wanting to UPGRADE...

I've had the Canon Rebel XTi for about 4 years now. I'm really ready to upgrade but not sure what would be a good camera to step up to. Any suggestions? My budget would be around $800. I've been eyeing the Canon Rebel T2i and T3i...but not really sure what the difference between them is. I'm ready to upgrade because I wanter better performance and higher quality shots. Please let me know what you think and what experience you've had with either the T2i or T3i.
Thanks so much!!
-Madison

[dlambert]

It would probably be helpful to share what it is about the XTi you hope to improve upon w/ a new camera, as well as what lenses you have right now.

Originally Posted by dlambert

It would probably be helpful to share what it is about the XTi you hope to improve upon w/ a new camera, as well as what lenses you have right now.

I've just been disappointed in it recently because of the quality...I want more vivid shots and also my autofocus has been messing up on me...it's probably a technical issue so it's a bit frustrating when a lot of my photos turn out unfocused. I've been trying to use the manual focus...but I'm just not so good at it. lol.

Here are my lenses:
Canon Standard Kit Lens 18-55mm
Canon Telephoto Lens 75-300mm (I must say, I'm very disappointed in this lens)
& Promaster Zoom Lens 18-200mm (my favorite lens by far!)

[dlambert]

Ok, so vivid shots could be something you could fix in post-processing -- do you have any examples you could show us? Lenses can also differ in how "vivid" they are - of the lenses you've got, I'd expect the 18-55 to be about the best for color rendition.

Autofocus performance is affected by both your body and lens -

* A better lens will transmit more light to the sensor, improving the sensor's ability to detect contrast (and improving performance).
* The T2i, like the XTi, has 9 autofocus points, but there's a cross-type sensor at the center that'll he helpful if you get a lens with an aperture greater than f/2.8. The newer cameras also have improved autofocus processing, though, as well.
* Better lenses will have better, faster, and quieter autofocus motors, so they'll respond more quickly to the signals sent by the body.

You should see better autofocus performance with an updated body, but better lenses might help, too. If there's any way for you to try out a better, faster lens, that might be worthwhile (or on the other hand, try one of your existing lenses with a T2i or T3i).

Just some more to think about....

[inkista]

Are you post-processing or shooting RAW? Agree with dlambert, that post-processing is likely to take care of most of your "vivid" needs, although a new lens can help with that. A new body is unlikely to.

You get a new body because you need better shooting features or better high iso support or HD video. Not for more "vividness" or "sharpness."

Originally Posted by madisonlaird

... and also my autofocus has been messing up on me...it's probably a technical issue so it's a bit frustrating when a lot of my photos turn out unfocused. I've been trying to use the manual focus...but I'm just not so good at it. lol.

Just me, but yeah, I'd say this is a technique issue, and until you fix it, a newer camera isn't much going to solve your problems, because you'll be taking the same technique over to it.

So, on the autofocus, my questions are:

How much light did you have while you were shooting?

Which autofocus point were you using?

What burst mode were you using?

How were you setting focus?

And how close were you to the subject (i.e., were you closer than the minimum focus distance for the lens).

Manually focusing on the earlier dSLRs is hard. Without liveview and 10x magnification, and on a smaller dimmer dRebel viewfinder, you are likely to be less accurate manually focusing than autofocusing.

Here are my lenses:...
Canon Telephoto Lens 75-300mm (I must say, I'm very disappointed in this lens)

While I've shared that disappointment, I should also point out that telephoto zoom technique, especially with an unstabilized lens, is quite different from that of a walkaround lens. If this is the lens that was causing the autofocus problems, you may not actually have an autofocus problem, but a shutter speed/camera shake issue.

You need to know how to hold your camera. (Don't snicker. Nearly 80% of the dSLR shooters I see at the zoo gets it wrong)

And to mitigate camera shake blur, you need to have a shutter speed at (or faster than) 1/focal_length. This means @300mm, you want to be shooting at 1/300s or faster.

AND all three of your lenses are consumer-grade in terms of image quality. If you're at the long end of the lens, try stopping down to at least f/8. That will considerably increase the performance of the lens. MOST lenses are at the weakest wide open and at the extremes of a zoom range, if they're zooms.

Don't get caught up in chasing new gear until you know your technique isn't the problem.

