Help: Amateur upgrade from a t2i to....

[whitedjp]

Hi all,

This is my first post on a forum ever haha. I am a hobbyist photographer in university who until recently has been shooting as a volunteer for the school newspaper. I have been thinking about a serious upgrade for my t2i for 2 years now (i have been shooting for 3 years) and have been saving accordingly. I currently own the 18-55 EFS, the canon 24-105L and a sigma 50mm 1.4. I have been trying to shoot 8-10 hours of sports a week in order to practice and mentally justify an upgrade. Generally I have been using the school's equipment (canon 7d and 70-200 marki) but have experience using the 5d3, d800e, nikon d4, and the canon 1dx for our championship events.

What sparked my decision to upgrade is the fact that i have been offered numerous opportunities to become a paid photographer for our newspaper and shoot paid events for clubs on the side. I also have hopes to travel after completing my degree, in which i hope to be able to photograph the trip using the gear that i acquire in my last years at university. Because of this, I believe that i can't keep using the school's equipment and i should get my own.

Therefore i need my camera to have quick autofocus for fast moving subjects and a high frame rate for capturing the action. I also regularly shoot portraits for friends but not for money. I am fortunate enough to say that money isn't as big of an issue, i am looking to spend around 5000$ and with the opportunity to get a paid position, i can say that the money earned there will mostly be also funnelled into camera gear as well. Even if i wasnt shooting for money, I would still be out shooting sports just as much

As a young aspiring amateur photographer, I am looking for advice/comments about how to spend my savings (on either lens/camera) and which camera would be appropriate for my needs. I have done much research on my own but i am very interested to hear from other hobbyists/pros about their take on their gear.

Thanks so much,

Jon

 

[Valvebounce]

Hi Jon.
Sorry cant help with the decision, you have tried all the gear, I have not, but I do own a 7D which I like the feel of in hand, has good AF and high frame rate.
Really only responded to say Hi, welcome to the forum.

Cheers Graham.

 

[tntwit]

I'll have to second the sentiment.

You are in the best position to answer your own question, but I certainly understand your desire to get other input.

I haven't used had the opportunity to use short of the 18-55 and similar T3i.

I suspect you have a pretty good idea of what you want to do.

From what I do know, I would suspect a good, logical path would be the 5D3 and the 70-200 2.8 Mark II IS with the 1.4 converter. Depending on the deals you could get that would put you around the 5K mark.

I don't believe the D800 is any slouch (though I don't know how it compares to the 5D3 for sports) from anything I've heard, but you already have canon glass, so that would seem to be the more logical path.

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

Plan on spending 5X the price of your body on lenses, so if you get a $1000 body, another $5000 for lenses just to start.
Personally, I think that pretty much any DSLR camera can capture fast moving sports, it just takes timing on the part of the photographer. Shooting off 100 images at a time in hopes you get something good just causes you to do a lot of extra work.

In any event, get a good lens, a 70-200mm f/2.8 MK II and a 24-70mm MK II along with a 1.4X TC. That leaves enough for a good flash or two, just keep your existing body until the 7D MK II comes out.

 

[ajfotofilmagem]

For shooting sports (without breaking the bank) is the best choice 5D Mark iii. Because you need to spend on fast lenses also seems to me that $ 5000 is not enough. Currently 70D has better value for money for sports spending little. 7D remains a camera capable, but not for a while there comes a 7D Mark II, I believe that the qualities of 70D is more worthwhile. For sports the "mandatory" lenses are 70-200mm F2.8 (even without stabilizer), and 16-35mm F2.8. If you choose APS-C camera, you can replace the 16-35mm for 10-22mm, or so 17-55mm. Those lenses that you currently have, Canon 24-105mm and Sigma 50mm F1.4 can be useful, but If you would like to sell Sigma (before it devalues) can substitute for Canon 85mm F1.8, or 100mm F2, which are great for sports indoor.

 

[faidwen]

I am in exactly the same boat...

But I am holding out for a 7D mk ][.

The lenses will also depend on what type of sports you are shooting. If you are shooting indoor, then you are going to require better glass. If you are shooting outdoor in the sun, then you can get away with perhaps cheaper lenses with longer reaches. IE: the new Tamron 150-600 etc....

Most of the others who have replied, probably have substantially more experience. Just my 2 cents.

 

[agierke]

If you are planning on doing this professionally I would suggest the biggest issue is making sure you have a back up camera. You can't have your only camera go down on a job...

 

[TheJock]

Hi Jon and welcome to CR.
I live in the desert so it’s very sunny all year round, so I can get away with the “slower” variants of all the must have lenses (70-200 etc), I also shoot sports and wildlife so for me the natural choice is the 70D body and the f4 variants of the 70-200L and the 17-40L. If I was to move back to Scotland then I would need to upgrade the body to the 5Diii to allow me to turn up the ISO to compensate for the slower lenses, but I’ll cross that bridge when it’s relevant. You already have two very good lenses there so the two I’ve just mentioned may be acceptable for your needs and will allow you some purchasing freedom within your budget, but if you need quicker glass then the suggestion made by ajfotofilmagem above is the best way forward, IMO 8)

 

[RGomezPhotos]

I think the best utilitarian camera out there other than the 1DX is the Canon 5D MKIII. IMO, in real world practice, it only lacks the FPS of the 1DX. Having a dedicated processor is nice on the AE on the 1DX. But unless you are thinking of going full time pro, I don't the think the 1DX is really necessary. The 1DX is really good long-term investment though.

