Help on Upgrade.....

vaister · Feb 23, 2014

Thinking of upgrading my 500d body..
Just started to research it and could use some advice if anyone is willing to add their experiences.
No great reason to upgrade ( although I've always struggled in low light with this Camera) just want to keep up with what's out there at the moment that comes recommended.
Not necessarily tied to Canon, would consider changing, lenses at the moment are a fixed 50mm & 14-70 l.
Most pics are of Family and indoors...

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Nevermore1 · Feb 23, 2014

You forgot one major thing - what's your budget???

vaister · Feb 23, 2014

Fair point.... Maybe £600 - £800...

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Overread · Feb 23, 2014

My view is to first ask what you really want. You could upgrade to the newest rebel camera, but it won't be a huge lightspeed step forward. You could consider a mid-range second hand camera body for your budget - a 50D or 60D. However you could also consider lighting - a speedlite flash would help considerably with those low light indoor shots. Or some additional lenses - maybe get you more than only 50mm in reach or perhaps you want to shoot wider than 17mm.

Whilst you can certainly just get a new camera body; I'd strongly suggest trying to see what you really feel are the weaknesses - the things you can't do or can't do as well as you'd like and then we ecan look at the best thing that fits to help you overcome that.

vaister · Feb 23, 2014

We'll... I'm certainly only a Hobbyist, just love taking pictures..
I think I have a reasonably good eye for composition etc...
Major downfall is my ability to get sharp shots indoors without a good amount of natural light ( I live in England, light can be rare..)

Would a speed light be more beneficial than a new camera with a higher ISO range??

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robbins.photo · Feb 23, 2014

vaister said:
Thinking of upgrading my 500d body..
Just started to research it and could use some advice if anyone is willing to add their experiences.
No great reason to upgrade ( although I've always struggled in low light with this Camera) just want to keep up with what's out there at the moment that comes recommended.
Not necessarily tied to Canon, would consider changing, lenses at the moment are a fixed 50mm & 14-70 l.
Most pics are of Family and indoors...

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Well if you do stick with Canon and what your really after is better lowlight then really your only options are going to be going all the way up to a 70d or some sort of full frame. If you are looking at possibly selling off your Canon gear and low light is a major feature on your list, I'd give some serious thought to looking at Nikon, particularly the D5200. It will give you much better image quality, dynamic range and lowlight performance than you have at the moment.

If you'd prefer to stick with canon then I'd probably recommend you save your money for now and look at upgrading to full frame, it will be more costly but really for a significant step up on lowlight performance from where your at it will be your best option.

Overread · Feb 23, 2014

Few thoughts:

1) Fullframe - larger sensors make it easier to shoot indoors because you get more frame than you would at teh same focal length with the crop sensor you have now. The 50mm you have would appear similar to 35mm on a fullframe camera. For indoor close shooting this is generally a bonus.

2) Larger sensors generally have superior noise performance over smaller sensors (of the same generation of technology).

You could get a 5D M2 second hand on ebay for your budget. It would certainly beat the 500D in terms of noise performance and give you a very good general upgrade. It would likely eat all your budget to get and it would be body only (with battery). Extras like additional batteries or grips might push the price over your upper limit

A speedlite is another option, it gives you the ability to bounce light around the room and to increase the present light. Used well it can be invaluable in any field of photography - it will take some learning to get used to and get the best out of it.

vaister · Feb 23, 2014

Thanks for advice guys........
Think I'm going to buy a flash and
See what improvements it can offer...

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robbins.photo · Feb 23, 2014

vaister said:
Thanks for advice guys........
Think I'm going to buy a flash and
See what improvements it can offer...

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That would probably be the least expensive and most straightforward option.

Dao · Feb 23, 2014

External flash is my recommendation as well. Make sure look for one that allow the flash to Swivel and Tilt so that you can bounce the light off the ceiling, wall or both.