Questions on upgrading

AQHAWP · Jan 7, 2014

I am having a difficult time trying to decide if I should upgrade at this time. I currently have a 50D, I have been looking at upgrading to the 7D but I do not know if that is in my best interest. I could care less about taking videos I just want the camera for shooting pictures. The only lens that I currently have is the 70-200 f/2.8 IS, I mostly shoot at horse shows but more and more people are approaching me for taking senior and newborn photography.

Aakajx · Jan 7, 2014

I would buy the 7d. A lot of photographers have told me it's great with sports so I can imagine it would be good with horses. I wouldn't recommend the 6d for sports or horses.

goodguy · Jan 7, 2014

You got an old camera and I think upgrading to a camera with a better low light performance is a must.
Upgrading to the 7D makes no sense, the 7D has an old, old sensor on it and its low light performance is less then impressive, its basicaly same sensor you have on the T2i and 60D.
I would highly recommend you to get the new 70D

robbins.photo · Jan 7, 2014

AQHAWP said:
I am having a difficult time trying to decide if I should upgrade at this time. I currently have a 50D, I have been looking at upgrading to the 7D but I do not know if that is in my best interest. I could care less about taking videos I just want the camera for shooting pictures. The only lens that I currently have is the 70-200 f/2.8 IS, I mostly shoot at horse shows but more and more people are approaching me for taking senior and newborn photography.

I think it would depend a lot on what it is that your trying to accomplish by upgrading. The 7D does have a better autofocus system and it shoots a little faster but in most other categories it's not really a lot different than your 50d, it has about the same lowlight performance and image quality as the camera you currently have - so if you really feel like your missing shots because of your autofocus system or that an extra 0.7 frames per second in shooting speed might make a huge difference to you then it might be worth looking at, otherwise I probably wouldn't recommend the 7D from where your at currently, it just won't be a huge upgrade.

If your going to be doing more portrait style work you might want to consider adding another lens or two to your line up, maybe a fast prime - and a good external flash unit if you don't already have one - that would probably benefit you a lot more in the long run.

Dao · Jan 7, 2014

When my 40D started to have issue, I bought a 7D. To be honest, I do not found much differences between the 2 personally. The focus system is better, but it does help too much for the photos I took. (not a sports photographer). It has more megapixels than my 40D. It help in some points during POST when I need photo cropping. It is heavier than my 40D (which I do not like). It has a better seal than my 40D which I do not care too much. If my 40D did not give me ERR01 message once in awhile, I think I will be still using it now.

If I am in a market for another cropped body, I think I may go with a lighter weight body with dual wheels. So a 60D or 70D will be my choice. The only difference between the 2 is the cost. I do not know about others, but for me, I strongly believe they make not difference in my photos so I make gear more towards 60D to save some cost.

If you currently only have the 70-200mm lens, I think it make more sense checking out lenses with a different focal lengths. Also don't forget about lights.

JohnTrav · Jan 7, 2014

goodguy said:
You got an old camera and I think upgrading to a camera with a better low light performance is a must. Upgrading to the 7D makes no sense, the 7D has an old, old sensor on it and its low light performance is less then impressive, its basicaly same sensor you have on the T2i and 60D. I would highly recommend you to get the new 70D

I use a 7D and trust me I love it. It suits my needs and it's great for sports. But I also bough it three years ago.

I have to agree with what is said here. The 7D is fantastic and definitely a nice upgrade from a 50D. But unless you are getting a nice deal on one I would save more and get a 70D. It's a modern sensor with better low light and AF than the 7D. The IQ will also be a little better I would think on the 70D.

hirejn · Jan 7, 2014

This article can help you decide what you need. Scroll down to Upgrading.

AQHAWP · Jan 7, 2014

I am not sure if there is something that I can change while I am shooting, when I crop these pictures they are not sharp and not clear. These both are right out of my camera and I am just not happy with them as far as color and not being clear. I am not sure if having a large megapixel will help me out or if this is something that I can fix myself. Thanks to everyone, I really appreciate the advise!!

goodguy · Jan 7, 2014

AQHAWP said:
I am not sure if there is something that I can change while I am shooting, when I crop these pictures they are not sharp and not clear. These both are right out of my camera and I am just not happy with them as far as color and not being clear. I am not sure if having a large megapixel will help me out or if this is something that I can fix myself. Thanks to everyone, I really appreciate the advise!!

View attachment 63888 View attachment 63890

Many times unsharp pictures is more a mistake made by user or lens simply is cheap.
In your case since I don't know much about the lens you are using I really will not comment on it.
Sometimes a camera might be defective and it will be a good idea to send it to get serviced, same with the lenses, sometimes lenses will not work properly.
I had lenses and cameras which no matter what was done to them they didn't work right, even being serviced by manufacture.

