Should I Upgrade

FlyFisher70

Hello everyone, I have been lurking here for quite some time. I really enjoy reading up all the great information everyone has to offer. I have been thinking of upgrading from my XTi to a full frame camera. I have been looking at the 5D. Do you guys\gals think that's to big of a jump from my XTi? I really enjoy shooting landscapes and of course the family portraits. For the most part I am always outdoors fly fishing. I try and take as many photos as I can while on the water. I seem to spend lots of time in the high sierra with some really great views. I also take lots of close ups of fish. I really do like that the 5D gives you the full frame image sensor 35.8x23.9mm vs the 22.4x14.8mm that I have with the XTi. What do you guys & gals think should I pick up the 5D or should I just stick with my XTi:dunno

Thanks,
Benjamin

swintonphoto

Anytime I consider an upgrade I think the best 3 questions to ask myself are:

1. How is my current camera preventing me from making the images I want?

2. Will the new camera address these limitations sufficiently?

3. Is the improvement worth the money?


Answering these three honestly will help you make the right choice.

An aside - if there is one thing I have learned in the photography world it's this: YOU WILL NEVER HAVE EVERYTHING YOU NEED (or think you need)... I've only had my current camera body for 9 months and I'm already drooling over rumors of new models... But, when I am honest with myself, my current camera body does everything I need it to, and it does it quite well. My goal is to wear out my current camera, then I'll replace it when it dies.

ziggy53

FlyFisher70 wrote:

Hello everyone, I have been lurking here for quite some time. I really enjoy reading up all the great information everyone has to offer. I have been thinking of upgrading from my XTi to a full frame camera. I have been looking at the 5D. Do you guys\gals think that's to big of a jump from my XTi? I really enjoy shooting landscapes and of course the family portraits. For the most part I am always outdoors fly fishing. I try and take as many photos as I can while on the water. I seem to spend lots of time in the high sierra with some really great views. I also take lots of close ups of fish. I really do like that the 5D gives you the full frame image sensor 35.8x23.9mm vs the 22.4x14.8mm that I have with the XTi. What do you guys & gals think should I pick up the 5D or should I just stick with my XTi

Thanks,
Benjamin

Benjamin,

Welcome to the Digital Grin.

A lot of people do really like their Canon 5D, and now that Nikon has the D3 and D700 and Canon has the upcoming 5D MKII it looks like full-frame 35mm dSLR cameras are coming into their own time. (The Canon 1Ds series was also full-frame but out of reach for most folks.)

While the 5D may be right for you do consider that Canon EF-S lenses will not mount on the 5D. You may also need some wider-angle lenses for vista landscapes.

Full-frame 35mm digital is neither better nor worse than crop sensor, just different qualities. If you are sure that you need those qualities and you have the finances to support it, I say go for it.

davidweaver

Hi Benjamin,

How are you set for a tripod? Ballhead? Strobes? The camera body is only part of the whole kit you use for taking pics. If you have reached the limits of the camera and would find the extra features the new camera bring an asset to your image taking then an upgrade is worth it.

That new Canon 5D MKII looks like a pretty good tool to upgrade your landscape work. Maybe Nikon will offer something competitive next decade. .

BTW: I've completely upgraded from D200s to D300s for the improvements in lower noise the D300 offers. I'm still very happy with shots taken with the D200...and D70 and CoolPix5000 in the recent past.

Cheers,
David

ziggy53

hostchecker wrote:

You might as well upgrade!

Hostchecker, welcome to the Digital Grin.

Is this something you are also considering?

Did you have an experience in upgrades to share?

angevin1

FlyFisher70 wrote:

Hello everyone, I have been lurking here for quite some time. I really enjoy reading up all the great information everyone has to offer. I have been thinking of upgrading from my XTi to a full frame camera. I have been looking at the 5D. Do you guys\gals think that's to big of a jump from my XTi? I really enjoy shooting landscapes and of course the family portraits. For the most part I am always outdoors fly fishing. I try and take as many photos as I can while on the water. I seem to spend lots of time in the high sierra with some really great views. I also take lots of close ups of fish. I really do like that the 5D gives you the full frame image sensor 35.8x23.9mm vs the 22.4x14.8mm that I have with the XTi. What do you guys & gals think should I pick up the 5D or should I just stick with my XTi

Thanks,
Benjamin

Hi Benjamin,

What a great place to have access to!! many of the posters have terriffic suggestions and ways to help you thru the peck/pick-ing process.

Family portraits? many cameras, including yours, work well! Fishing and the like...I'd like something cheaper and lighter..Landscapes; yours or even bigger than that...so your fun photography reaches all over the map. cool!

I liked the suggestion to ask yourself if your present gear wasn't delivering something other gear could (paraphrasing poorly).

Why not make a ten list. list ten things you like about your gear. and ten things you don't...then weigh it all out. assuming you can get to ten...or twenty or whatever~~

But your meta-question was about full frame too. So read up on full frames and see if they can deliver whatever it is you truly want in a photograph.

You could also just soothe your soul and do whatever feels right. aka below( with the caveat: who cares if you need it!)!!

"Full-frame 35mm digital is neither better nor worse than crop sensor, just different qualities. If you are sure that you need those qualities and you have the finances to support it, I say go for it"

cheers, tom

FlyFisher70

I have been trying to come up with things my camera does not do well, but it seem to do everything I ask of it except take photos that pop so to speak.

