SL1 as a "travel" body

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Hobby Shooter said:
ahsanford said:
I still think the missing piece for the SL1 is the wide angle pancake. The pocketability of that camera lives or dies with a tiny lens (as it does the EOS-M), so pancakes are vital. But the EF 40mm pancake scales to 64mm FF equivalent on a crop, which is functional for portraits but too long for general walkaround, IMHO.

So the missing piece is what they do offer for the EF-M mount but not for the EF-S mount: a 22mm pancake. That scales to 35mm, and then you have a truly high-end compact 2nd camera.

- A
I very much agree with this. That would be a perfect setup. I have been thinking back and forth around the M or the 100D. An EF-S 22mm would be the deciding factor to me. I love the 35L on my 5D3 and this would be a nice light weight version of that.

I agree too. If the EF-s 22mm pancake was available, I would go out and buy that and the SL-1/100D tomorrow. In fact I'm probably going to buy it anyway but it would make my decision quicker and easier. Come on Canon, bring on the pancake family!
 
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Dylan777 said:
Harry said:
I had considered a high end compact but it somehow seemed too much of a compromise, particularly in operation (shutter lag, viewfinder, etc).

My wife took my RX1 and I doubt she would give it back :'(

It's small and produces wonderfull photos.

We're going to try out the SL1 as a 2nd/backup body as well.

For me, the RX1 is an amazing camera and a great option until you factor in the price. The X100S is great as well, but it's hard to justify spending nearly 2x the amount for something with a fixed lens when we can take the SL1+40 and a 2nd lens stashed away and have a more capable package.
 
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The more I think about it, I think the SL1 would also be the perfect camera for me as a backup/travel camera. I have a 5DII and a 7D and a ton of EF-S and EF lenses. Don't use the 7D much anymore. But going on a trip with family, I don't always want to have the huge setup with me. I think the SL1 with my 15-85 might be very nice. And if I want to really travel light, I could throw the pancake on it. I'm going to wait for the price to drop some more or for it to show up refurbished. Either way, it's a nice option and I'm glad Canon made this available.
 
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It makes sense as a small, light travel camera only if you can put small, light lenses on it. Very few DSLR lenses meet that description, though (Pentax probably has more than anyone else), and unless you're happy with the focal lengths they provide (for Canon the 40mm pancake is the obvious winner) you'll be rather limited. If traveling with Canon gear I wouldn't want to be without my 70-300L; and if I'm going to carry that I might as well take my 6D. (It's for these reasons that I bought Olympus M4/3 for a small/light system - hardly an inexpensive option, though.)
 
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Unless you have "fat fingers" it's a good solution though I'm not convinced it's worth the price premium over a
T3i for minimal size/weight differences. Since we don't buy cameras by the pound (except in UK :-) ) overall
the low end Canon line seems pretty similar with only minor tweaks featured as "improvements". My solution
was slightly different - a Leica D-Lux 6 with a fast lens, excellent image quality, adequate zoom range and small size - is almost tempting me to leave the Canon stuff at home on most trips.
 
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Glad that I found this thread (yes, I realize it's old). I own the 5D Mark III and desperately need a second body in situations where I don't have time to switch lenses. My wife and I are also planning a trip overseas and I had planned to bring my 5DMkIII ... overkill for a vacation, but I want some nice shots. Then it dawned upon me that I could snatch up a refurbished SL1 from Canon's store for under $400 and use that as my second body AND have a nice travel camera.

So, I just bought the SL1 (refurbished and on sale) for $360, plus the 40mm f/2.8 pancake (again, refurbished and on sale) for $112. Everything should arrive today so I'm excited to play with my new camera. My wife is a budding photographer but she feels intimidated by my 5DMkIII, so I told her she can use the new SL1. This little camera sounds like a win-win for me and will let me save up some money for the 5D Mark IV next year. :)

I'll try to post my experiences with the SL1 in a few weeks after I've had a chance to play with it.

Steve
 
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I really like the SL1 until I held one. It felt terrible in hand, just too small for my med sized hand. Controlls very small and difficult. I suppose I expected it to feel like a DSLR.

Anyway, I'm not saying you won't love it, but I'd lay hands on one at Best Buy or something before I bought it.
 
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I like the idea of APS-C as a travel body, but I think I will likely buy a 70D when the prices come down. While it is larger than the SL1, it also is better in some scenarios than my 6Ds. Hence it will be a travel body, but also complement my main cameras.

I did just advise a friend to buy a refurb SL1 from Canon, though, and she did so. Can't beat that value for $359!
 
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Got to play with my cousin's SL1 on vacation (we were both traveling) a few weeks ago, with the kit zoom and her 55-250. She travels a lot and really likes the camera, but what she missed was wide angle so I let her know about the 10-18. Made her day - it's small, light and will fit in her existing camera bag.

For me it's an interesting contrast to the M when mounting my selection of lenses from the 40mm pancake to the Tamron 150-600. It's a bit like a gripped M with an OVF and makes it a bit easier to handhold my larger lenses. I was a bit disappointed with the OVF, not nearly as nice as the 6D. I wasn't impressed with the few tests shots I took, but I didn't have time to fully explore the camera and settings. I don't think it would take too much time to dial it in, but no AFMA might be an issue. If so, I would end up using LiveView and might as well stick with the M.
 
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I always thought the SL-1 looked interesting for use on a telescope with its low weight. How is the iso performance ? I use the 5DmIII for wide field but still use the 40D when I need to get closer ( and lighter), and it stinks above iso 800.
 
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niteclicks said:
I always thought the SL-1 looked interesting for use on a telescope with its low weight. How is the iso performance ? I use the 5DmIII for wide field but still use the 40D when I need to get closer ( and lighter), and it stinks above iso 800.

High ISO performance is much the same as other recent Canon APS-C bodies (you can see for yourself at dpreview). I've never used a 40D, so I can't say how it compares to that, though. Of course, it's nowhere near as good as 5DIII or 6D. As a sort of experiment, I took a SL1 + Sigma 18-250 to Longwood Gardens last weekend, left my A7r + lenses in the car, and ended up taking quite a few photos at ISO 3200 (the max I set) as the light dropped. I'm in the middle of processing the results; if you don't peer in too closely, I think they're not bad - though I'll be returning soon with FF & faster lenses....
 
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mrsfotografie said:
How is the viewfinder on the SL-1? I looked through a 450D the other day and was shocked by the tininess of the OVF. I like to see what I'm doing and for that reason I actually like the EVF on my NEX - it's much bigger than the OVF of a traditional xxx(x)D body.

It's very small compared to a Sony a7r, a6000 or OM-D EM1 (or, as I understand it, the latest top-level Fuji X). I much prefer a decent EVF.
 
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"travel body" seems to be misleading. Unless you are travelling with only one lens on the body, then the size and weight of the body is important. But if you are travelling with 3 L lenses (a lot of the member in this forum has done more than that), than the size and weight of the body does not matter any more. It will be a big " system". That is the exact reason I bought the EOS M with 22mm and the 18-55 zoom. To make it to be a small travel system.
 
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