Except for the Sigma 50, I say sell your other lenses and get a good 24-70mm f2.8 and 70-200mm f2.8. With a great set of these, you can do just about any kind of photography with them. Unless you are positive you want to go prime lens. But you already have the Sigma 50 and that can be used for lots of things.

I just rented the Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 IF EX DG HSM and thought it was spectacular. It's almost as sharp as my Zeiss 50mm f1.4 and the bokeh might be better. You can go used/new for $800/$900. The only problem I have with it is that it's not weather sealed. But the Canon 24-70L is 2.5x more. Unless you can get the older version which is supposed to be almost as good. And less than half the price used. If you can find one for sale Those puppies are gold.

I'm sure you know how awesome the Canon 70-200's are. People use those for sports, portraits, weddings. Lots. The MKII version is so bad-ass and an excellent long-term investment. If you can get one on sale, it's not hugely more expensive than the MKI version.

So at sale prices and money from the sale of those two lenses, that should give you a few hundred dollars left. Maybe buy a Phottix Mitros+ flash gun? Hopefully you have a sufficient camera bag. Maybe 'borrow' one of your school lenses for a backup ;D

 

[pengyifei]

With your budget I would say just look for good deals on the 5D Mark III and the 70-200 2.8 Mark II for the moment.
I shoot soccer games solely with that combo and get good results.
The 24-105 is not bad. Use it until you can afford to replace it with the 24-70 2.8 Mark II.
Add other lenses and equipment (battery grip, flashes, tripod etc) with your income from your jobs.

Cheers

 

[Hjalmarg1]

Hi all,

This is my first post on a forum ever haha. I am a hobbyist photographer in university who until recently has been shooting as a volunteer for the school newspaper. I have been thinking about a serious upgrade for my t2i for 2 years now (i have been shooting for 3 years) and have been saving accordingly. I currently own the 18-55 EFS, the canon 24-105L and a sigma 50mm 1.4. I have been trying to shoot 8-10 hours of sports a week in order to practice and mentally justify an upgrade. Generally I have been using the school's equipment (canon 7d and 70-200 marki) but have experience using the 5d3, d800e, nikon d4, and the canon 1dx for our championship events.
If you plan to do it professionally, you'll need a backup camera so, don't sell your t2i because you won't get big money anyway.
The best cost-value body for all situations you are mentioning is the 5D3, that paired with your 24-105mm f4L IS works really good. The remaining money should be spent in a good zoom telephoto like the 70-200 f2.8L IS II, that combined with the extender EF1.4X III works wonders and the loss in maximum apperture (1-stop) IQ is minimal. In regards to your 50mm lens, it's up to you if you use often or not but the best aspect is that all of your full frame lenses share the same filter size (77mm). This is how I should spend $5K.
What sparked my decision to upgrade is the fact that i have been offered numerous opportunities to become a paid photographer for our newspaper and shoot paid events for clubs on the side. I also have hopes to travel after completing my degree, in which i hope to be able to photograph the trip using the gear that i acquire in my last years at university. Because of this, I believe that i can't keep using the school's equipment and i should get my own.

Therefore i need my camera to have quick autofocus for fast moving subjects and a high frame rate for capturing the action. I also regularly shoot portraits for friends but not for money. I am fortunate enough to say that money isn't as big of an issue, i am looking to spend around 5000$ and with the opportunity to get a paid position, i can say that the money earned there will mostly be also funnelled into camera gear as well. Even if i wasnt shooting for money, I would still be out shooting sports just as much

As a young aspiring amateur photographer, I am looking for advice/comments about how to spend my savings (on either lens/camera) and which camera would be appropriate for my needs. I have done much research on my own but i am very interested to hear from other hobbyists/pros about their take on their gear.

Thanks so much,

Jon

If you plan to do it professionally, you'll need a backup camera so, don't sell your t2i because you won't get big money anyway.
The best cost-value body for all situations you are mentioning is the 5D3, that paired with your 24-105mm f4L IS works really good. The remaining money should be spent in a good zoom telephoto like the 70-200 f2.8L IS II, that combined with the extender EF1.4X III works wonders and the loss in maximum apperture (1-stop) and IQ is minimal. In regards to your 50mm lens, it's up to you if you use often or not but the best aspect is that all of your full frame lenses share the same filter size (77mm). This is how I would spend $5K.

 

[aj1575]

I would consider the 70D to start with. Keep the Ti2 as a backup camera, and spend some money on good lenses.
The photographer is more important than the camera, and the lenses are also more important than the camera. So buy some quality lenses, try to stick to FF for an upgrade sometime later. The 70D can then move down and be the backup camera.