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Camera and lens to catch my toddler in action?
MrsCook1218
Registered Users Posts: 1 Beginner grinner
Hello!
I'm in need of advice!
I am looking to buy a new camera. From the research I've done so far, I think I have narrowed my options down to the Canon 60D or the Canon Rebel T3i. I was hoping I could get some feedback of which camera would be best for me. Ultimately, I want the camera for 1 purpose - taking photos of my 1 year old! As you can imagine, he is always on the move and there is 0% chance of getting him to hold still and pose. However, on the bright side, he always has a smile on his face! So I need a camera that can catch him in action.
From what I've read, this task has more to do with the lens I choose, than with the body I choose. So if anyone could point me in the right direction as to which camera and which lenses would be best for my needs, I would REALLY appreciate the help!
Thanks in advance!
I'm in need of advice!
I am looking to buy a new camera. From the research I've done so far, I think I have narrowed my options down to the Canon 60D or the Canon Rebel T3i. I was hoping I could get some feedback of which camera would be best for me. Ultimately, I want the camera for 1 purpose - taking photos of my 1 year old! As you can imagine, he is always on the move and there is 0% chance of getting him to hold still and pose. However, on the bright side, he always has a smile on his face! So I need a camera that can catch him in action.
From what I've read, this task has more to do with the lens I choose, than with the body I choose. So if anyone could point me in the right direction as to which camera and which lenses would be best for my needs, I would REALLY appreciate the help!
Thanks in advance!
0
Comments
No matter the lens, you need to be concerned with the practical matter of the light. That's all a camera can capture, after all. I've been in homes where I could shoot cute pics with a cell phone, others where I'd need fast glass, a flash for autofocus assist, and a few remotely triggered strobes. The lamp store may be cheaper than the camera store....
Thank you so much for "reading" and researching first. Besides the lens, light is even more important. (That's the point that I believe user "Grainbelt" was making above.)
Here is my one-year-old granddaughter in action.
... works great with older kids too:
The formula for success:
1 - Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM, standard zoom lens
1 - Canon 40D dSLR (The Canon 60D is fine too.)
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IMHO, a Canon Rebel, 430EX flash, and the kit 18-55 IS II lens will crush most point and shoots. If you want a setup that will go beyond a few shots of the kids in the backyard, go with the EF-S 15-85 IS USM lens for even better images, or for the ultimate, the EF-S 17-55 f2.8 IS as Ziggy suggests. Sigma and Tamron make very respectable 17-50 f2.8 lenses you should consider as well. The only limits are money after that.
The 60D (or 40D) shoot a bit faster, are larger bodies (if you have big hands), and a few other features that you will appreciate if you shoot alot. If you are just starting, you will grow into this body, but starting with a Rebel is what many of us did, so its not a bad way to go. It all depends on what you plan or hope to do beyond shots of your kids.
Here is the thing: lenses last a long time, and upgrades are comparably minor compared to camera bodies. Spend your money on your lens. The 17-55 f2.8 is a $1000 lens. the 15-85 is $700. The 18-55 is only part of a kit, and probably $200 or so if sold outside of it. So, one option is to spend $$ on the lens, and get a nice, used Rebel body to start off with. Sell it when you start wanting more from your camera.
My only point was that any attempt at indoor portraiture most certainly includes an external flash, with AF-assist and a tilt/swivel head. I fought that for a year or two after buying my first DSLR and relying on the on-board flash. It really does make a huge difference.
It sounds like this is your first SLR camera. If this is so, then I highly recommend getting a book or taking a class on basic photography soon after getting the camera. Learn the basics of exposure and composition, and your pics will get better even with the equipment you currently have.
Look at it this way - if Tiger Woods gave you his best set of clubs, or the Williams sisters gave you their best rackets, would you be able to compete with them at the pro level? I think not. Likewise, no matter how good a camera setup you have, you will be dissapointed with the pictures unless you learn the skills needed to take advantage of the equipment's capabilities.
And on the original topic, I agree completely with Ziggy - an exterrnal flash unit is almost essential for getting pics of an active toddler indoors.
I am not taking photos of a 1 year old most of the time because most of what I take is of things going on at my church. I am in the habit of using a higher ISO and NO flash to grab shots of things like the installation of our Church Council during the service without disrupting the worship nature of the service. And . . .most of those are then used at a small size in our newsletter and/or the scrapbook another member maintains for us.
One thing that I really urge you to do is physically handle a camera from both series. Even as a woman I find the Rebels don't have enough room around the hand grip to be comfortable. In fact, I can just generally hold a larger camera steady easier than a small one!
I suggest rather than worrying about a flash, worry about available light. Unless it is after dark, there is light coming in windows. Use it. And after dark, cameras these days can go to high ISO with good quality. Watch for the quality of light and the shape and dimension it gives your child's face.
No matter what camera, the best photos outside of a studio are the ones with the best available light. Never direct flash. Bounce flash can work very well, but again, I think dealing with a flash is usually just too much bother for me.
Back to your original questions, I think either the 60D or T3i will do very well. The 60D probably has a bit better autofocus, but whichever camera you prefer to hold in your hands and operate is probably the one you should get. As for a lens, spend as much as you can. A Canon 17-55/2.8IS is the ultimate, but the Tamron offering is close. If both are out of the question, just get the kit lens and then add a fast prime like the 28/1.8, 35/2, or 50/1.8. For indoors I would recommend either of the former two, but the 50/1.8 is a ridiculous bargain. You will not need a longer lens (like a 70-200) until your child is really running around outside.
An "accurate" reproduction of a scene and a good photograph are often two different things.
Then you want as open of an f-stop as you can get. There is a lot to be said for 2.8 or better. This drives lens decisions.
