Which is the best Canon for beginners?

Discussion in 'Beginner Questions' started by Del Hays, Apr 30, 2017.

  1. Del Hays

    Del Hays New Member Site Supporter

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    Pentax K-10 Lenses 18-55, 50, 28-80, 135, 80-200
    I am not truly a beginner but a beginner to Canon DSLR. I have a Canon T70 from the 80s that taught me photography and have a Pentax K10 from a few years back but would like to get back into Canon. I held one the other day at a store and was blown away by all the buttons. Also, I would like to have some video options if there are models that do that?

    Thanks,

    DH

    Well I see that someone beat me to it so I will read from that post....... Sorry for the duplicate!
     
    Last edited: Apr 30, 2017

  2. Vasile Guta-Ciucur

    Vasile Guta-Ciucur Active Member Site Supporter

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    Pistestii din Deal, Gorj, RO
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    Canon EOS 100D
    Canon Lens EF-S 18-55mm 1:3.5-5.6 III
    Things I would look after...

    BODIES
    - First of all, I can afford a full frame body, or APS-C sensor is good enough for me?
    - for full frame, a small body and 20Mp sensor, Canon EOS 6D is more than enough and most accessible (is something we, crop sensor owners with limited funding resources, dream about);
    - for crop sensor, there are two categories:
    - professional zone (60D, 70D, 80D, 7D);
    - amateur zone with the Rebel family(here bodies are built in a gradual manner, from very simple, to very close and borrowing features from the professional zone);
    - sensor wise, you can go with 18Mp without problems, or you really want a 24Mp sensor.
    Note: the prize, Rebel SL1 borrows from both professional zone and mirrorless category, it is really a little jewel, but only an 18Mp sensor - for me is ok, much better than 16Mp X-Trans Fujifilm cameras.
    LENSES
    - Zoom lenses:
    - crop sensor (Canon lenses, of course - anything else, is your experimentation):
    - your camera may come with the kit lens, 18-55mm. Every owner cries about quality but to be honest, this kit is much over the similar kits built in the film era, much sharpness, better corrections, etc. With care, you can make amazing photos :p https://500px.com/funlw65/galleries/canon-kitlens-closeups
    - a great telephoto zoom lens is 55-250mm, with surprising good performance, so good that it can be used in commercial work - this is another jewel.​
    - full frame, this is an expensive zone and you can choose between normal and L category, with fixed or variable aperture, can't help you here, is way over my budget.​
    - Prime lenses (you will want this badly after spending some time with you zoom lenses):
    - crop sensor:
    - 24mm 1:2.8 pancake lens - very sharp, excellent for landscape, cityscape, street, group photography;
    - 35mm 1:2.8 macro lens - excellent for general photography and macro when you need it. If there is only one lens to use, this is that lens.
    - 60mm 1:2.8 macro lens - great for portraits and macro photography;​
    - full frame:
    - 50mm 1:1.8 lens - the cheapest creative lens you can buy, and also a good solution for the crop sensor. Anything else starts to get expensive.
    Of course the combinations are multiple and depends also on your activity as photographer, but I presented "the things" from the financial point of view.
     
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  3. pcake

    pcake Active Member Site Supporter

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    Equipment:
    Canon SL1
    55-250 STM
    18-55 STM
    Yongnuo 50mm 1.8
    to the OP, you don't mention what you want from a camera. budget would be good to know. also do you prefer something light weight or is weight not a factor for you. does battery life matter? what video options are you looking for? all canon DSLRs for a few generations do shoot video.

    btw, you don't have to fear the buttons because you don't have to use them. usually less buttons means more controls buried in the menu. when i wanted to learn more about photography, i bought a camera with less buttons and spent all my time searching for things in the long, confusing fuji menu. the SL1 is a good DSLR if you want to avoid many buttons, and i'd prefer it to the T6 and T5 as they're sort of stripped down.
     
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  4. Del Hays

    Del Hays New Member Site Supporter

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    Pentax K-10 Lenses 18-55, 50, 28-80, 135, 80-200
    So I have the Pentax K10D and it takes some good pictures but it is about 9 years old. I have researched the SL1 now but is there a big difference between it an the T6i? I probably want to be under $1k for the body, lens and hopefully a second 55-200 or somewhere around there.
     
  5. pcake

    pcake Active Member Site Supporter

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    Equipment:
    Canon SL1
    55-250 STM
    18-55 STM
    Yongnuo 50mm 1.8
    the differences between the SL1 and T6i are mostly bigger sensor, connectivity (T6i has wifi and NFC) and better autofocus plus the T6i has an articulated screen while the SL1's is fixed. i have the SL1 and am considering the T6s (i have bad wrists or i'd be looking at a refurb 80D.

    you can get the SL1 with kit lens and the 55-250 STM for $798.00 at bhphoto. that means you could add the 50mm 1.8 and still come in under budget. or you could grab the T6i and 250 STM at bhphoto for $948.00, also within your budget. some kits have the 55-250 non-STM, but make sure to get the STM version and not the older one, as the STM is sharper.

    i have the SL1, kit lens, 55-250 STM and the yongnuo 50mm myself, and i'd say if you're not trying to shoot fast action or challenging lighting, the SL1 is good. had i not needed the lightest DSLR for my wrists, i'd definitely suggest the T6i for the screen alone, and the better autofocus would be a plus.
     
