T3 to 7D.....the right thing?

[pcdebb]

Hello fellow Canon photogs

So I've been itching to upgrade to a new body. I've always been told when you upgrade, always get new glass. Right now I'm looking at possibly a good deal on a 7D, which is one of the models I've been looking at. Is this a worthwhile upgrade?

TIA

 

[mrzero]

Hard to answer without knowing why you want to upgrade (i.e what features are most important to you), what you like to shoot, and what lenses you already have.

The 7D is a tough, heavy-duty camera. But it is older than the T3. You may also consider the 70D, which is newer and similarly specced, but a little more general-purpose. See here:
http://www.dpreview.com/products/compare/side-by-side?products=canon_eos1100d&products=canon_eos7d&products=canon_eos60d&products=canon_eos70d&sortDir=ascending

 

[TeT]

I would go 70D over 7D. Similar price point and better noise light etc. on the 70D. not sure about AF performance though...

 

[jdramirez]

Depends on what you shoot. If you want more resolution because you crop into your shots... if you want better auto focus performance, and you want more shots per second... go for it.

I upgraded bodies before glass, Xs to 60d, and I was happy with my decision.

The going rate is $700ish for a good condition 7d body... So I hope you don't pay more than that.

If you do only portrait and landscape, I'm going to say don't do it because you won't see any of the benefits.

 

[jdramirez]

I'm guessing he is buying one off of a friend/acquaintance... maybe who is upgrading to a 7d mkii or possibly to a 1dx
It is a guess... But I didn't get the feel the best buy is clearancing a floor model.

 

[Twostones]

Moving up to a 7D from a T3 is certainly an upgrade. A few things you will notice right away is the penta prism view finder on the 7D is larger and brighter than the smaller penta mirror viewfinder on the T3. It is also a 100 % view of the frame. The 7D also has 19 all cross type focus points. The body on the 7D is also larger and solid as a rock. At the prices the new 7D is going for it is a bargain for sure. You will be very happy with the bang you get for your buck. If you want better video get the smaller 70D for about the same money. I have had my 7D now for four years and still enjoy it.

 

[AlanF]

I would go 70D over 7D. Similar price point and better noise light etc. on the 70D. not sure about AF performance though...

AF is more reliable on the 70D. Consistency of AF was one of the 7D's weak points, and it doesn't cope with some TC combinations.

 

[heptagon]

Hello fellow Canon photogs

So I've been itching to upgrade to a new body. I've always been told when you upgrade, always get new glass. Right now I'm looking at possibly a good deal on a 7D, which is one of the models I've been looking at. Is this a worthwhile upgrade?

TIA

Why would you want to carry around such a heavy and big camera?

In what way is your current camera insufficient?

What are you shooting?

Under what environmental conditions are you shooting (indoor/outdoor/rain)?

Depending on your situation the 7D may be right but more likely the 70D will suit you better but maybe you need the 7DII or even the 5DIII but it could be that the 6D provides the highest gain in image quality for the price but it could be too slow in which case maybe only the 1DX provides you with the speed. It all depends on your situation which you have told us nothing about so far (except that you're itching but that can be healed).

 

[9VIII]

I would only take the 7D over the 70D if I were going into a war-zone. Barring resistance to shrapnel the 70D will be the better option, and for the same price if you get some of the deals on E-bay.

I'm in the same situation and right now I'm waiting for the SL2, if it has the same sensor and AF as the T6i then it will be almost perfect for me.
The only caveat being if the new sensor has bad ISO performance then I'll go straight for the 7DII and never look back (I don't expect it to, but you never know).

On a side note, the T5 is brobably a good option too. It won't be an AF upgrade, but the sharpness off the last generation of 18MP sensors was good, and it uses the same batteries. I just wish they would sell them as a standalone body for $50 off.

 

[jdramirez]

How about this... why don't you tell us what you shoot... how much money you have to upgrade your glass, and the price of the 7d... with the presumption that you will sell the t3.

Let's say you have a t3 and kit lens, & $400 & that's it.