Try this article:
How to Take Sharp Digital Images

You might also want to look through the group of beginner tips here on DPS:
Digital Photography Tips and Tutorials

[autofocus]

++++ on all the advice you've gotten so far by the previous posters. One other thing that has not been mentioned in detail is the focus mode you selected. If you are shooting portraits, still lifes, landscapes, etc where there is little or no subject movement, make sure your camera is set to One Shot mode. The camera will not allow you to take a shot unless the focus is locked in. On the other hand, AIservo and AIfocus will allow the shot to be taken even before focus is locked in. Also, it's always better for you, the shooter, to choose the focus point..if you let the camera do it you can count on it getting it wrong more often than not.

Originally Posted by autofocus

++++ on all the advice you've gotten so far by the previous posters. One other thing that has not been mentioned in detail is the focus mode you selected. If you are shooting portraits, still lifes, landscapes, etc where there is little or no subject movement, make sure your camera is set to One Shot mode. The camera will not allow you to take a shot unless the focus is locked in. On the other hand, AIservo and AIfocus will allow the shot to be taken even before focus is locked in. Also, it's always better for you, the shooter, to choose the focus point..if you let the camera do it you can count on it getting it wrong more often than not.

Wow, I feel incredibly stupid. That's what was wrong! I accidentally had put it on Alservo. Now that I have it on One Shot...it works perfectly. Thanks so much!!

Originally Posted by dlambert

Ok, so vivid shots could be something you could fix in post-processing -- do you have any examples you could show us? Lenses can also differ in how "vivid" they are - of the lenses you've got, I'd expect the 18-55 to be about the best for color rendition.

Autofocus performance is affected by both your body and lens -

* A better lens will transmit more light to the sensor, improving the sensor's ability to detect contrast (and improving performance).
* The T2i, like the XTi, has 9 autofocus points, but there's a cross-type sensor at the center that'll he helpful if you get a lens with an aperture greater than f/2.8. The newer cameras also have improved autofocus processing, though, as well.
* Better lenses will have better, faster, and quieter autofocus motors, so they'll respond more quickly to the signals sent by the body.

You should see better autofocus performance with an updated body, but better lenses might help, too. If there's any way for you to try out a better, faster lens, that might be worthwhile (or on the other hand, try one of your existing lenses with a T2i or T3i).

Just some more to think about....

A reply down below helped me figure out my autofocus problem. Do you have any lenses you would suggest? Because I have noticed that people with other lenses have amazing photos...like the quality is unreal. I was so frustrated that this person got amazing shots with the SAME exact camera...yet my quality wasn't as great. She has a EF50mm f/1.4 USM lens. My question is, what would be a smarter choice: to spend some $$$ on nice new lenses... OR, buy a new camera? I don't shoot in RAW...and I suppose I don't mean vivid as in color wise...I just mean the quality is clear and crisp. Would an extra 8 mp help me with that? I don't know...

Originally Posted by inkista

You get a new body because you need better shooting features or better high iso support or HD video. Not for more "vividness" or "sharpness."

That's what I really liked when I found out they have HD video. I love filming as well so it'd be great to have both of those features in one. You can read previous replies to get some of your answers before.

I guess it all comes down to the fact that I will need an upgrade in the future...and not until I make more money and save up for one. But I basically just want to know if the T2i or T3i are cameras of worth. I know they're new...I just wanted to know if they're a good camera. Or if I should just save up a while for the 7D or something.
Thanks for all the help!

[dlambert]

The 50mm f/1.4 is a fantastic lens. I've got the 50mm f/1.8, though, which is still pretty nice, and about 1/3 to 1/4 the price of the f/1.4. If price is an issue, I think you'd see good results with the f/1.8 lens, and at $100 or so, lots of Canon shooters end up with this one in their bag, even if they're not huge fans of prime lenses. One of the areas where the f/1.4 is considered better than the f/1.8, in addition to larger aperture, is its bokeh -- the f/1.8 lens uses a five-bladed design, which shows up in some shots:



Beyond the 50, which almost everyone finds a use for at some time, your next upgrade sort of depends on the sorts of photos you shoot most. Your favorite lens (the 18-200) covers a pretty wide zoom range. Most lenses that improve on the quality of that lens will cover a smaller range (ie, 17-40, 70-200, etc.). Is there a part of that range you use more than others?