Equipment upgrade?

[misstwinklytoes]

Well, tax time is coming up (as is Christmas) and I think I'm ready for a camera upgrade. I want to stick with Canon. What is your suggestion on the next camera to buy? Right now I'm pretty much at the bottom of the food chain so anything is an upgrade, but I'd like to get something where I won't feel the need to upgrade for a good while.

I am also going to get OCF. Any suggestions on (very) affordable options for a good set up?

TIA for advice.

 

[memento]

i've been very happy with my 40d and 430ex flash, paired with the 17-55.
the 40/50/60d's & 7d are still crop sensor so you can use your existing lenses.
not too sure how much very affordable is..

if i could do it again i'd get the 580ex ii. i'm dying to play with the second curtain sync option.

Craigs List tends to be more affordable than stores.

 

[Robin Usagani]

Need to put your budget LOL. Not that I have used newer flash but I am happy with my 550EX. They go for $200 on ebay.

 

[misstwinklytoes]

I'm hoping for about <$1000...

 

[misstwinklytoes]

I'm hoping for <1000. I'm trying to pay off the balance on my husband's car with the income tax.

 

[Infidel]

Well, if you can splurge a little, the 60D seems like it would be a nice upgrade...graduated from the Rebel series.

For OCF, the Vivitar 285 gets a lot of votes for bang-for-buck from the strobist types, so long as you don't miss TTL metering.

Vivitar 285HV Flash 233965 B&H Photo Video

 

[KmH]

I would spend the money to upgrade your glass first.

For OCF I would recommend a couple of the $90 (new) Vivitar 285HV's, and eBay radio triggers, like this kit: iSHOOT, PT-04 C Wireless Remote Radio Flash Trigger and 3 receivers.

 

[Geaux]

Glass, Glass, Glass, Glass.

What are you looking to achieve with a new body? Do you really think you've outgrown your camera already? I know you posted a growth thread the other day and you've advanced a lot since day 1, but there are technical issues still there that won't be fixed with a new body.

If I were you, I'd invest in some new lenses and keep learning learning learning.

 

[misstwinklytoes]

Ok. What lenses in that price range do you recommend?

 

[Tulsa]

I disagree, upgrade body, you will wish you got out of Rebel a LONG time ago. Get a 40d or 50d, buy used, and you can get some glass too!!

 

[Geaux]

Truthfully, I don't know Canon Lenses (Nikon Owner), nor do I know what your goal is in your shots.

 

[Robin Usagani]

24-70 f2.8 L used

 

[Bitter Jeweler]

If you are still having focusing issues, you should switch to Nikon.

 

[Overread]

1+ to the glass side of the debate.
If you need some justification have a look here:
Juza Nature Photography

scroll down and see a 350D rebel stand up to a 1Ds MarkIII. The similarity is not only that the photographer using the gear has good skills, but also that fact that there is pro glass attached to the camera body.
I am not saying that good camera bodies are not worth investing in as they most certainly are - what I am saying is that (aside from changing from say crop sensor to fullframe) the difference in quality and what you can do is often greater when adding pro glass than when adding a better body.

Ok. What lenses in that price range do you recommend?

Wrong way to approach this - first you have to sit down and work out what limitations you have with you current setup. Where do you feel you're lacking - in focal range (wider/longer?); features (USM/IS); macro?; aperture? etc...

Maybe you want to move into a certain area of photography and feel that you need a better/ different lens or maybe your current lenses cover your interest areas and its time to upgrade them to the "next level".

Once you've identified your weaker areas you can then start to ask around and research good options to purchase. Doing it the other way you'll just get a long list of "Well I bought and like "XYZ"" which won't have any meaning to you.

 

[misstwinklytoes]

I am not looking for you guys to make my decision, but to simply offer suggestions. If someone says get glass instead, I'd like to know what lenses they'd recommend rather than just "better glass".

I don't really know what outgrowing a camera means. My ISO tolerance REALLY bothers me. I can't even shoot at 400 ISO without bad noise. That's probably my most important reason to want to upgrade my body.

By starting this thread I wasn't really meaning that I'd outgrown my camera, but I've kind of regretted buying my XS for a couple months now and wished I'd bought something... better?

Something else that was mentioned is...

the 40/50/60d's & 7d are still crop sensor so you can use your existing lenses.

Can I not use the same lenses if I move to a full frame? What is the lowest end full frame?

I'm just working on ideas here and getting a head start on whether or not I'll upgrade body or lenses.... I am def getting some kind of flash though.