Upgrade from 7D Advice

Lensmeister · Jan 6, 2023

Hi all,

I have had my loyal and trusted 7D since about 2010. I trust it and I love it. But all goo things come to an end one way or another.
I've noticed it's now sluggish when it's in standby mode to turn back on. A couple of shutter button taps is required. Images not as sharp as they used to be. Generally it's getting tired. and getting too heavy for me.
The old girl has served me well but I think she need to retire.

I have been looking around for a new model.

Criteria:
BURGET: £800-£1100 (inc. other other bits)
FPS: 7D is 8 so this or faster.
ISO: Low as possible (Canon only seem to do 100)
ISO: High and adjustable.
Shutter: 1/8000 same as the 7D
Needs to be able to use all EF & EF-S lenses.
Video (not that I use it much): mp4
Age: Younger the better
Weight: Lightweight. My 7D + Battery Grip + Lenses getting too much to carry now at my age
Screen: Needs o be able to flip out and up and down as age starting to catch up with me and laying on the ground I can do ... getting up another matter!
Works with LP-E6 batteries as I have a few.

In the Running as far as I can see:
80D
90D
850D
750D
EOS R

Lenses I already have:
Canon 50mm f/1.8
Sigma 17-70mm F2.8-4 DC Macro OS HSM C
Canon EF-S 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 IS STM
Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS II USM
+ old Sigma 35-135mm from my film days.

Type Of Photography:
Mostly I do general stuff whilst walking about.
I do like Wildlife especially birds.
Sports as in football often under low light floodlights
Fast moving vehicles such as trains and cars (again sometime it becomes low light)
Old buildings both inside and out.
Landscape (I am no Ansell Adams)

Future Proofing:
Sometime in the future I may well get a Sigma 150-600 type lens so it'd have to work with the new body.

Advice please one and all.

Many thanks in advance,

f64_or_bust · Mar 24, 2023

Surprised you haven't gotten any response to this.

With your lenses, you'll be looking at a cropped sensor body, APS-C. You've already listed a few.

So, two general suggestions then: If you have a good rental house in your area, one one that will do mail-order, rent a body for a weekend. Pick out one you're considering and give it a try for a couple of days. It's an inexpensive test drive. I've done this with cameras and lenses, and really saved myself from buying the wrong thing several times. And found a few new favorites that I went off and bought too. Rental companies do have sales on their used gear, but I haven't found them to be great deals. We have lensrentals.com in the US, not sure what's in the UK.

Second, look at the used market. Any good camera body will keep a shutter activation count, giving you an idea of how used it actually is. There are fantastic deals to be had on lightly used, perhaps out of production but excellent gear. Like the 7d II for example. You might have to compromise on something, like an older style battery, but its probably be best way to upgrade your camera without downgrading your bank account. The pro-level bodies have a lot of life in them, but are often cycled out in favor of the newest gear, so deals abound. When shopping used cameras, look for wear marks on the raised surfaces, scratches on the screens, and of course, shutter count. If an owner kept the box, he's probably been a bit obsessive with the camera too.

I'll just throw in this perspective. I have a 7DII, nice lens kit, extension tubes, 580 II flash, all the trimmings. Had it since 2015. In 2019 I got a Sony RX 10 IV, a "bridge" camera. The lens isn't even removable, but it covers a very wide range. I got it because I can't lug my bag of Canon goodies around anymore. Just too heavy. I can put the RX10 in a belt-mounted back, and it's everything I need for day of casual shooting with zero weight on my shoulders. The lens is 24- 600mm equiv., so I've stood next to Canon 5D shooters with 300mm lenses and gotten the better shot. Birders say it's the fastest auto-focus system ever. The 4K video is superb. Anyway, I still have my 7DII with all the stuff but it barely gets out of the bag. My go-to is the Sony. It's a bit over your budget, unless you sell off some gear, and you will give up some low light performance. But 90% of every type of shot is covered.

Just a perspective you might not have thought of.

edit: Oh yeah, I rented one first to try. Sold me.

pietdupreez · Mar 28, 2023

I agree with what f64_or_bust is saying

To add to it, I have an 80D with similar lenses, including the Sigma 150-600. Works well for me, including BIF. 90D has more megapixels if that is a consideration for you. I believe the 80/90D control layout is closer to what you are used to (compared to the xxxD cameras)