Then you want high usable ISO. This drives camera selection. Indoors you could easily be shooting 800 to 6,400 ISO. Not all camera backs give satisfying results as you get past 800.
At the end of the day you feel like a game show contestant except you are saying, "I'd like to buy a shutter speed (or two)."
So you change the rules if you can - turn a light on and/or use a flash. Kids might or might not hear a shutter fire, but everyone in the room will notice a flash going off. (As kids get older, this could easily be an issue.)
On a low budget, consider the Canon 50mm f/1.8 lens. Stopped down to f/2.0 it's still a full stop faster than a 2.8 lens. It's as cheap of a lens as you can find at $100. The focal length is reasonable indoors (effective 80mm on a crop sensor body).
Then as good of a camera back as you can afford (possibly leaving money for a modest flash). This is purely budget driven. Read the reviews and look for the "better high ISO than x" words. Good high ISO performance is expensive but check the reviews carefully.
I bought my first tough camera when my daughter was about 2. I bought it for mountain biking but quickly realized that because it was "tough" I could leave it laying around and let my daughter have free access to it without worrying about it breaking or winding up in the toilet or whatever. It took some good pictures of her as she grew (with full knowledge that the IQ is a compromise from a DSLR or high end P&S) and, more importantly, I have hundreds of images of the world through the eyes of a 2, 3 4, 5 and 6 year old now.
In fact, with the update of a new tough camera, the original one is now her camera and I expect to continue getting some very cool perspectives, not to mention the fact that she's developed a reasonably good eye and from time to time catches a great shot!
I recommend going for the 60D. It has a better autofocus with more cross type AF points which is helpful with uncooperative toddlers and may allow you to nail the shot in AI servo mode. The 60D also has slightly higher frames per second which also helps with little ones.
With regards to glass, I too would highly recommend the canon 17-55 f2.8. It's a 1000 big ones but well worth the money. You must realize that good lenses such as these really retain value long term, so for example in 3 years you upgrade and sell the lens even for say 700 it's a no brainier. In effect you "rented" the lens for $300 for 3 years which is a steal.
Good luck and enjoy
-- a 50D rather than 40D or 60D (I don't think the difference among them matters much for this)
--the 430EX II, which I bought because it is cheaper
--A Tamron 28-75 f/2.8, which is a longer cousin of the lens I suggested above.
Ziggy, come on. A Rebel isn't good enough? Seriously? Even the first Rebel is miles ahead of plenty of cameras. Once you're into the DSLR arena, it's a matter of this-over-that. None are bad, and pretty much all are better than competent. My XTi Rebel has been a great camera for six years or so. Probably not good enough for one who makes a living with a lens, but plenty camera of the amateur. The T3i is leaps and bounds ahead of it, so I can only assume that it'll work just fine.
Here's an indoor shot done with my XTi years ago. I didn't then know much about editing (still don't), and this is resized, so it's lost some detail, but the original hangs on my wall (along with a few dozen others) and looks great.
Brad
www.facebook.com/SwearingenTurnings -- Hand made pens by yours truly
I'm absolutely serious.
The Canon xxD series is a significant improvement in "responsiveness" over the dRebels in the same years, as measured by things like:
Shutter lag
Mirror blackout
Frame rate
Card write speeds
etc.
Considering that a small child's closing rate can exceed that of a race car (absolutely true because of the typical proximity), responsiveness can make a tremendous difference in keeper rate.
I currently own 7 - Canon dSLRs, have an engineering background, around 45 years experience in photography, and I really do know of what I speak.
Nothing wrong with the Canon dRebel line for general photography, but the original poster is inquiring about a type of "action" photography and the dRebels are far from a first choice in that category.
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Brad
www.facebook.com/SwearingenTurnings -- Hand made pens by yours truly
I think Brad is correct that perfectly acceptable shots can be made with a Rebel. But ziggy is correct that you will have a much easier time at it with a xxD camera. I believe Brad is emphasizing the image result itself, whereas ziggy is emphasizing the shot-taking capabilities.
Brad, I agree, a Rebel is perfectly capable of taking a shot of active kids. The biggest difference, from my experience (350D + 40D) is your probability of success rate, and your 'keeper' rate. You will have much, much higher of these things with an XXD body. And the crazy thing is, you can purchase a nice used model of 40D, 50D, or even a newer 60D for less than many of the xxxD models new.
The other consideration is that your kid doesn't slow down. Soon there will be soccer matches, school plays, birthday parties, etc etc. Soon you will be wishing you had a better camera.
You won't notice it at first. You will have an enjoyable shoot, then download your images and begin looking at them in Lightroom. They will look fine, but you will wish you had gotten the focus on the eyes in that one, or that the focus was on your kid not the neighbor's kid in that other one. Maybe you missed that smile, or your kid was just looking away in that one. This is the difference a fast focusing, faster shooting, faster frame rate provides. This becomes even more apparent when soccer and other team sports come up. Sure, by then, perhaps the 99D will be shipping and lust will begin again.
If you have the choice, choose the XXD range over the XXXD range. The XD range is a bit more complicated, as those cameras are not a 'range' at all, but several very different cameras (plus the numbers are messed up..the lowest number is the top of the range!)
Brad
www.facebook.com/SwearingenTurnings -- Hand made pens by yours truly
Both models will get you excellent children pics and I agree a flash and fast lens helps a lot with the indoor pics. I would say go with the cheaper T3i and kit lens unless you find a deal with the 60D. Also consider getting the 50mm 1.8 (less than $100) and a Yongnuo ETTL flash ( around $60)
one of my recent pic of the nephews
Canon Rebel XSi (450D)
natural light - Tamron 17-50
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The more responsive the system, the higher the rate of keepers (but never a 100% keeper rate).
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