What should I do?

[jdsfighter]

I'm going to try to explain this as concisely as possible. My mother gave me her Nikon D7000, however, since I shoot exclusively with Canon, I've been looking at selling this camera and buying more equipment.

Here is my general concern. Would I be better off, selling it and buying a 7D/60D, or should I sell it and get new glass. Currently, I'm incredibly limited in my lenses, and within the next few months, I'll be buying multiple new lenses including the 24-70mm and the 70-200mm. My question is whether I should grab a better camera first, or get my lenses first?


Also, as a bit of side information, I've been booked for several weddings within the next couple months, so I figured having a second camera would be handy.

 

[Light Guru]

Do you feel limited by your current camera body at all?

 

[goodguy]

If you are a serious photographer then you gotta upgrade the 6D!!!
I am one of those who say first get a good body then get a good glass and I know more then few will say the opposite.

Just my 2c

 

[o hey tyler]

If your equipment in your profile is accurate (T3i + kit lens) you are kinda boned whichever route you take. If you go full frame, you can't use your kit lens. If you go 60D/7D you're still kinda SOL. You really need both lenses and two bodies if you're going to be shooting. Preferably at least one of the bodies being full frame.

Sounds possibly like you may have bit off more than you can chew if you can't acquire the necessary gear before the gigs. Be prepared to rent if need be. Good luck.

 

[jdsfighter]

Luckily I'm good friends with a local photographer. She often will lend me one of her 5D Mark II's and/or a couple lenses when the needs arise.

The glass I have feels suitable for most things. Granted I only have 1 fast portrait lens.

 

[David444]

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[Derrel]

I'd consider keeping the Nikon and enjoying the almost 2.5 stops better dynamic range that it has over the T3i, and the deeper, richer color, and the better low-light performance. The 7D seems old by now...if you want to stick with Canon, I would WAIT for Canon to figure out how to get a better sensor for the 7D's replacement. The 60D seems like a decent camera to me, especially given the price/performance ratio, whereas the 7D was impressive by say, 2010 standards, but now it seems long in the tooth, and new sensor technology from SONY and Toshiba have eclipsed the 7D for low-light work. If you stay Canon APS-C, I say yes to the 60D, but NO to the 7D.

The problem I see with the 7D is that above base ISO, it loses color richness VERY rapidly; I lighted a commercial product job for a friend of mine, and we started at base ISO, and then as we worked upward only 2/3 stop and then 1 stop, we saw noise creeping in, very visibly, as well as a loss of color richness. I see the same thing on the web in 7D nature images...at ISO values like 400 to 800, the sensor in that camera creates pallid-looking images.

If you go 6D, you're making a possible mistake. You could buy a Nikon D600 refurbished from Adorama for $1599 this week, and have a better camera. The lenses you have right now are NOT ones you want to migrate forward. The 18-55 and the 55-200 and the 50/1.8 EF-II...ugh...the sooner you leave those behind the better off you will be. NONE of those three lenses have any redeeming qualities, and none of them should be allowed to dictate your movement forward. You asked "What should I do?", and my opinion is, "move away from the kit zooms and the 50mm plastic farce-tastic...eliminate those three lenses from ALL of your long-term plans." I do understand the ability to borrow lenses from a local pro--THAT is a benefit of shooting Canon, as long as she stays in town and you're friendly with her.

 

[jdsfighter]

I want to such with Canon. Even if it seems somewhat foolish. I'm not sure why, but I'm just somewhat attached to the brand. As I started before I'll be getting several new lenses relatively shortly, but my main concern was a body or a lens.

 

[David444]

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[jaomul]

From what your saying you are happy with the t3i. If I was sole shooter for a wedding I would want a second camera and while the 5dII is great to have on tap, what happens if your friend needs it the day you do, and you drop your own camera. Bad luck and possibly getting sued. Probably extreme and worst case scenario.

If you wont go nikon you could trade your d7000 and kit lens for a good secondhand t2i (almost the same and as good as what you have), a fast standard lens (something like a Tamron 17-50 f2.8) and maybe a Canon EF100mm macro or similar focal length macro that will cover pictures of rings etc but double as a telephoto portrait lens. Lots here say you need FF for a wedding and certainly there are benefits but I have seen amazing photos from people having done weddings with a 40d and a 20d backup.

 

[stevensondrive]

If you are a serious photographer then you gotta upgrade the 6D!!!
I am one of those who say first get a good body then get a good glass and I know more then few will say the opposite.

Just my 2c

+1

 

[TCampbell]

A 7D is a very slight upgrade from a D7000. A 60D is a very slight downgrade from a D7000. The 7D was mainly optimized for action photography... it has a fast continuous burst rate (8 frames per second) and all 19 AF points are "cross type". The 7D, 60D, and T3i all have essentially the same 18 MP sensor and all use Canon's DIGIC IV processor (the 7D has dual DIGIC IV processors for faster processing of images as it blasts though shots in a hurry.) The firmware is slightly different so they're not identical, but image quality will be fairly close... it's really the features of the body that will differ wildly.

The new generation of sensors is a substantial improvement... Canon has put a lot of work into increasing ISO sensitivity while keeping noise levels low at the same time (and the 6D and 5D III are phenomenal in this regard.) There are prototype 70D (60D replacement) and 7D II (7D replacement) bodies floating around... suggesting that both bodies are about to be replaced fairly soon (fairly soon likely means "sometime within the next year") But whether that's next week or 12 months from now is anybody's guess -- those who know aren't talking... other than to confess that the prototypes are floating around and there are several radically different versions of prototypes. It's not known if Canon has finalized their sensor decisions and are now working to ramp up production ... or if they're still deciding what features to put in the final versions.

As your T3i is working for you and there's no compelling reason to hurry up and upgrade... and there is an advantage to waiting, I'd wait.

If you want to not make a wrong choice... then rather than sell the D7000 to buy a new body, use the money to buy something independent of the body (e.g. a new lens, lighting, etc.)