Which DSLR?

[kien]

Originally Posted by Seriak

Okay, I originally purchased the first Canon DSLR years ago. (300D) I thought it is about time to upgrade. I only take hobby pictures, nothing professional. I have a few questions for you gurus.

1) Are my original lenses worth keeping. I see that all the new lenses have IS and possibly other improvements. So should I buy the body with the new lenses or save money and use my old lenses.

2) I was looking at the 70D. Is this a good choice or is their a better one to look at.

3) For macro lenses is it worth spending twce the money for the IS lense (Canon EF 100mm f2.8L Macro IS USM) overtop of the the regular lense (Canon EF 100mm f2.8 USM Macro)

4) Best place to purchase the camera and lense. Camera store, bestbuy, future shop, online vendor, etc.

Thanks in advance.

I'm no guru, but here are my opinions.

1. What are your original lenses exactly? Some (if not all) of them can still be great lenses on your new camera. I just about a 10 year old lens for my full frame camera. I am also still using lenses that I originally used on an older Rebel XTi that I had years ago. Image Stabilization is definitely a nice feature but only you can weigh its benefits vs cost.

2. The 70D is a not a full frame camera so either EF or your EF-S lens will work on it just fine.

3. Image Stabilization is a handy feature to have in a lens but only the user can deem its worth. My favourite type of photography is macro photography and I take a lot of macro photos both in and out of the fish tank. I started with the non IS 100mm macro lens 6 years ago and am still using it. IS would be a nice to have feature but my photos look just fine without IS. Actually, in my experience with macro photography 8 times out of 10 I am taking macro shots with the camera on the tripod. There is absolutely no need for IS with the camera mounted on a tripod, therefore I really have no need for IS in my macro lens. IS is good for shooting macro in low light situations, which you may or may not do a lot of. I mostly shoot macros of corals and flowers which are always lit by plenty of light. Certainly enough light to photography with a high enough shutter speed to negate the need for image stabilization.

On the topic of macro photography, another option to macro photography is to purchase a set of extension tubes. They are cheaper than a macro lens with the benefit of allowing you to use pretty much any lens as a macro (and near macro lens). For example, I often use my 24-105mm F4 zoom lens with an extension tube to take my macro photos.

4. I like to buy my lenses from whomever will sell me the cheapest lens. They will all match one anothers price so it comes down to who has stock and who you like to talk to. I also buy lenses from kijiji. Half of my lenses I purchased used off of kijiji. You can save bucket loads of money this way. Lenses don't tend to have a high failure rate. Most often you'll find people selling lenses simply because they purchase a lens thinking they would use it, but end up not using it much at all so the lens is near mint when they sell it

[kien]

One thing you will notice when you upgrade from your 300D is how much bigger many of the new cameras are. This may or may not be a big deal to you, but it is definitely worth while to hold ALL the cameras that you can get your hands on.

I went from a rebel XTi to a Canon 40D to a 5D Mark II, and although the 5D Mark II is the best of the lot (on paper), I rarely used it because it was much heavier than the other two for me to be lugging around. I used the 40D much more, especially on vacation. Recently I sold my 5D Mark II and instead of upgrading to the 5D Mark III, I side-graded to the 6D. The 6D is essentially the exact same camera as the 5D Mark II, but in a much smaller/lighter body. It's even lighter than my 40D. So now my 40D sees no action and I use my 6D exclusively.

But not everyone is a pansy like I am and don't mind lugging around a brick.

[Ron99]

The 70d is a solid choice in a mid range DSLR. It has some great new tech and is geared to the advanced amateur. If you want to save some money the T5i (or even a T4i) is also a great camera and will be a huge step up from your 300d.

[Rice Reef]

oops.. my bad... I thought the 70D was a full frame for some reason... too many different lines...

[Ron99]

Yup. Many choices in the line. Rebels, 70d and 7D are the crop sensors. 5D and 6D and 1Dx are full frame. Don't ask me what the differences are with all the different Nikons. I'm a Canon guy

[Jason McK]

If your willing to start all over have you looked at Micro 4/3rd Camera's
Excellent glass are a manageable price point

[smitas5]

Try weighing an option of keeping existing camera and investing in better lens instead.. Cameras come and go, where lenses stay with you for long years, if you find the one you love.
Newer camera will have more software and processing power in it, other than that you will get same what you have now.

[kamloops_reefer]

aside from what everyone else has said. The articles I've read and photos i'm observed: without getting into photoshopping, nikon's have better color without flash = good for scenic shots or nature whereas cannons are strong on portrates and flash photography.