What camera to bring???

[PHamrick]

Hi:

We are taking our kids on their first Disney trip/Disney cruise in April. I have a Canon 2Ti that works fine for t-ball games and birthday parties, but is starting to slow down. I am going to rent a camera and one lens for our trip (I have a few street lenses and prime lenses that I would use at home, but don't want the bother of multiple lenses for the trip). I'm looking for suggestions as to which body/lens combo would be best.

Couple of things: I'd prefer to stick with Canon because I've used it for years and don't want to try to learn a new camera for this trip.

Also, please don't tell me to use my iPhone or point and click, etc. Part of the fun for me is take/frame photos. I'm not looking for a philosophical discussion on the role of cameras on vacation--just serious suggestions/experiences with DSLR products. Thank you for understanding!

I'm thinking the Canon 60D and a zoom 24-105mm lens. Thanks for your opinions!

 

[Gianna'sPapa]

It really depends on your shooting goals for the trip. There is not one lens for everything Disney. Obviously, shooting a day time parade is totally different than a dark ride, like HM. If you are just looking for a walkaround with reasonable expectations of lower light situations the 24-105 on a full frame would perform well for most situations.

 

[SplashMo]

The 24-105 would work better on a 6d OR 5DIII. anything starting in the 24-28 range is for the full frame camera. You could go with that or go with a t5i, t4i or SL1 or the 70D. with a lens in the 18-55, 18-135 range. It would be nice to bring the canon 35/2 or the 40mm pancake along as well for dark/night. I would suggest the above cameras over the 60D due to its large size.

 

[PHamrick]

Thanks for the advice. I had thought to bring only one lens because my kids are pretty small (3 and 5) and I didn't want to switch lenses often. I don't know if we will be doing much at night/dark rides, but it is a consideration. The T5i is a possibility because it would be nice to test it out before I upgrade my current body. I was wondering, however, if one of the more professional grade bodies made sense as a rental...how much of a difference would I see from the T5i and a professional full frame?

Thanks!!!

 

[Pixel Dust]

Anything starting in the 24-28 range is for the full frame camera. You could go with that or go with a t5i, t4i or SL1 or the 70D. with a lens in the 18-55, 18-135 range.

Bingo! 24 mm on a 60D, or the cameras mentioned above, may not be wide enough, in some cases. The 18-135 should be a decent all-around lens. But as previously said, there's no perfect lens for Disney. It's all about what you are trying to achieve.

Starting from a T2i, you can go with a T4i/T5i and the 18-135, and save some cash. The 60D may have some ergonomic quirks that you may not be used to, than if you were to stay in the TXi line.

 

[rwdavis2]

Just curious, I have the same camera and wondered that you meant by "slowing down"?

Anyway, I took this camera in 2012 and used the 24-105 for most shots but too took, I think, the 100-300 zoom for long shots. That lens was invaluable for safari shots (lions) at Animal Kingdom. Also, I shot mostly manual due to many lighting conditions: night, high contrast, backlight, and complete zoom on the 300mm. Daytime worked fine on auto.

 

[PHamrick]

I've had the camera almost 3 years and probably taken over 20,000 pics with it (birth of two kids and all) and I feel like it's reaction time, shutter speed, etc. is starting to wear out. Probably the "mileage" and not the age. I go back and forth as to whether I want to bring my "old" one (which works OK) or if it is worth some extra dollars to rent a better model. I'm also wondering how much "better" the t5i is over the t2i? I've been reading some reviews that the newer Canon models aren't necessarily huge improvements over the older ones. Of course, if my is starting to wear out, then any new one would be an improvement.

 

[rwdavis2]

I've had the camera almost 3 years and probably taken over 20,000 pics with it (birth of two kids and all) and I feel like it's reaction time, shutter speed, etc. is starting to wear out. Probably the "mileage" and not the age. I go back and forth as to whether I want to bring my "old" one (which works OK) or if it is worth some extra dollars to rent a better model. I'm also wondering how much "better" the t5i is over the t2i? I've been reading some reviews that the newer Canon models aren't necessarily huge improvements over the older ones. Of course, if my is starting to wear out, then any new one would be an improvement.

Wow, I'm no where near that on photo count. The only time I ever really pushed the camera to its limits was extreme zoom, getting night shots of the castle and parade. That required some testing of shutter/f-stop (love the instant feedback of a digital camera). Other than that the technical aspects were pretty normal.

As for the newest camera, what are the new features? I'm guessing more pixels. I can make 9x13 enlargements with the T2i that are close if not as good as 35mm film for sharpness. I did use the video feature too.

 

[havoc315]

Thanks for the advice. I had thought to bring only one lens because my kids are pretty small (3 and 5) and I didn't want to switch lenses often. I don't know if we will be doing much at night/dark rides, but it is a consideration. The T5i is a possibility because it would be nice to test it out before I upgrade my current body. I was wondering, however, if one of the more professional grade bodies made sense as a rental...how much of a difference would I see from the T5i and a professional full frame?

Thanks!!!