You sell the t3 for $250 giving you $650 total. Your buddy is selling you the 7d for a great deal at $500 leaving you with $150 for a 18-55 kit lens & maybe a 55-250, a 50mm f1.8, or a 40mm f2.8.

So we compare that to....
You keep the t3 and you can afford to buy a 50, 40, an older 35mm, an 85mm, a 55-250, or a 100mm f2.

For portraits... give me the t3 & an 85mm. For outdoor sports, give me the 7d & 55-250, for indoor sports, give me the t3 & the 85/100mm pairing.

So what I'm saying is that it depends. We just need more information than you have given.

 

[jdramirez]

@ Christmas time I was selling the t5 bodies for around $325 or so. I would separate the 18-55, and I made a small profit doing so. They were new, so it isn't hard to find... you just have to look.

I would only take the 7D over the 70D if I were going into a war-zone. Barring resistance to shrapnel the 70D will be the better option, and for the same price if you get some of the deals on E-bay.

I'm in the same situation and right now I'm waiting for the SL2, if it has the same sensor and AF as the T6i then it will be almost perfect for me.
The only caveat being if the new sensor has bad ISO performance then I'll go straight for the 7DII and never look back (I don't expect it to, but you never know).

On a side note, the T5 is brobably a good option too. It won't be an AF upgrade, but the sharpness off the last generation of 18MP sensors was good, and it uses the same batteries. I just wish they would sell them as a standalone body for $50 off.

 

[bholliman]

The 7D is certainly an upgrade over a T3, but its getting kind of dated. As others suggested, I think the 70D would be a better upgrade for about the same cost.

 

[ashmadux]

There is no reason to buy a 7d anymore. None.

Buy a 70d, or at worst/just as good, wait a lil bit for the new rebels. You cant go wrong in that scenario. 7d is history, let it go softly into the night

 

[jdramirez]

So here's a question for some people....

7d @ $650 >, <, or = 70d @ $800

And for the record, the 7d is still a fine camera and you can do a ton with it... hell, in the right hands you can do a ton with an xti. Old gear isn't bad gear. Mind you, I would not suggest he go from a t3 to an xti, but newer gear isn't necessarily head and shoulders better.

 

[FTb-n]

So I've been itching to upgrade to a new body. I've always been told when you upgrade, always get new glass.

If you're suggesting that a body upgrade warrants a glass upgrade, I would disagree. It all depends upon what you have and whether it's limitations are holding you back.

The 7D is a great upgrade from the T3. If it's the right upgrade for you depends upon the price. If sports is a priority and the prices are close, consider the 70D. Even the T5i might be a better choice. A refurbished T5i body (from Canon) sells for $550. If the deal on the 7D is better than that, then take it. If not, then you have some thinking to do.

 

[jdramirez]

So I've been itching to upgrade to a new body. I've always been told when you upgrade, always get new glass.

If you're suggesting that a body upgrade warrants a glass upgrade, I would disagree. It all depends upon what you have and whether it's limitations are holding you back.

The 7D is a great upgrade from the T3. If it's the right upgrade for you depends upon the price. If sports is a priority and the prices are close, consider the 70D. Even the T5i might be a better choice. A refurbished T5i body (from Canon) sells for $550. If the deal on the 7D is better than that, then take it. If not, then you have some thinking to do.

That's interesting. I didn't read what he wrote the way he wrote it. I assumed he screwed up the saying, upgrade glass first, then upgrade your body. Huh... that changes the dynamic of what I think.

I'm too analytical... I'm thinking in terms of math and there are to many variables that have yet to be defined.

 

[hgraf]

If you do only portrait and landscape, I'm going to say don't do it because you won't see any of the benefits.

I have to potentially disagree with portrait. The massively larger buffer on the 7D is a really important upgrade for shooting portraits of models that tend to move alot (i.e. babies/kids/pets). I'm ALWAYS hitting the limit on the buffer on my T4i in those situations (only 3-5 shots in RAW).

Granted one can deal with this by shooting just JPEG, which I do sometimes...

