Help in choosing the right DSLR camera.

CavanLad

I’m a complete newbie to the world of digital photography. I purchased a Canon 350d a couple of years ago but I've only been” paddling around in the shallow end”, dabbling so to speak without any real understanding of what I’m doing or how I’m achieving results, but now that children have arrived, I feel the time has come, to capture and record precious moments that would otherwise be lost forever. I enjoy outdoor/portrait/landscape photography and have signed up for a photography course starting in next couple of weeks to gain a better understanding of what I am doing. I have spoken to camera stores here and all have suggested that I upgrade my camera body but have received mixed suggestions as to what I should upgrade to.

As I currently have two Sigma lenses ( 18 – 50mm and 55 – 200mm) most stores have advised me to stay with the Canon brand as these lenses cannot be mounted on the only other suggested Nikon brand.

I have read both on this forum and over the internet as a whole, the camera body is not as an important a decision as the lens and many have been spend the extra money on high quality lenses. That being said, I still have to ask the question

Going forward and not wishing to upgrade my camera body again in the near future should I consider a full frame or crop image sensor. Stores here have advised me against a full frame sensor, (even though they are more expensive) . Your advice on this topic would be greatly appreciated.

Suggestions made included the 1100d as an entry model along with the Nikon d3100. I have also been shown the 600d but as I explained to the representatives about not having to upgrade in the near future the two models most commonly suggested were the 650d and 7d.

Some friends have suggested the 7d, primarily because they have/have had them. Looking at the specifications (again to the novice eye) both model seem to be on a par.

The only differences I can see are :
Sensor Light sensitivity - 12,800 ISO on the 650D compared to 6,400 ISO on the 7D
Sensor Light sensitivity (Boost) 25,600 ISO on the 650D compared to 12,800 ISO on the 7D
Screen Resolution 1,040k dots on the 650D compared to 920k dots on the 7D
The 650D is smaller and lighter
Viewfinder type Pentamirror on the 650D compared to Pentaprism on the 7D
Viewfinder size 0.53x on the 650D compared to 0.62x on the 7D
Viewfinder coverage 95% on the 650D compared to 100% on the 7D
Shutter Lag Performance 269ms on the 650D compared to 131ms on the 7D
Continuous Shooting 5fps on the 650D compared to 8fps on the 7D
Image quality 62.0 on the 650D compared to 66.0 on the 7D
Colour depth 21.7 Bits on the 650D compared to 22 Bits on the 7D
Low Light Performance 722 ISO on the 650D compared to 854 ISO on the 7D
Shutter max 1/4000s on the 650D compared to 1/8000s on the 7D
Price £512 for the 650D camera body compared to £1,069 for the 7D camera body

What are your suggestions / comments about the above mentioned camera models, is the 7D £557 a better camera or is there another alternative I should be looking at and should I consider full frame over crop image sensor. Your thoughts and comments will be greatly appreciated.

Along with the camera I am looking to purchase a wide angle lens (10-22mm) and a canon EF 50mm F1.8 || (maybe not all together ) to accompany the Sigma lenses i already have ( 18 – 50mm and 55 – 200mm)

Thanks in advance
Colin

Ben D Bus

What's wrong with the 350D that you have? I'm assuming you still have the 350D?

I'd suggest you keep using that until you find it limits what you can do or lacks features that you feel you would benefit from. Then you can make a choice based on your specific needs rather than headline numbers in a camera specification document.

Splinters

The 7D is regarded as a more professional camera, and well...it is, but the 650D is newer technology and will have some slight improvements over the 7D. In all honesty there will be very little difference between the two in terms of image quality. The autofocus on the 7D will run rings around the 650D and that would be a deciding factor for me. The ISO boost is irrelevant seeing as both cameras will produce ****e images at their highest ISO. The main thing is both will very good to usable up to 3200 ISO, anythin after that should only really be used if you're really stuck. The build quality on the 7D is leaps and bounds ahead too, but then again this might not be a factor for you. If the price difference will really make a difference to you then go for the 650D. Its a great camera and will produce pretty much the same quality images as the 7D. The thing with the 7D is with such a good autofocus system you'll likely be able to get shots you simply couldnt with the 650D (fast action, low light situations) so it just depends how much value you'd place on shooting in those situations.

ImagenEstilo

Colin,

I am not a Canon user so have no real input there. In terms of cropped versus full frame however I would have some input. I wrote something on this very subject just recently and it should be reasonably comprehensive to those that want to know more about making the correct sensor size choice. You can check it out here: Cropped or Full Frame

Once you decide on what sensor is best for your photographic style then I would recommend buying a decent camera body (not top of the line) and then pumping the money into lenses. Do remember though, if it is cropped frame you choose then the lenses will not work on a full frame. So the most important thing in my opinion is deciding what sensor size to go for. Everything falls into place after that.

Dave

condra

Hey Colin.

If you want to record video, the Canon 650d is good value, and pair it with the awesome new pancake lens and you have powerful kit at your disposal.

If you're positive you don't need video recording, I would suggest you consider a used Canon 5d "Classic", which would be around 500 euro and offer outstanding FF image quality.

That is assuming you are mostly interested in portraits or landscaopes.

If you are into shooting sports/action, the 7d is the obvious choice for me because of the superb burst mode.

If you get hooked on the idea of going Full Frame, don't shoot sports, and do need video, you could do worse than getting a used 5d mkII for around 1100.