Huge massive difference. Truthfully, you will see minimal differences between the T5i and the T2i. The main differences are touch screen, and better video autofocus with select lenses. The image quality is still nearly the same between the T5i and the T2i.

On the other hand, go with full frame -- And everything changes.
Low light performance is the biggest change --- Where before you may have been limited to shooting around ISO 800-1600 for high quality, with the Canon 5dM3 or 6d, you will be able to shoot high quality images at ISO 6400 and higher without much issue.
The other big change is the length of your lenses. Your 24-105... on the T5i is effectively 36-160ish. On full frame, it would actually be 24-105.
Finally, because the effective focal lengths of your lenses are wider, you need to get closer to your subjects and/or use longer focal lengths -- which creates narrower depth of field.

Additionally, the full frame will just give you a richer image in many cases. Better color depth, better dynamic range.

And the professional/semi-pro FF bodies have other goodies. The 5dM3 has a tremendous autofocus system, for example. Also a much larger and brighter viewfinder,etc.

If I were you, I'd either just stick the the t2i and rent a fantastic lens or 2. Or I'd rent full frame. The t5i just wouldn't be worth renting.

 

[havoc315]

Wow, I'm no where near that on photo count. The only time I ever really pushed the camera to its limits was extreme zoom, getting night shots of the castle and parade. That required some testing of shutter/f-stop (love the instant feedback of a digital camera). Other than that the technical aspects were pretty normal.

As for the newest camera, what are the new features? I'm guessing more pixels. I can make 9x13 enlargements with the T2i that are close if not as good as 35mm film for sharpness. I did use the video feature too.

I believe the megapixels are the same. DXOMark actually rates the image quality of the T2i as being better than the T5i.
I believe you can summarize the differences like this:
Touch screen. Flip-out screen. Better video autofocus (with select lenses).

If I was upgrading from the T2i, I'd look at going full frame, or I'd look at the 70D. The T5i just isn't a significant upgrade.

 

[pjacobi]

I've had the camera almost 3 years and probably taken over 20,000 pics with it

Typical shutter lifetimes are 50,000 -200,000. I suggest taking your camera to a photo shop for a professional opinion.

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-EOS-Rebel-XS-1000D-Digital-SLR-Camera-Review.aspx - See table included in the review for expected lifetimes of various Canon models.

New equipment will not improve your photo skills. In fact, you may get worse pictures with new equipment because of unfamiliarity.


-Paul

 

[photo_chick]

Hi:

We are taking our kids on their first Disney trip/Disney cruise in April. I have a Canon 2Ti that works fine for t-ball games and birthday parties, but is starting to slow down. I am going to rent a camera and one lens for our trip (I have a few street lenses and prime lenses that I would use at home, but don't want the bother of multiple lenses for the trip). I'm looking for suggestions as to which body/lens combo would be best.

Couple of things: I'd prefer to stick with Canon because I've used it for years and don't want to try to learn a new camera for this trip.

Also, please don't tell me to use my iPhone or point and click, etc. Part of the fun for me is take/frame photos. I'm not looking for a philosophical discussion on the role of cameras on vacation--just serious suggestions/experiences with DSLR products. Thank you for understanding!

I'm thinking the Canon 60D and a zoom 24-105mm lens. Thanks for your opinions!

The 60D isn't going to do anything for you image quality wise over the T2i, and not much more in features really either. If the goal is to increase the body look to a 7D (which would be for features and not IQ), a 70D or a 6D.

As to how much difference you'd see between the T2i and a camera like the 6D... ISO 25600 produces images that are still quite useable on the 6D. I went from the 50D to the 6D and the difference was really jaw dropping when it comes to noise and high ISO. How many stops you really gain over the T2i depends a lot on how you expose and process the image though. And keep in mind that the 6D does have the best high ISO performance of any Canon right now.

The 24-205 is an awesome walk around lens. I love mine. However, a lot of people find that 24mm isn't quite wide enough on a crop body. Especially someplace like WDW where crowds may prohibit you from backing up to get the shot you want.

 

[nvtsallo]

If your renting. I would get the 6d with the 24-70 2.8 ii to cover lower light and daytime. The lens is just awesome. Also you will need a speedlite like a 270 ex ii minimum.

 

[SkaGoat]

The 60D isn't going to do anything for you image quality wise over the T2i, and not much more in features really either. If the goal is to increase the body look to a 7D (which would be for features and not IQ), a 70D or a 6D..

Apples to Apples the 7D has the same IQ, except that it's AF is miles better, and it shoots 8 FPS in burst, vs. the T2i's 3.7 (and the 60Ds 5.3 fps, 6D 5.0 fps, 5Dmiii 6 fps) and that may allow you to get more sharp, usable shots, of moving targets like kids and animals.

I don't know if weight is a concern, remember the 60D is 1/2 lbs heavier than your T2i, and the full frame cameras are even heavier than that.

You could always rent something like the Canon 18-200mm IS or a combo of the Tamron 17-50mm f/3.8 VC & Canon 70-200mm f/4L.

Which lenses do you own for your T2i?