 

[jdramirez]

If you do only portrait and landscape, I'm going to say don't do it because you won't see any of the benefits.

I have to potentially disagree with portrait. The massively larger buffer on the 7D is a really important upgrade for shooting portraits of models that tend to move alot (i.e. babies/kids/pets). I'm ALWAYS hitting the limit on the buffer on my T4i in those situations (only 3-5 shots in RAW).

Granted one can deal with this by shooting just JPEG, which I do sometimes...

I think I may agree with you on that. I'm trying to think about when I made the transition to full raw... and it might have been after... or at the tail end of having my 60D... Either way... I didn't really notice... but that is a good point.

 

[pcdebb]

I'm glad I came here for advice. It was hard for me to tell which was newer/better. I had also looked at the 70d. That 7d is a beast (didn't realize it was older), noticed right away how heavy that thing is! One huge drawback is having to find a CF memory card. They are expensive and hard to find it seems I do like that it has more AF points. The 70d sounds better in terms of AF reliability. Altho I'm relying more on manual focus and getting better images because of it, sometimes I need AF to be spot on.

As far as what i shoot, I like birds and landscape. I do casual candids of family, but i'm more into the outdoors. My T3 is wonderful, but i feel like I need something better when it comes to resolution since it's only 12mp. And this is probably where I need the real lesson to be taught to me. My "other camera" was 24mp and it seemed that my pics were so much clearer because of resolution, or is there a mind game im losing here lol

The 7d was going for around $600. I'm reading alot of options here in the thread, so I may just hold off and see what's a good fit for me. All of your input is valuable, and I thank you all very much!

Oh and btw, i'm a she

 

[jdramirez]

I'm glad I came here for advice. It was hard for me to tell which was newer/better. I had also looked at the 70d. That 7d is a beast (didn't realize it was older), noticed right away how heavy that thing is! One huge drawback is having to find a CF memory card. They are expensive and hard to find it seems I do like that it has more AF points. The 70d sounds better in terms of AF reliability. Altho I'm relying more on manual focus and getting better images because of it, sometimes I need AF to be spot on.

As far as what i shoot, I like birds and landscape. I do casual candids of family, but i'm more into the outdoors. My T3 is wonderful, but i feel like I need something better when it comes to resolution since it's only 12mp. And this is probably where I need the real lesson to be taught to me. My "other camera" was 24mp and it seemed that my pics were so much clearer because of resolution, or is there a mind game im losing here lol

The 7d was going for around $600. I'm reading alot of options here in the thread, so I may just hold off and see what's a good fit for me. All of your input is valuable, and I thank you all very much!

Oh and btw, i'm a she

A few small things. CF is more expensive, but it is also faster. The write speeds for my CF card is something like 150 mb/s... but I think (because the Canon bodies don't take advantage of the UHS write speeds) the write speeds for SD are around 30 mb/s. So if you are taking pictures of birds in flight... and you are taking one and another after another... your buffer will clear faster with CF than SD (provided you are shooting in raw). If you are shooting in .jpg... it probably won't matter.

If you are shooting with manual focus... it sounds like you are taking photos of birds @ rest... so in that case... it won't really matter. And if AF isn't a key issue... you might want to consider one of the 18mp line... the sl1 is nice and small... my daughter had one... and for long hikes... it doesn't weigh you down a ton. Ditto with the t5, and the other 10 cameras that all use the 18mp sensor.

As for megapixels... they do help... but there are several things that go into image quality, from low light performance (and controlling grain), to color fidelity, to contrast and that dreaded dynamic range... So a 24mp with a built in lens can do well in good lighting conditions... but I can work miracles using an 8mp camera and beautiful lighting (and of course a super expensive lens).

Good luck... hope you figure it out. One small thing... and I'm making assumptions again... but if your 24mp camera was a point and shoot... and the shots used flash, that might be something you haven't considered. Adding more light to your subject. Might not make a difference with a bird at 80 ft away... but a portrait and seeing more of the detail... that could be the cause.