Just to let you know when its coming to low light performance and dynamic range (in the crop sensor cameras range) Nikon cameras has advantage over Canon so maybe you are willing to consider that.

robbins.photo · Jan 7, 2014

From the pictures you've posted I'd recommend you try increasing your shutter speed and stopping down the lens a bit, this looks more like a combination of slight motion blur on shot 1 and mostly DOF issues on both shots. If you decrease your aperture it will increase your DOF, upping your shutter speed will eliminate any camera shake and motion blur and you'll get a nice sharp photo.

Gavjenks · Jan 8, 2014

The only lens that I currently have is the 70-200 f/2.8 IS

*Eyebrow Raise* That's a new one... How did you end up with a $2500 lens as your ONLY one?
Kinda like "my first apartment ever was a penthouse loft on the upper west side of Manhattan" or something.

ANYWAY

Your two stated types of photography are sort of at cross-purposes in terms of an upgrade.
For the horse stuff, the 7D makes a lot of sense. It's pretty clearly designed as an action camera, and all of the features you'd gain would be useful for horses.
For the portraiture, though, a 7D is a clumsy choice. A full frame camera would be more ideal, largely for its shallower depth of field that it inherently brings to the table (also better able to deal with various lighting situations without restricting you), and the 6D is in the same price range as the 7D. 6Ds are probably not as good for action, though, since it is slower in FPS and I think it has a worse AF points system, and it makes your lens appear wider (without having the same pixel depth to compensate if you crop later on).

I don't know what to recommend. It depends on where more of your future plans lie.

Also, as mentioned, for portrait work, it would probably be more efficient to upgrade your lens "collection" than a new body, for now. Having something on hand wider than 70, and having some brighter apertures than 2.8. Although the 70-200 2.8 is a great portrait lens for certain types of shots, no doubt, the relative advantage of a couple fast wider primes is greater than a new body there.

AQHAWP · Jan 8, 2014

Thank you very much for the information, I will definitely work on this. These are the types of pictures that I love taking.

AQHAWP · Jan 8, 2014

I bought the lens because I wanted to do equine photography and it has been exactly what I needed. I just purchased a 50mm f/1.8 I really don't do many pictures for other people besides my friends. I've been working on it and hopefully as I learn and get better I'll gain more confidence. What do you think of the 70D vs the 7D?

goodguy · Jan 8, 2014

AQHAWP said:
What do you think of the 70D vs the 7D?

I dont know both cameras too well but overall these 2 cameras are designed to slightly different croud.

The 7D is weather sealed and geared more to rough use and sport shooters while the 70D is not as weather sealed as the 7D and while very good for sport shooting is slightly less effective then the 7D because of a slighly slower FPS rate and smaller buffer.
I think its 7FPS vs 8FPS

The mian advantage of the 70D is its new sensor, its better in low light while the 7D is using a sensor which was designed about 5 years ago which in today's rapid changing technology is a dinosaur.
7D sensor is same sensor you are getting in the T2i, T3i, T4i, T5i and 60D, its ok but definitely showing its age.
So the 70D is not only more modern but is more of an everyday use camera with a strong sports shooting and very good video capabilities while the 7D is as I said more of a rough terrain and short shooting.
The assumption is that Canon is planing to replace the 7D soon.

grafxman · Jan 8, 2014

I upgraded from a 50D to a 7D because it could shoot video. It is excellent at that activity. As I understand it, the 70D provides continuous autofocus with some lenses which makes it great for video. However you stated that you don't engage in that activity. I have successfully used my 7D for taking photos in very low light situations using a Sigma 18-250mm 3.5-6.3 lens. It's more about technique than camera or lens speed. I was photographing the Henry Plant Museum in Tampa when I did this. They do not allow flash photography. They have an inner hallway which is illuminated with Edison lights which are about like candles. Here are a few examples:

IMG_0558 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
IMG_0554 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
IMG_0417 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
IMG_0399 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

These are just a few. There are many others in that set and in other sets. Note that the shutter speed is 1/15 and 1/13 for some of the photos. It's a matter of preparing yourself for a slow shutter speed shot. Here's how I do it. Take a breath, exhale about half way, tuck your elbows in against your ribs and gently depress the shutter. I had to do that with just about every photo I took back in the '60s with a 35mm camera so it still comes naturally to me. These days I always set my camera up to use only the back focus button for focusing. It takes a little getting used to however once something is in focus, it stays in focus unless its moving away or coming towards you. Somes times the camera will suddenly focus on something you're not interested in if you leave the focus control on the shutter button. Hope this helps. Good luck.