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  6. Vasile Guta-Ciucur

    Vasile Guta-Ciucur Active Member Site Supporter

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    Location:
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    Equipment:
    Canon EOS 100D
    Canon Lens EF-S 18-55mm 1:3.5-5.6 III
    See this kit from Amazon http://amzn.to/2pyjPmy
     
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  7. Vasile Guta-Ciucur

    Vasile Guta-Ciucur Active Member Site Supporter

    Joined:
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    Location:
    Pistestii din Deal, Gorj, RO
    Equipment:
    Canon EOS 100D
    Canon Lens EF-S 18-55mm 1:3.5-5.6 III
    How it is Yongnuo 50mm compared to the 55-250mm at 55mm focal length in terms of sharpness? It is worth getting it against the Canon's 50mm 1.8? Thank you!
     
  8. Phil

    Phil Administrator Staff Member Site Supporter

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    Rochester, NY
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    Canon 7D - 50mm F1.8, 70-200mm F4, 17-70mm F2.8-4.5
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  9. Vasile Guta-Ciucur

    Vasile Guta-Ciucur Active Member Site Supporter

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    Location:
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    Equipment:
    Canon EOS 100D
    Canon Lens EF-S 18-55mm 1:3.5-5.6 III
    Thank you! Judging the images, I think is pretty good if it wins over the second generation of Canon's nifty-fifty. Waiting for an answer, I browsed a group on Flickr, and I found some pretty good images at the apertures i was interested in. I want this lens for creative purposes, but I was worried regarding sharpness. Anyway, it seems it needs some care when shooting with it.
     
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  10. Vasile Guta-Ciucur

    Vasile Guta-Ciucur Active Member Site Supporter

    Joined:
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    Location:
    Pistestii din Deal, Gorj, RO
    Equipment:
    Canon EOS 100D
    Canon Lens EF-S 18-55mm 1:3.5-5.6 III
    Just watched the review of Christopher Frost (my favorite youtube reviewer on Youtube regarding Canon lenses), and there may be the risk of having to adjust the microfocus and my Canon camera does not have that option. But manual focus in liveview may do. Anyway, the lens seems softer for APS-C cameras, and there is some variation in quality from a lens to another. But I still want it.

     
  11. Del Hays

    Del Hays New Member Site Supporter

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    Lots of great information, thanks for all the tips!!
     
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  12. pcake

    pcake Active Member Site Supporter

    Joined:
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    Equipment:
    Canon SL1
    55-250 STM
    18-55 STM
    Yongnuo 50mm 1.8
    i haven't tried the STM version of the 50mm 1.8. i'd say the yongnuo is at least as good as the pre-STM 50, which i did own. it sometimes hunts, but no worse than the canon did. i, too, checked images on the flickr group before ordering :D and like most sub-L lenses, there seems to be sample variation when it comes to focus in low light, as mine is actually pretty good unless the light is quite low or it's low and the shot is busy.

    that is a really good deal, and the only recent complaints on the seller is that they took longer to show up - and some of those were on amazon.
     
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  13. William Banik

    William Banik Member Site Supporter

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    It seems you have honed in on two models, the SL1 and T6i. There are tangible improvements opting for the T6i:

    IQ is better, SL1 output is perfectly acceptable but Canon's 24MP sensors produce cleaner (read less noise) images.
    You note you want to use the camera for some video, articulating screen on the T6i is a big plus.
    SL1 doesn't support ETTL-II - perhaps an issue for you, perhaps not but do realize you can't wireless control an off camera flash with the SL1. Solutions like wireless triggers exist but that adds cost, extra equipment and bulk.

    For those new to the Canon Ecosystem, before purchasing equipment, I recommend taking a look at Canon's refurbished inventory. One can find some very good deals there. Looks like they have a very nice T6i kit on sale:

    http://shop.usa.canon.com/shop/en/c...-ef-s-55-250mm-f-4-56-is-stm-lens-refurbished
     
  14. Del Hays

    Del Hays New Member Site Supporter

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    That is a very nice kit, best price I have seen, thanks!
     
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  15. Del Hays

    Del Hays New Member Site Supporter

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    Vasile Guta-Ciucur likes this.
  16. Vasile Guta-Ciucur

    Vasile Guta-Ciucur Active Member Site Supporter

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    Location:
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    Equipment:
    Canon EOS 100D
    Canon Lens EF-S 18-55mm 1:3.5-5.6 III
  17. Del Hays

    Del Hays New Member Site Supporter

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    No, but I pulled the trigger on the T6i which I think I will be happier with anyway. Now time to get a bag from BH!
     
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  18. William Banik

    William Banik Member Site Supporter

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    I didn't see the SL1 deal, good value there too. I think you'll find the T6i excellent value. Rebels are a good way to introduce yourself to the Canon system and if you find it's not your cup of tea you should be able to get most of the purchase price back on the used market. If you decide you like the camera you may want to invest in a PK to EOS EF-S adapter: http://fotodioxpro.com/collections/lens-mount-adapters/products/pk-eos-dc so you can use your Pentax K glass on the T6i.
     
  19. Del Hays

    Del Hays New Member Site Supporter

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    Pentax K-10 Lenses 18-55, 50, 28-80, 135, 80-200
    After further review it was out of stock but the website is not working correctly. I ordered but just a few minutes ago it cancelled.... bummed out.
     
  20. William Banik

    William Banik Member Site Supporter

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    Sorry to hear that Del Hays... Would have been a sweet deal. Keep your eyes on the refurb site, some really good deals pop up there...

     
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