Camera Reqs (canon upgrade)

applegal

Hi everyone,
I am still pretty new here so I hope I am posting this in the right place . My little 'hobby' photography biz has really taken off recently (yay!) and I am realizing that its probably time to upgrade my camera. I have really hit the limits for my Rebel XS. My shoots are all children (mostly newborn-age 3) with the occasional family, senior, or engagement pic thrown in. Currently I use my Rebel XS with my 50mm1.4 for 85% of these shoots (sometimes I use the kit 18-55 due to space constraints when indoors). With winter upon us, I am really having issues with the ISO limits of my rebel (over 400 starts to get noisy).

So....any recommendations on where to go next? I was thinking the 50D but would the T1or2 be enough of an upgrade or will I be wanting to change again quickly? A 5D would be wonderful of course, but I am on a budget (business isn't that busy yet). What about a 40D, used?

Any thoughts and guidance are greatly appreciated.

Thank you!
Sarah

Richard

A 50D is ok at ISO 800, but you would still need to do some noise reduction for portrait work. I think a used 5D might serve you better. Are you using flash? That might be something else to explore.

cpagility

but I am on a budget (business isn't that busy yet). What about a 40D, used?


If you decide on a used 40d I have two of them I'm going to be listing for sale next week. $500 each, comes with all accessories that were originally included and the box. They both have about 22,000 actuations.

Hardcore

applegal wrote: »

Hi everyone,
I am still pretty new here so I hope I am posting this in the right place . My little 'hobby' photography biz has really taken off recently (yay!) and I am realizing that its probably time to upgrade my camera. I have really hit the limits for my Rebel XS. My shoots are all children (mostly newborn-age 3) with the occasional family, senior, or engagement pic thrown in. Currently I use my Rebel XS with my 50mm1.4 for 85% of these shoots (sometimes I use the kit 18-55 due to space constraints when indoors). With winter upon us, I am really having issues with the ISO limits of my rebel (over 400 starts to get noisy).

So....any recommendations on where to go next? I was thinking the 50D but would the T1or2 be enough of an upgrade or will I be wanting to change again quickly? A 5D would be wonderful of course, but I am on a budget (business isn't that busy yet). What about a 40D, used?

Any thoughts and guidance are greatly appreciated.

Thank you!
Sarah

I think you'd be better off adding a ettl flash like the yongnuo yn468 for cheap. I don't think the 40d has the high iso noise performance your looking for, but I could be wrong.

Good luck.

applegal

Thank you! I am using a flash and have a couple of small softboxes for indoor use. I just hate using the flash if I can do it with the natural light .

Is there a clarity difference between the XS and the more high end models?

ziggy53

The problem with using natural/available light is that if you need to use more than ISO 400 you probably don't have enough light. Using a flash properly will do more for you than trying to upgrade your camera, although upgrading the camera will help.

I would upgrade lenses first.

Purchase a Tamron 17-50mm, f2.8 XR Di-II LD SP ZL Aspherical (IF) to gain the larger constant aperture and better image quality it can provide. It will also allow you better background control. The f2.8 is important because any camera you use it on will focus faster, especially if you use only the center AF point.

Use your flash but also use an appropriate flash modifier. I recommend a couple of DIY modifier which will cost you just a few dollars to build both:

You can create your own light modifiers (DIY). A couple that I can recommend are:

http://www.fototime.com/inv/908195739C4C0D3

http://abetterbouncecard.com/

Yes, I use these myself and they provide much better light than direct flash.

The other thing a quality flash provides is a focus assist light. If you have either a Canon 580EX or 430EX series flash then you have a focus assist light that will help in both AF speed and AF accuracy, especially in lower light levels. If your flash does npt have an AF assist light, I highly recommend getting one that does have it.

The following were shot with a Canon XT, a lesser camera than you own:







They all used a lens similar to the one I recommend and they all used a Sigma 5xx DG Super flash with one of the modifiers listed above.

pathfinder

Folks always think it is the tools, and rarely, want to really believe it is the craftsman holding the tools.

But it really is the craftsman that makes the difference.

A 50D will take lovely images at ISO 800 or even 1600 if you are careful not to under expose. The AF system on the 50D is superior to that of the 40D. Not as good as the 7D however, but you asked about a 50D. With a fast lens, it will serve you very nicely. If noise is an issue, NoiseWare will deal with it in a portrait in a lovely manner.

Notice how nice Ziggy's shots are with his XT.