Need Help Choosing which Cannon to Buy.

JMSKI333 · Jan 4, 2015

I currently have a Sony Cybershot with a very poor macro lens (only one they make). The photos are ok, but I am severely limited on what I can do with it and it only lets me photograph objects directly in front of the glass and it seems almost "inconsistent". I am looking to upgrade to a Canon DSLR to photograph my aquarium. I decided on Cannon because a good friend of mine also has a Canon, and we will be able to share lenses. He uses a Cannon 5D Mark II.

I am looking to getting the highest quality photos from my reef and I want to make only one camera purchase (not upgrade again later). How high on the Camera list do I need to go to get "premium quality" photos of my reef? Do I need to spend the money on something like the 5D or could I get away with a 7D or even a 70D? If I am going to spend this kind of money, then I guess I want it to film HD video too. But Macro photography is my primary focus.

-Should I get the 65mm, 100mm, 100mm IS or the 180mm Macro lens? I am looking to be able to photograph everything in my tank close and far away.

Budget?: That's a great question. It depends on the replies I get here and the information that I find online. If there is a clear answer on the machine that will produce the best photos, then I will probably save up, shop around and get that one.

Diamond Jack · Jan 4, 2015

I'd go canon t3i and 100mm macro 2.8 non is. You'll also need a tripod. You could spend more, but its going to be overkill and way more money.

JMSKI333 · Jan 5, 2015

Diamond Jack said:
I'd go canon t3i and 100mm macro 2.8 non is. You'll also need a tripod. You could spend more, but its going to be overkill and way more money.

Thanks your your reply. Would you notice a difference between the T3i with 100mm macro vs. the 70D with the 100mm IS? That is the combo I have been leaning toward but I was hoping for more feedback from the forum.

Diamond Jack · Jan 5, 2015

The t3i is a crop frame vs the 70d which I think is full frame so they would look a little different if you don't crop the image. The 100mm lens is great on either body. You don't need image stabilization because your going to be shooting with a tripod so its just preference of what lens you go with. Either setup is plenty good.

Diamond Jack · Jan 12, 2015

I took these a few days ago with the t3i and the canon 100mm macro 2.9 usm. For an example.

Rob&Gab · Jan 12, 2015

JMSKI333 said:
I currently have a Sony Cybershot with a very poor macro lens (only one they make). The photos are ok, but I am severely limited on what I can do with it and it only lets me photograph objects directly in front of the glass and it seems almost "inconsistent". I am looking to upgrade to a Canon DSLR to photograph my aquarium. I decided on Cannon because a good friend of mine also has a Canon, and we will be able to share lenses. He uses a Cannon 5D Mark II.

I am looking to getting the highest quality photos from my reef and I want to make only one camera purchase (not upgrade again later). How high on the Camera list do I need to go to get "premium quality" photos of my reef? Do I need to spend the money on something like the 5D or could I get away with a 7D or even a 70D? If I am going to spend this kind of money, then I guess I want it to film HD video too. But Macro photography is my primary focus.

-Should I get the 65mm, 100mm, 100mm IS or the 180mm Macro lens? I am looking to be able to photograph everything in my tank close and far away.

Budget?: That's a great question. It depends on the replies I get here and the information that I find online. If there is a clear answer on the machine that will produce the best photos, then I will probably save up, shop around and get that one.

sony cyber shot DSC TX30 18.2 mega pixels .

really great photo quility. its the one we use for everything.

Rob&Gab · Jan 12, 2015

carle zeeise series.

JMSKI333 · Jan 12, 2015

Diamond Jack said:
I took these a few days ago with the t3i and the canon 100mm macro 2.9 usm. For an example.

Wow great photos! How far from the glass are the corals?

JMSKI333 · Jan 12, 2015

Rob&Gab said:
sony cyber shot DSC TX30 18.2 mega pixels .

really great photo quility. its the one we use for everything.

I rememeber seeing you post some info on that a year or so ago. Honestly I am not pleased with my sony cyber shot. I think its only like 9 pixels though.

Raidendex · Jan 12, 2015

I'm curently looking to upgrade my Canon T2i. For me the choice is between 7D Mark II and 6D. Image quality would be better on 6D due to full size sensor versus crop on 7Dm2. However, from reviews I keep reading 7Dm2 has much better image quality than say it's predecessor 7D.
Overall if you will be shooting more stills where auto focus or frames per second (not movie ones just how many picture it can take back to back) do not matter, 6D would be a better choice for image quality and it is a little cheaper with current promotion of $300 mail in rebate from Canon.

But if you want a better auto focus system and some other new features 7D Mark II may be a better choice.

Finally, you may want to use crop sensor versus full sensor in certain cituations. With crop sensor all your lenses will be technically a little longer. This is nice for macro or for shooting something far away with a shorter length lens, but can be a pain when you are trying to fit a lot in the shot. For example to fit my whole 180g tank in one shot I had to get 24mm lens, where on full frame I might be able to do the same with something like 40-50mm.

