Advice on purchasing a new APS-C body

[killswitch]

I currently own a Canon 60D, and a Rebel XT (aka 350D). I have the following lenses

1) Canon EF 50mm f1.8 II
2) Canon EF-S 15-85mm f3.5-5.6
3) Tokina 11-16 f2.8

I share these gears with my wife, and most of the time we go on a photowalk together. I am not a pro, but a hobbyist and slowly finding myself devoting more and more time in photography these days. I was thinking of buying the Canon 7D for me, but I was wondering if I should wait till the announcement of new cropped sensor bodies (if there is any). So far rumors indicate only FF bodies I am in no hurry to buy one but was wondering if buying the 7D now would be a wise decision. Any suggestion would be greatly appreciated!

 

[AG]

Re: Advice on investing on a new APS-C body

I would say hold off for now.

You don't want to invest in a 7D and then next month they announce a 7D2 (ok not likely but still....).

On the other hand is there really a point in changing from a 60D to a 7D? They are basically the same internally. A few minor differences but other than those not really enough to justify the extra costs.

 

[unfocused]

Re: Advice on investing on a new APS-C body

I own the 7D and love it, but I have to ask: why do you want a new body?

You won't see any difference in image quality as they both use the same sensor. So, the reasons to upgrade would be because you want or need some of the other features (improved autofocus, faster frame rate, weathersealing, etc.) Study the specs and see if you need those features.

You really don't need to worry about a new version being released anytime soon. I just don't see a new 7D in the works until sometime next year (I'm predicting around the time of the Photokina show in the fall).

Personally, I'd recommend you consider a new lens (you can never have too many). I have the exact same lenses that you have and you made very good choices with them. What you are missing is a telephoto zoom. You might want to consider one of the many 70-300 mm zooms out there. At the lower end, I'd strongly recommend the Tamron 70-300 mm stabilized zoom. It's sharp and well-built and less expensive than the Canon 70-300 mm IS zoom (and reportedly beats out the Canon on sharpness as well).

If you want to spend a lot, there is always the new "L" 70-300, but personally I think it's a bit overpriced. If you want to go cheap, but sharp, the 55-250mm Canon IS EF-S is an excellent value. (it rivals the 50mm f1.8 as the best bargain lens Canon makes) You could consider a 70-200 f4 "L" IS which is frequently available from Canon's online refurbished store if you are in the U.S.

Alternatively, consider the 100 mm Macro IS f2.8 "L." It's very sharp and can serve as a short telephoto in addition to being a macro.

Just some thoughts. If you decide to buy the 7D you won't regret it, but since you are sharing three lenses between the two of you, I'd recommend more glass.

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

Re: Advice on investing on a new APS-C body

Investing is not the proper word for buying a camera body. They go down in value rapidly.

Trade in a old broken 35mm film slr using the Canon CLP and get a nice refurb 7D for about $1368 dollars. I did, and the camera is perfect. The camera will likely hold at close to this value for a couple of years depending on how you treat it and how much use it gets.

 

[killswitch]

Re: Advice on investing on a new APS-C body

The reason for another body is that my wife will use the 60D and I will use the 7D or whatever it is i end up getting in the end for myself. Like I mentioned in the original post, we both do photography so hence the new body. The 350D, although a nice camera...i really hate its lcd display. You can barely review the photos properly. And at ISO100 it ends up wid grainy photos in mildly dark scene as opposed to the 60D. I guess once you get ur fingers on a nice new hardware, its hard to go bak to the rusty old one. The 350D, it fell from the hand and landed on the ground few months ago, and it stopped working...had it fixed but after that it's AF point's light emitter died.

@unfocused - ya, I have my eyes on the 70-200 f2.8L. You meant this one right? Sigh, its so nice but friggin expensive. I was thinking of the 55-250 and the 70-300, havent done a thorough research as to which one has better sharpness. If any of you can post a pic or two or share your personal opinion regarding these lenses, that would be great. Ya, 100mm 2.8L is a keeper too. But I guess I could really use a tele zoom at the moment. Hey about your 7D, how well does it perform under lowlight?

 

[killswitch]

Re: Advice on investing on a new APS-C body

Investing is not the proper word for buying a camera body. They go down in value rapidly.

Trade in a old broken 35mm film slr using the Canon CLP and get a nice refurb 7D for about $1368 dollars. I did, and the camera is perfect. The camera will likely hold at close to this value for a couple of years depending on how you treat it and how much use it gets.

