Our trusty XSi was stolen the other day, thankfully with just the kit lens on it (although we don't own any other lenses besides the nifty fifty).
So I'm kind of forced into the market because right now I'm shooting with my iPhone and a friend's Oly EPL-2 (more on this below).
I'd say I'm at the "advanced amateur" level. I shoot mostly on Manual and Aperture Priority, and sometimes Shutter Priority. I've begun to really utilize some of the other features like adjusting white balance, exposure lock, exposure compensation, etc. I'm also getting into minor post-processing using iPhoto. I've been taking photography "seriously" for about 6 months now, and want to continue to get better.
I primarily like to shoot family pictures, portraits, and the occasional landscape /wildlife. Very rarely I experiment with street photography, but not really my cup of tea.
My budget is $1500, but I'd really feel comfortable if I can come in quite a bit under that.
Here is what I'm considering, please comment:
(1) 60D or 7D: I want to upgrade to an xxD series instead of another Rebel. Having played with these cameras, I love the build quality, the additional controls, etc. However, I'm not a huge fan of the weight, esp after being used to an XSi.
(2) Mirrorless: So here's the big dilemma. I've dabbled with mirrorless before, as I purchased a Sony Nex 5N and used it for about a month before selling it. I loved the IQ, I thought it was noticeably superior to the XSi, even with the kit lens (although I'm guessing if I had some better lenses on the XSi then IQ might have been comparable or even better than the NEX). But bottom line, the IQ was more than good enough for me. That being said, the NEX system had too many cons for me, which is why I sold it. I found the available lenses to be lacking, with only the 16mm pancake (which I found to be mediocre IQ wise and almost useless focal-length wise for the majority of my pics) being truly compact. Otherwise, I felt I might as well just lug around a DSLR. I also found the AF system to be slow, and missed a viewfinder.
That being said, I LOVE the rumored new developments coming from the NEX system: A NEX 6 that's prob going to have an integrated EVF, an updated and faster AF system. And Sony also announced new lenses, 2 of which would be must-haves for me: a pancake zoom, and an inexpensive 35mm prime.
So bottom line seems like the NEX system is taking steps to alleviate all the cons I had about the system while maintaining all the pros.
Also, there is the Micro 4/3s option, as I'm currently using my friend's OLY EPL-2 and it's a solid camera, but for various reasons I think I'd prefer the NEX system.
I know there's the new EOS M, but I hate being an early adopter to new technology, and since this is Canon's first foray into this segment, I'd like to wait at least a year to see how things shake out.
So it really comes down to buying a 60D/ 7D vs. the new rumored NEX 6 vs. maybe another Rebel (like the T3i).