As far as lenses, I have a decent wide angle Tamron 11-18mm to cover my landscape shots. I takes really nice photos, but sometimes I don't get what I actually see through the view finder. I'm not sure if it's just my lack of photography skills. Frome what the gentleman at my camera shop told me, this lens is compatible with all EOS cameras incase I ever wanted to move on to a full frame. I also have my EF 50mm which is also compatible with a full frame. I have the EF-S 18-55 kit lens which I know does not fit the full frame camera. My tripod is a flathead which is not the best tripod, but it works for me. Flash well I'm lacking in any type of flash, I use the popup flash or natural light.

As stated before most of my photos lack that POP. The only photos that have a bit of a pop were all taken with the wide angle lens.

I really don't mind keeping my XTi, if it saves me some cash and I could get some really nice photos out of it I will keep it for sure.

I guess my idea of having a full frame camera was because I see so many beautiful photos taken with them. I thought of the 5D because it's the most affordable full frame I have found.

ziggy53

FlyFisher70 wrote:

... I have a decent wide angle Tamron 11-18mm to cover my landscape shots. ... Frome what the gentleman at my camera shop told me, this lens is compatible with all EOS cameras incase I ever wanted to move on to a full frame. ...

If you have the Tamron SP AF11-18mm, F/4.5-5.6 Di-II LD Aspherical (IF) then I am afraid that it will not cover the field of a full-frame 35mm camera. The "Di-II" is the Tamron designation for crop lenses. It will probably attach to a full-frame camera safely, just not fill the frame with image. The image will probably be severely vignetted.

bandgeekndb

Beware of the nagging feeling to want more stuff!

I was having a lot of trouble with sports photography, even in great light! I asked for some advice over in the Sports forum and I went from 2-3% keepers to more than 20-25%! That's pretty darn awesome for a bunch of tips given to a veritable newbie at photography.

I'd suggest some classes, possible geared toward your favorite types of photography, or just general classes on the basics of photography. If nothing else, just search around here for some tips, ask others how they got a shot you like, etc. You'd be amazed how much you can learn quickly just from a few tips.

Hope this helps! I've seen some amazing portraits, expecting to find a expensive Nikon or Canon, only to find a lowly D40, D60, or an xTi or xT! Great things can come in small (and cheap) packages!

~Nick

Cato

FlyFisher70 wrote:

I have been trying to come up with things my camera does not do well, but it seem to do everything I ask of it except take photos that pop so to speak.

As stated before most of my photos lack that POP. The only photos that have a bit of a pop were all taken with the wide angle lens.

It's not the camera that makes the photos "pop", it's the individuals doing the post-processing. I see plenty of photos that "pop" from entry-level DSLRs and P&S cameras. If you post a couple of photos, I'm sure there will be plenty of DGrinners ready to help you out!

FlyFisher70

Cato wrote:

It's not the camera that makes the photos "pop", it's the individuals doing the post-processing. I see plenty of photos that "pop" from entry-level DSLRs and P&S cameras. If you post a couple of photos, I'm sure there will be plenty of DGrinners ready to help you out!

So is it the post processing that makes the photos pop a bit more rather than the actual original photo taken or do you have to start out with a decent shot in the first place?

I think I'll just stick with my XTi for now and see if I can improve my photography with the helpful tips on dgrin.

Thank you all so much for all your advise:D

Scott_Quier

FlyFisher70 wrote:

So is it the post processing that makes the photos pop a bit more rather than the actual original photo taken or do you have to start out with a decent shot in the first place?

I think I'll just stick with my XTi for now and see if I can improve my photography with the helpful tips on dgrin.

Thank you all so much for all your advise:D

Good call!. It's not the equipment that makes the photograph. It's the operator behind the camera! Someday, I hope to be able to prove that statement with my own work.

ziggy53

FlyFisher70 wrote:

So is it the post processing that makes the photos pop a bit more rather than the actual original photo taken or do you have to start out with a decent shot in the first place?

I think I'll just stick with my XTi for now and see if I can improve my photography with the helpful tips on dgrin.

Thank you all so much for all your advise:D

Be sure to take a look at the "Pop" tutorial here:

http://dgrin.smugmug.com/gallery/2292454/1

Cato

FlyFisher70 wrote:

So is it the post processing that makes the photos pop a bit more rather than the actual original photo taken or do you have to start out with a decent shot in the first place?

You got it! There are bunches of tremendous photos here taken with cameras similar to yours.

DSLR's are set from the factory to produce rather neutral photos. The thinking behind that is that most folks who are willing to invest in a DSLR are pretty serious about it, and will want control over the processing of their photos, like when photographers developed their own film.

If you shoot in JPG rather than RAW, your camera might allow you to adjust things like the color saturation, tone and sharpness within the camera itself. I don't have a Canon XTi so I don't know...

Maybe you could post a couple of your photos in the Technique forum, and have some of the helpful and talented DG'ers gives you some tips and examples on how to get a good post-processing workflow going.

Of course, some of the absolutely very best, mind-blowing shots posted are taken with FF cameras. And the reason the shots are so awesome is because those photographers have invested a lot of $$ in great bodies and lenses, and even more time, effort and thought into their craft.