I am unaware of Canon CLP? Could you please elaborate? Canon store had the 7D on promo for 1200 (nearly 1300 with sales tax and delivery), but I managed to be late on that offer. What things should I be aware of when buying refurbished product? Did you buy yours from the Canon Store directly?

 

[elflord]

Re: Advice on investing on a new APS-C body

I am unaware of Canon CLP? Could you please elaborate? Canon store had the 7D on promo for 1200 (nearly 1300 with sales tax and delivery), but I managed to be late on that offer. What things should I be aware of when buying refurbished product? Did you buy yours from the Canon Store directly?

They have the 7D refurb right now. I would recommend checking the shutter count (which is a bit tricky with Canon bodies). I've bought a lens and a body (5D mark II) refurbished. The body had just under 1000 clicks.

The refurb gear prices on the canon store are very competitive -- on high demand items they are cheaper than "street prices" on used goods, so they sell out very quickly. I haven't seen better prices from other respectable vendors, so I'd recommend sticking with canon's website for refurbished gear.

 

[AG]

If you wanted to get new lenses and also upgrade your wires camera (which is technically what you are going to be doing). Maybe just upgrade her to a 600D w/ twin lens kit (18-55 and 55-250).

that way you get the 55-250 you wanted, you can have an 18-55 each and she can have a shiny new 600D.

Just another idea.

 

[DJL329]

The current 5D and 1Ds bodies are about 3 and 4 years old, respectively, so they are the most likely ones to get updated in the next year. The 7D is "only" 2 years old, so if you're dead set on that body, I wouldn't bother waiting.

I also agree with AG: if you both like the 60D, then getting a 2nd one is another good option. Remember, good photography is less about the hardware and more about what you do with it!

 

[UncleFester]

Re: Advice on investing on a new APS-C body

The reason for another body is that my wife will use the 60D and I will use the 7D or whatever it is i end up getting in the end for myself.

It sounds like you want the 7D. Get it. It's a great camera even at full price. But consider getting a good external flash as well.

 

[Canon 14-24]

2nd the 60d or maybe even a used one off craigslist/ebay even cheaper to save a hundred or so.

In my personal opinion, I am not impressed with the 7d's AF. Since for a lot of indoor events I shoot are in low light, I've found myself relying more on the 5d2's older 9 point AF to get the shots. However I would assume to fully utilize the most out of the 7d's af is if you plan to shoot bright or midday shots maybe action of birds in flight or sports then possibly there may be a benefit to getting the 7d, otherwise I really see no big benefit for the body over the other crop models. Also the 60d's 5.3fps is more than effective for sequence shots and filling up your hard drive/memory disks! Additionally the 7d will require compact flash cards so there is also that compatibility issue, better to just keep the sdhc card's the same on both your camera bodies (also camera batteries too when charging in wall sockets on trips together!).

I would also recommend getting a macro lenses (100 2.8 macro) if you do photowalks in natural environments. That 60d's articulating lcd makes it soooo convenient in macro work in angleing for those low angle macro shots!

 

[swiss]

It is really a mess with all this different accessories and spare parts. I would also suggest to by an identical second camera with lens (you need at lest a second kit lens, because both of you would like to use the same lens at the same time). The 60D is quite a nice camera and it is not very long on the market. Save the money and spend (here we can say invest) it into good glass.

 

[koolman]

I currently own a Canon 60D, and a Rebel XT (aka 350D). I have the following lenses

1) Canon EF 50mm f1.8 II
2) Canon EF-S 15-85mm f3.5-5.6
3) Tokina 11-16 f2.8

I share these gears with my wife, and most of the time we go on a photowalk together. I am not a pro, but a hobbyist and slowly finding myself devoting more and more time in photography these days. I was thinking of buying the Canon 7D for me, but I was wondering if I should wait till the announcement of new cropped sensor bodies (if there is any). So far rumors indicate only FF bodies I am in no hurry to buy one but was wondering if buying the 7D now would be a wise decision. Any suggestion would be greatly appreciated!

Your lens selection is very nice - and the 60d is a superb body for your needs. The issue I understand is a second body for your wife - who is "stuck" with the older 350d while hubby has the new flashy 60d.
I personally would not "solve" this problem by purchasing a 7d now for $1,600. Get your wife a 600d - nice sized camera for a woman - and your good. The 600d is the same basic specs of the 7d for 1k cheaper.

