Upgrade from a 450D - whats next up a 60D or too similar?

mumof2

Advice appreciated!! Thanks.....

Edit: staying with Cannon by the way...

5uspect

Why do you feel the 450D is lacking?
Do you need more resolution? Faster AF? Full frame? Better ISO performance? Bigger, more ergonomic body? Gear lust?

There is the 60D and the 7D in the crop sensor department. Much like the newer 600D they all have variants of the same 18MP sensor. The 600D and the 60D have a plastic body with a fold out screen. The 7D has a magnesium alloy body with an excellent viewfinder and AF system.

If you want to go ful frame there are a few generations of the 5D to consider. However you 18-55 EF-S kit lens won't work on a FF camera. You'll need to buy more expensive glass to do a FF camera justice.

mumof2

My reasons?? All of the above mentioned... However, I have a few lenses that I'm not sure will work wisely -

Canon nifty fifty f1.8, Tokina SD 12 - 24 f4 IF DX, Canon 100 - 400 f4.5 - 5.6L IS USM.

Mainly I'd like to get the faster shutter speed by increasing the ISO for wildlife photography, more frames per second bursts and faster autofocus would be the main points.

Thanks for advice.:D

5uspect

Well the 7D has an excellent AF and can take bursts at 8 fps. It's great for wildlife.
The 60D's AF isn't as good (but isn't bad by any stretch) and can take bursts at about 5 and a bit fps.

I find the viewfinder in the 7D to be excellent. It's much larger and brighter than my old 350D that I can't believe the difference when I compare them. The transmissive LCD in the viewfinder is also an excellent feature. There's a pretty impressive firmware upgrade for the 7D due in August that will add a lot of stuff such as extending the RAW frame buffer from 15 to 25.

The 60D would be a reasonable upgrade from the 450D while the 7D would be a significant upgrade. Since they're both APS-C your lenses should all work as before. In terms of noise/ISO performance the 60D and the 7D shouldn't differ. I find the high resolution results in a fine grained luminance noise that is not ugly. The noise reduction algorithms in Camera RAW seem to do a good job cleaning it up too.

Here is an example of ISO 3200 straight from my 7D without any additional noise reduction:


click to embiggen.

You just need to decide if the 7D is worth the expense.

cnocbui

To get faster shutter speeds for wildlife photography, Getting a faster lens would probably be a better approach than increasing the ISO.

mumof2

suspect - thanks so much for taking the time to point out the differences. Was only just checking out the 7D:D

Not sure if my budget will stretch but I can wait too till next year if needs be. Rushing into these things is not wise.

And I firmly believe if I went and got the 60D I will regret it 6 mths later:rolleyes:

I'm going to get a price first and see where that leads me! Thanks again.

ablelocks

i also have a 450d, and had been thinking of upgrading too. but i think what I'll do is upgrade lenses first - full frame lenses will be fine with the 450d won't they? Any recommendations would be appreciated...thanks.

5uspect

You can use both EF and EF-S lenses on a crop body. You can only use EF lenses on a full frame because the larger mirror will hit the back of the EF-S lens.

I usually buy from Ian Kerr. He's popular with the regulars here and has a new website.
http://www.flashcamera.co.uk/

Sure a faster lens will help but it's going to be very expensive to better the 100-400L

leche solara

I upgraded from the 450D to the 60D about 18 months ago. Considered the 7D at the time, but decided it (or its replacement) would be my next step. I find the step-up from the 450D to the 60D was a natural progression. Going full frame might be nice, but starting all over again with lenses is a big hassle.

mumof2

leche solara wrote: »

I upgraded from the 450D to the 60D about 18 months ago. Considered the 7D at the time, but decided it (or its replacement) would be my next step. I find the step-up from the 450D to the 60D was a natural progression. Going full frame might be nice, but starting all over again with lenses is a big hassle.

That's not a bad idea either for me as I can't afford to fork out another €1300 on a body (7D), yet in the meantime the value of my camera is reducing all the time! Next year it won't be worth my while trading it in:-(

cnocbui

Camera bodies decline in value pretty fast because of the rate of advance in IC's and electronics and the rate at which new models are released. Good glass holds it's value a lot better.

mumof2

I've decided to hold tough and just get used to the new 100 400L lens first for a while. Maybe in a few months or closer to Christmas I might treat myself to the 7D.

Thanks for tips;)