. And do take note of his qualifier when he says "regular pictures". I assume you do not want to take "regular pictures".
If you need numbers on a piece of paper (or a monitor screen), then's here's a static side by side between your two choices;
Side by Side Comparison: Digital Photography Review
Of course, "static" means you are looking at a product from afar. You don't have it in your hands and you cannot subjectively judge the performance of either component.
I play guitar and I use guitar and music as my base for many decisions regarding cameras and audio gear. It's my own personal little troika where one works with the other two in any situation.
I know I've gone into a shop with cash in hand to buy a certain guitar and after sitting for a few hours over a few days and simply playing the available choices, after playing as many possible choices as I could lay my hands on over the last year, I've walked out of the shop with a few hundred dollars still in my bank account. Doesn't mean I don't come back to play that other guitar every now and again but I do so more to say I made the right choice even though I still admire the one I left behind.
In that vein, I would ask, if you had the opportunity to hear, say, B.B. King a few years back, would you have walked out if he had come on stage carrying a $500 Fender?
Who are you trying to please?
(it's my walk around and 2nd fav) you should try canons 70-200mm F4L non Is(I'm sure the Is has better glass but more expensive) it has some of the best image quality I have ever seen.
