Upgrading my Canon

kitkatkaplan

I am hoping to upgrade my system to improve quality and convenience. I am a bit slow and do not know a lot of technical terms so please keep your advice simple.

I currently have:
canon rebel eos ds6041 6.3 mp
sigma compact hyper zoom 28-200 f/3.5-5.6
canon ef-s 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6
canon f/1.8 II 50mm

I shoot a lot of action shots mostly of kids in parks and some indoor performances. I used the 28-200 for a long time but needed a good portrait lens and got the canon 50mm for $80. the shots are so much better my old shots look terrible to me now. My shots are also out of focus because I shoot on the run without a tripod or flash.

I went to B&H Photo in NYC and they said to get a fast lens like a f/2.8 but the reviews are very mixed and the choices overwhelming. B&H also said not to invest in a new camera because the mechanism is the same in them all. My Rebel is very old and has a very slow preview and is only 6mp so I'm not sure that is true.

I seem to shoot in the 18mm-55 range and would like one good fast lens with the quality of the canon f/1.8 II 50mm

Here are my questions...
It it worth upgrading to a newer Rebel?
The 20D/30D/40D series seems huge but are they any faster than the rebel with the same lens.

These are some of the lenses I was looking at:
Sigma Zoom Super Wide Angle AF 17-70mm f/2.8-4.5 DC $500
Sigma 18-50mm F2.8 EX DC MACRO $600
Canon EF-S 17-55 f/2.8 IS USM Standard Zoom Lens $800

Are canon zoom lenses better than sigma overall?
is a 17-70mm that much bigger range than 17-50mm?

Any feedbackk is appreciated.
thanks

CTUphoto

Well, let me jump on part of this one, since I recently (until today!) faced the same decision. The chunk of change that you'll drop to get you to the 40D won't be easy to part with, but in my experience, it's well worth every penny. I was in the same boat. I had the original 6mp d-rebel. I've been a proud owner of a 40D for about 4 hours now and I love it. The AF system is SOOOO fast compared to my old rebel.

I can't offer you too much advice on lenses, but I've read good thinigs about the Sigma 18-50mm F2.8 EX DC MACRO that you mentioned, and that's one of the ones I'm looking at down the road. I bought the 40D kit that comes with the 28-135 F3.5-5.6. It's a decent lens, but not the greatest in low-light environs.

In all, so far, very very very happy with the 40D.

Happy hunting in your upgrade quest.

Elaine

I just upgraded (yesterday) from the KM 5D (6 mp and over 2 years old, so about the same age as a 350D Rebel, I think) to the 40D with 17-55 2.8 IS. Wow, wow, wow...is it ever fast and responsive. It fits so nicely in my hand...the Rebel felt way too small and uncomfortable to me, that's one reason I went with the Minolta back then. The 17-55 seems to be a fantastic choice...very fast to focus, nice and stable (comfortable size and the IS is great), nicely sharp even wide open. Anyway, that's my .02...all the best in your decision making process!

20DNoob

If the bulk of your shooting is kids running about and indoor I'd definitely go with one of the xxD series for the faster max shutter speed and higher framerate. Along with the higher ISO capabilities(3200) for indoors.

Hers's a link for a side-by-side comparison of the XT/XTi/xxD series cameras.

I've also read in some reviews that the 17-70 is a better perfomer than both the others. If you could do without the 2.8 throughout the range you'd be gaining the extra mm range and saving some loot also.

Good luck.

Tee Why

I would disagree with the sales man in this case. The Digital Rebel is too slow, especially for shooting sports.

Getting a XTi or a 20/30D would make a big difference in several ways. First it starts up almost immediately. The buffer is much bigger. You can get AI servo AF'ing for tracking moving subjects. AF is faster. It is much faster when reviewing shots. A 20/30D will have 5 frames per second, while the XTi does 3. If you are shooting a lot of rapid sequence shots, then it may be worth it to upgrade to the 30D, i not, image quality is similar. The 30D can do ISO 3200 and increase ISO in 1/3 stops, which may be a good feature for low light shooting.

As for lenses, all those should out perform the current zoom lens you have.
The difference between 50-70 is noticeable in my view, but if you can take a few steps to foot zoom it shouldn't be a big deal. Plus I'd rather have constant f2.8 vs a variable aperture zoom with a 70mm range.

Out of your choices, the Canon is the best, but costs more. Sigma 18-50mm is nice as well. For the money, I'd go for a Tamron 17-50 though. Similar in optical quality to the Canon and a touch wider as well.

Good luck

kitkatkaplan

Tee Why wrote:

The Digital Rebel is too slow.

The buffer is much bigger.

You can get AI servo AF'ing for tracking moving subjects.

Sorry if I'm a beginner asking dumb Qs but...

How it the XT or XTI Faster? In what way?
Is the XT and XTI the same other than megapixels?

I don't see a spec for "Buffer", is it different for each of the Canons?

Is AI servo AF'ing a function of the lens or camera?

Thanks so so much, this is really helpful.

kini62

kitkatkaplan wrote:

Sorry if I'm a beginner asking dumb Qs but...

How it the XT or XTI Faster? In what way?
Is the XT and XTI the same other than megapixels?

I don't see a spec for "Buffer", is it different for each of the Canons?

Is AI servo AF'ing a function of the lens or camera?

Thanks so so much, this is really helpful.

Faster in start up, focus both single and continous, image review, shutter lag, and any other measure of "performance".

the Xti increased the mps plus it added the AF module from the 20/30d, it also added a dust reduction feature.

The buffer in the lower priced cameras is smaller, especially when shooting in RAW, but unless you routinely take more than 5 or 6 shots in a row it's not normally an issue.

AI Servo performance is a function of both the camera and lens.

The 20/30 and especially the 40D are faster than the Xt, Xti. Combine that with a lens like the 17-55IS with true USM lens motor and the focusing is very fast.

I too mainly use my camera for shots of the kids and I could always use faster. I have a 40D, 24-105IS and a 70-200/2.8 and I still want faster sometimes.

So upgrade to the best model you can afford and at least one nice lens in the focal length that suits your needs best.

Gene

kitkatkaplan

Thanks for the help!
Thanks for all the great feedback! I picked up a Sigma 17-70 f2.8 and thought the lens works great, the performance in low light was only slightly better. I definitely am going to upgrade to an XTI or 20D. I have small hands and like my old rebel but the new Rebel is tiny even for me. I'm going to borrow a 20D this week and see if i can get used to what feels like a giant to me.

If anyone has more feed back on comparing the XTI to the 20D in terms of use in very low light, let me know.