What to upgrade to from a T3i???? HELP

[texkam]

As far as photography my wife has a food blog because she is a chef and tends to take a lot of pictures of her food. At times because of the time we do not get enough natural light in the house so yes the conditions can be low light.

This was shot right on the kitchen counter with flash bounced off the white ceiling using my nifty fifty and the 450D, a lesser camera than yours. If your sporting events are outside consider dropping ~$550 for a used 70-200 f4L. Will work nicely for the food shots as well.

 

[thetrue]

View attachment 29159

I get the flower box, but what's the right side supposed to be?

 

[texkam]

^ Beats me, my wife just told me to shoot it. She enjoys making, posting and eating bento lunches.

 

[texkam]

Not to hijack arin04's thread, but here's another one of her creations.

 

[JohnTrav]

Since you said mainly the camera is used for your wife's food blog to take pictures upgrading your body really isn't what you need.

As far as the difference between the t3i and the 60d. I don't personally have much experience with a t3i. Only took maybe 20 shots with a t3i. If you have nice glass and goo lighting though your pictures will turn out great.

Personally I would look for a used flash. A 430exii would suit your great. Also a soft box will do good with the flash or some other kind of diffuser.

Lens wise I would look at a used 24-105mm f/4 L or a 24-70 f/2.8 L. The 70-200 f/4 is an awesome lens too. But for taking pictures of food I don't think you need that much of a zoom. But it is a great lens and great for portraits if you are in to that kind of photography too.

My honest opinion is to go for the 24-105L. I never used it personally but every review I read in it talked about how sharp it was and it also comes with IS so that's a plus.

Glass is so important and I learned that the hard way. I bought an expensive camera and cheap glass and got crappy photos. Now I spend all my money I do on glass and am happy.

Hopefully this helps you out with your decision making.

 

[arin04]

Thanks John and tex for the info. Helps a bunch. For sure going to invest in a flash and then research the mentioned lenses.

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[ronlane]

JohnTrav makes a good point about the lenses, but honestly, if you choosing between the 24-105 and the 24-70, why not take the 2.8 over the 4. You may not need it for all of your photography but you have it when you do. Same thing with teh 70-200 L, other than the expense, why not go with the 2.8 over the 4. Both of those 2.8 lenses should hold their value very nicely.

 

[JohnTrav]

Having the 2.8 is nice. Gettin the Bokeh could make some really nice photos.

My 70-200 is the f/2.8 model and I'm so glad I got it. Having the extra stop is so nice in lower lighting.

Another lens you can look at is the older model. The 28-70 f/2.8 L lens. It's nice and can produce awesome shots. Can save you some money too. Just a thought.

 

[Canuk]

Another quick thought, that hasn't been mentioned. The T3i, 60D, and 7D all use the exact same sensor. Image quality between the 3 will be very, very similar.

The differences between these camera bodies, is more to do with features, build quality and frame rates.

It has been said already, but better glass will make the biggest improvement in image quality. You can't go wrong with any of the Canon L lenses mentioned, but do not be afraid of 3rd party offerings either.
The new Tamron 24-70f2.8 and 70-200f2.8, both have gotten great reviews. The sigma 70-200f2.8 os is another one thats been good. The older Tamron 70-200f2.8 great image quality, AF is a little slow sometimes.
Just some thoughts

 

[arin04]

Thanks everyone for the awesome advice. I'm gonna play around with my tamron a bit and will see how that goes and update people. Been looking for the flash already so if anyone has someone who is selling a used one let me know. Also going to look at all of the lenses mentioned.

Thanks

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