Good evening everyone! Happy New Year! I am in the early stages as a beginner when it comes to using a “real” camera so PLEASE bare with me. I initially bought one of the cameras in the picture simply to take pictures of our newborn baby girl 12 years ago. Due to the convenience of camera phones I didn’t use the Canon very much like I thought I would. My family and I moved and the camera was packed away in storage so I bought another used camera which was very similar to the first one. Fast forward to today. My purpose for using the cameras are to shoot quality images of pies and desserts that I make homemade. Along with that I simply would like to take pictures of our children and pictures here and there when we are at the beach. My main focus though are high quality food pictures. With that being said, these are the questions I would like to ask. Of the two cameras that I own, which is better for the type of pictures that I would like to take? What is the actual difference between the Rebel XTi and the T1i? Are the lenses that I have for both good enough for what I’m trying to shoot or should I invest in a different lens? If so would you happen to have any suggestions? I was told that a Canon 85mm 1.8 would be a considerable upgrade. If I decide to get rid of one of these, which one would you suggest me keeping? My plan was to take a photography class but due to covid most of them have been canceled. YouTube will probably be my virtual instructor. Again, any feedback is greatly appreciated. Have a blessed evening! FYI: The pictures that are posted were taken with my iPhone 8+. I want my pies to look so much better than what I’m getting from taking pictures with my iPhone.
Hi Zeek, The T1i(2009) is a newer copy of the XTi (2006), the specs are a better of course then on the T1i so I would go with that one if you get rid ow the other. That said, either of these could be picked up used under 100 bucks so you may not see a huge return. The T1i has 15mp vs 10mp sensor, but your IPhone is 12mp and apple has done plenty of work behind the scenes for processing images so, that camera i actually no slouch either. You can get some superb photos from that iphone under the right circumstances. A longer lens like the 85 would be a good addition, opening the lens ll the way up to 1.8 will create a soft background (called bokeh). A 100mm macro 2.8 would allow you to crop in really close to the pie. The other piece of the puzzle here is the lighting, you can control presentation of a product with lighting, maybe you want to watch some videos on product photography and see what strikes your fancy for taking the photos to the next level ( softboxes / light tents) etc. There are some of us here that can help with those questions as well.
Thank you VERY MUCH for taking the time to not only respond but for also giving me that information as well. Obviously I don’t need both cameras. Would you happen to have any suggestions regarding a reputable site to possibly sell the other? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again!!
Honestly you may have the best luck selling on local facebook marketplace/craigslist depending on your location. Ebay is your best bet if you want to spend money on shipping it somewhere, camera and lens when i filter for sold ones show range between 70 and 145 but that could include different lens combinations and even with the18-55 there are a few generations plus the IS and STM versions.
would it be worth keeping the second one as a back up camera just in case, depending on how much you could get it for though.
John I would like to ask one more question. Would you suggest that I look into buying an external flash? If so, would you happen to have any suggestions?
Well I am a fan of using off camera flash so i would recomend external flash, personally i have a few speedlights, transmitters, stands, umbrellas and other such light modifiers. As I mentioned above you may want to watch some videos on product photography setups to see what suits you the best for how you want to shoot the pies. Using umbrellas or softboxes you can create nice pleasing light for product photography. You could maybe look at using LED video lights instead of a wireless speedlight setup, but that will create harder light that you will want to dim down or diffuse and soften. I haven't picked up and tried out the LED lights but it would be less complicated setup than wireless.