 

[killswitch]

Whoa, thank you guys for all the insights. Loved some of the ideas thrown here in this thread. I did have the 600D in mind as well. As someone mentioned, It is really tempting to go for a 2nd 60D. I love the articulate lcd found in both of these cameras, as I have trouble bending over due to backaches the screen really helps take some low angle shots without breaking anything lol. The 60D feels great in the hand, the grip is perfect at least for me. I will try to get hold of a 600D and give it a whirl.

Yeah, I am in need of a telephoto zoom lens. I often find myself in need of it from time to time to capture candid shots. The Canon's 70-200 f2.8L series is sooo darn nice but overkill for me and lets not even go near the question about the price. I know there is one without the IS feature, but was wondering how much difference it would make without it. I am guessing a lot since the lens is pretty heavy. 'unfocused' mentioned in the thread about the 70-300 from Tamron and Canon. I have no idea about the Tamron's 70-300. I will definitely take a look into it. Anyone use pixelpeeper.com? Oh yes, really appreciate all the inputs.

 

[elflord]

Yeah, I am in need of a telephoto zoom lens. I often find myself in need of it from time to time to capture candid shots. The Canon's 70-200 f2.8L series is sooo darn nice but overkill for me and lets not even go near the question about the price. I know there is one without the IS feature, but was wondering how much difference it would make without it. I am guessing a lot since the lens is pretty heavy. 'unfocused' mentioned in the thread about the 70-300 from Tamron and Canon. I have no idea about the Tamron's 70-300. I will definitely take a look into it. Anyone use pixelpeeper.com? Oh yes, really appreciate all the inputs.

What about a tele prime like the 135mm f/2 ? Alternatively, if you're considering slower zooms (70-300), why not also consider the 70-200mm f/4 IS ?

 

[AJ]

From a logical perspective I agree with AG. Get the 600D plus 18-55 plus 55-250.
This'll net you the LCD screen, image quality, etc.

The 7D is all about fast AF and fast burst speed. Doesn't seem that this is your first priority.

From a diplomatic perspective, consider a second 60D. Then both of you will have the same camera and one isn't better than the other...

 

[afira]

From a woman's perspective, I find the 600D slightly better and more comfortable to use than the 60D. It also has the articulated screen and it is around 150 grams lighters or so. Just a thought.

 

[mrjimmy]

You have a good camera in the 60D sure the 7D is a bit better but, If you going to get deeper in to this you shoud gofo L glass like a 17 to 40 or 70 to 200 a good 28,50,85 and so on. I am not sure about buying EF-S glass, if you go someday for a FF camera they will have to be sold. I would say for now the 60D will do anything you will ask of it and more. Good photos are made by taking good shots, not alway by buying a somewhat better camera. Save your money. Get L glass and then a FF camera like a 5D mk3. yes it will show up someday.

 

[killswitch]

You have a good camera in the 60D sure the 7D is a bit better but, If you going to get deeper in to this you shoud gofo L glass like a 17 to 40 or 70 to 200 a good 28,50,85 and so on. I am not sure about buying EF-S glass, if you go someday for a FF camera they will have to be sold. I would say for now the 60D will do anything you will ask of it and more. Good photos are made by taking good shots, not alway by buying a somewhat better camera. Save your money. Get L glass and then a FF camera like a 5D mk3. yes it will show up someday.

Thanks, in the original post I mentioned why I need a 2nd body.

From a woman's perspective, I find the 600D slightly better and more comfortable to use than the 60D. It also has the articulated screen and it is around 150 grams lighters or so. Just a thought.

Thanks afira, yes it does make more sense to get the 600D given all the criteria.

 

[Aaron78]

I own a 7D and love it, i also own a 70-200 2.8L IS II, a 1.4X EF III, a 100 2.8L IS, a 580EX II, and an 18-135 kit lens. I won't give you a recommendation on a second body, but i will say that from my personal experience i have found that good quality lenses made my experience MUCH more enjoyable than anything i could have spent money on. I also made all of my lens purchases with growth in mind, meaning that if i do decide to go full frame in the future, i have all EF lenses to allow me to do so without the worry of having to sell off EF-S lenses. I know that everyone's budgets and goals are different, but this seemed to be the most logical route for me. Bottom line is that i would recommend a slightly cheaper body in favor of better lenses. L series lenses are an addiction, and if you shoot with a monopod or tripod at all, you can get away with the non-IS models and save alot of money and lens weight at the same time...