Wanting to make a big jump: Canon G7 to Canon D60/T3i/D7

Majeed Badizadegan · Jul 14, 2011

I'll be straight forward and honest with my situation so I can get the best possible recommendations from all of you folks with a lot more experience than myself:

I'm new to this forum but google referred me to a lot of useful threads on this site, and it sounds like a community I want to be part of.
I have no DSLR experience.
I have a very nice computer with adobe CS5 up and running. I am just learning and touching the tip of the iceberg with CS5 and the world of PP.
I may in the future begin to shoot events for friends for free to gain experience and to see if it is something I enjoy, and eventually look to sell prints or do some side work at wedding/events for a fee.
I want to take my passion for photography to the next level.
I personally don't think you can put a price on the quality of pictures you take of your children as they grow up, and having two young ones myself I'm willing to spend around $1,500 for lense and body at this point.

I am highly comfortable with my current Canon G7 and get a lot of good photos with it. However, I feel that I have outgrown the G7. I want to upgrade to a better body and start shooting with lense for the first time. The two cameras I have been eyeing are the 60D and T3i. I've spent probably close to 6 hours reading about both of these cameras, watching video, reading user comments, etc. and my leaning at this point is to the 60D based on the general consensus and feel I've got from most threads. It seems that the t3i is better for video. I am very interested in shooting high quality video, but I don't want to sacrifice photo quality for video. Will the 60D suffice for video mainly of family events and such? I've also looked at the D7 but it may be out of my price range.

I don't know if I fully understand how STEEP the learning curve will be for me to learn everything all at once. Learning how to use CS5, lenses, and the advanced features that these DSLR's offer. But, I'm up to the challenge and love this type of thing.

So, given my current situation and what I am looking to do, what recommendations do you all have? I will gladly accept advice about anything that I have mentioned in this post.

Specifically your thoughts on the 60D vs. T3i, Lenses I should consider given my budget, general advice for transitioning to DSLR, anything you can think of.

Thanks in advance!

Compaq · Jul 14, 2011

Camera specs aren't all. Ergonomics play a little role also, It would suck to invest in something that when each time you pick it up, feels wrong in the hand.. or too small.. or too large. The 60D is a bigger body, which I personally think is a +. It has the possibility of shooting at 1/8000th of a second, one stop faster than the 600D. It has a brighter viewfinder, and the 60D shoots at 5.3 frames per second in continuous burst mode, which is notably quicker than the 600D at 3.7 fps. I have 6.5 fps, and I often find I miss those crucial moments when shooting high speed things, so that's a huge plus to me.

If you're considering the 600D, could also consider the 550D, which is actually extremely similar.

Don't spend so much on a body that you have little left in lenses. Lenses are what give you better image quality. Lenses give you different perspectives. Lenses are your light gathering devices, do picking decent ones is important - more important than your body. For the price difference in 60D and 600D, you'd get a Canon 50mm f/1.8 II, which is an extremely cheap lens, but takes sharp images. It's made of plastic, and would probably shatter if you dropped it, but it's a nice lens nonetheless. It's the one I'm learning with.

Majeed Badizadegan · Jul 14, 2011

Compaq said:
Camera specs aren't all. Ergonomics play a little role also, It would suck to invest in something that when each time you pick it up, feels wrong in the hand.. or too small.. or too large. The 60D is a bigger body, which I personally think is a +. It has the possibility of shooting at 1/8000th of a second, one stop faster than the 600D. It has a brighter viewfinder, and the 60D shoots at 5.3 frames per second in continuous burst mode, which is notably quicker than the 600D at 3.7 fps. I have 6.5 fps, and I often find I miss those crucial moments when shooting high speed things, so that's a huge plus to me.

If you're considering the 600D, could also consider the 550D, which is actually extremely similar.

Don't spend so much on a body that you have little left in lenses. Lenses are what give you better image quality. Lenses give you different perspectives. Lenses are your light gathering devices, do picking decent ones is important - more important than your body. For the price difference in 60D and 600D, you'd get a Canon 50mm f/1.8 II, which is an extremely cheap lens, but takes sharp images. It's made of plastic, and would probably shatter if you dropped it, but it's a nice lens nonetheless. It's the one I'm learning with.

I think this is incredibly good advice and I've heard a lot of people saying invest in the lense, not the body. But right now I don't have the body, so I want to get a good one that will last me for years and that I can really get the full use of nice lenses out of, ya know?

Majeed Badizadegan · Jul 14, 2011

By the way, I'm excited about the frames per second in the 60D as well. I really feel that I will use that functionality. It's a lot clunkier with the point and shoot I have right now, probably because I let it render the review of the image instead of just continuously snapping shots.

Compaq · Jul 14, 2011

If photography is a hobby that manifests with you, chances are you'll upgrade your body in the future.

What's your budget? If you want concrete tips, we need your budget

Majeed Badizadegan · Jul 14, 2011

Well I said in the OP that I'm willing to spend about $1,500 for lense and body at this point, not a huge amount. Gotta dip my toe in the water before I take the huge plunge.

Compaq · Jul 14, 2011

I'd probably go with the 60D body only and get the Canon 50mm f/1.4 USM separate. That'll be around $1300. You then have some

left for accessories, such as two memory cards, lens hood etc etc. I don't know how much experience you have, but I've found that learning with a prime lens is great. Many people suggest it, and I'm doing it. Very good way of learning. It may be harder, but it's worth it! Sooner than later you'll discover a need for a tripod. I'm purchasing a manfrotto tripod and ball head in a few weeks. Can't wait, it opens up so many opportunities!

Hope I've made some sense to you

ulrichsd · Jul 14, 2011

Welcome to the forum! If you post what kind of photography you are most interested in, it will help with suggestions. Sports, portraits, family snapshots, landscapes, wildlife, etc. 50mm prime will be good for kids shots, but IMO too tight indoors (on a digital crop sensor) for kids running around though.

I'm a hobbyist and not a wedding photographer, but I think most wedding photogs carry at least 2 bodies, one for midrange prime or mid-zoom and a second for a fast telephoto.

Majeed Badizadegan · Jul 14, 2011

ulrichsd said:
Welcome to the forum! If you post what kind of photography you are most interested in, it will help with suggestions. Sports, portraits, family snapshots, landscapes, wildlife, etc. 50mm prime will be good for kids shots, but IMO too tight indoors (on a digital crop sensor) for kids running around though.

I'm a hobbyist and not a wedding photographer, but I think most wedding photogs carry at least 2 bodies, one for midrange prime or mid-zoom and a second for a fast telephoto.

This is awesome advice, thx.

And to answer your question, All of the above except maybe wildlife

And kids running around.. !

Compaq · Jul 14, 2011

The 50mm indoor is too too tight, agreed. 35mm, perhaps 24mm is the way to go there. You could get the kit lens as well, a nice learning tool indeed! Not as fast, in fact, considerably slower, but it goes from 18mm, decent wide angle, to 55mm, slightly tele on crop sensor cameras (normal on full frame).