JMSKI333 · Jan 12, 2015

Raidendex said:
I'm curently looking to upgrade my Canon T2i. For me the choice is between 7D Mark II and 6D. Image quality would be better on 6D due to full size sensor versus crop on 7Dm2. However, from reviews I keep reading 7Dm2 has much better image quality than say it's predecessor 7D.
Overall if you will be shooting more stills where auto focus or frames per second (not movie ones just how many picture it can take back to back) do not matter, 6D would be a better choice for image quality and it is a little cheaper with current promotion of $300 mail in rebate from Canon.

But if you want a better auto focus system and some other new features 7D Mark II may be a better choice.

Finally, you may want to use crop sensor versus full sensor in certain cituations. With crop sensor all your lenses will be technically a little longer. This is nice for macro or for shooting something far away with a shorter length lens, but can be a pain when you are trying to fit a lot in the shot. For example to fit my whole 180g tank in one shot I had to get 24mm lens, where on full frame I might be able to do the same with something like 40-50mm.

Michael,

I appreciate your thoughtful reply.

Out of curiosity, is there any reason why you are not considering the 70D? That ended up being the camera I went with due to it's price and awesome auto focus. I was considering the 70D and the 7D MII. A lot of my research pointed me toward the 70D over the 7D. Thoughts?

Raidendex · Jan 12, 2015

Not sure how sensor noise compares between the two, possibly 70D is a bit worse. But there are few other things I can see as better on 7D like higher frame rate when taking pictures and 1080 video, more focus points. 7D is very well sealed versus weather and has rugged construction, don't imagine 70D is yet as rugged based on presence of WIFI. 7D body would not let wifi signal through too well.

Having said that, I imagine both cameras would work just fine for our purposes. I always shop kind of silly and go for best thing, at least what I can afford lol. If I could I'd be buying 1DX hehe. I honestly would not be surprised if 7D Mark II would perform very similar to my T2i in usual situations where I use camera, i.e. taking stills of the tank using manual focus often. But outside with fast moving targets I bet 7D2 will shine and outperform T2i. Either way I can't be buying cameras all the time, so one time I do, I want to get something fairly decent and if it means spending a bit more money I'd rather do it than be sad for next few years because I'm missing some tiny feature heh

Raidendex · Jan 12, 2015

Good comparison of the two.
[video=youtube;NrRzjfNuVe0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrRzjfNuVe0[/video]
[video=youtube;yhAFJSdBzW4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhAFJSdBzW4[/video]

Rob&Gab · Jan 12, 2015

JMSKI333 said:
I rememeber seeing you post some info on that a year or so ago. Honestly I am not pleased with my sony cyber shot. I think its only like 9 pixels though.

i also just bought her a NIKON D3200 24mega pixels , we are getting used to using it it is user friendly. very good camera.

Diamond Jack · Jan 12, 2015

Probably about a foot away from glass on my pics.

JMSKI333 · Jan 13, 2015

Raidendex said:
Not sure how sensor noise compares between the two, possibly 70D is a bit worse. But there are few other things I can see as better on 7D like higher frame rate when taking pictures and 1080 video, more focus points. 7D is very well sealed versus weather and has rugged construction, don't imagine 70D is yet as rugged based on presence of WIFI. 7D body would not let wifi signal through too well.

Having said that, I imagine both cameras would work just fine for our purposes. I always shop kind of silly and go for best thing, at least what I can afford lol. If I could I'd be buying 1DX hehe. I honestly would not be surprised if 7D Mark II would perform very similar to my T2i in usual situations where I use camera, i.e. taking stills of the tank using manual focus often. But outside with fast moving targets I bet 7D2 will shine and outperform T2i. Either way I can't be buying cameras all the time, so one time I do, I want to get something fairly decent and if it means spending a bit more money I'd rather do it than be sad for next few years because I'm missing some tiny feature heh

I'm with you. I am in the same boat in terms of getting crazy with purchases. I have seen both those videos. The consensus is that the 7d mark II is more geared toward sport photography and the 70D is more toward videos, but both are great cameras. I preferred the articulating screen over the weather proofing and additional $$. Like you said, for our purposes, both cameras will do the same thing. I guess if the 7d mII has the articulating touch screen then I'd probably fork out the extra cash.

I would have sprung for the 5d mark III just to get the cat's pajamas of cameras but I had to talk myself off that cliff.

MrDJeep123 · Jan 13, 2015

Don't worry too much about the body. Get something decent but spend what you save on the lens. Get some "L" glass and you'll be thankful you did. The quality of an image mainly comes from the optics.

JMSKI333 · Jan 13, 2015

MrDJeep123 said:
Don't worry too much about the body. Get something decent but spend what you save on the lens. Get some "L" glass and you'll be thankful you did. The quality of an image mainly comes from the optics.

Way ahead of you. I got my hands on the 100mm macro L glass