What would be a decent upgrade for my shooting?

Currently thinking about selling my 7D + 17-55/F2.8 IS. Main reason is I'm doing a lot of indoor shooting and/or portraits. Some landscape but no sports, whatsoever. So the tracking of the 7D isn't exactly that important to me.

What would you consider being a decent upgrade for this setup, keeping in mind that the main things bothering me about the 7D is the noise performance and depth-of-field I'm getting with this lens.

Still not sure that going fullframe will be a noticeable improvement, but to be honest I've never shot a fullframe anyway so I can't compare. Maybe some people would say it's not worth getting a different/fullframe camera compared to this combination. I'm open to all opinions!

People have different opinions. Only you can think if its not worth getting a different/full frame camera setup.

Most logical would be the 5D3 + 24-70 F2.8 and you would be getting better noise performance w/ a FF.

Looking through your Flickr suggests there's not much you're shooting that your 7D can't handle. Treat yourself to a Sigma 35mm F1.4 if you really want to spend some money, you should see visible gains for the outlay. If you hate noise then why aren't you using the 7D at ISO 100 and using the flash you have ? ? ?

A Sigma 30 F/1.4 would be probably the cheapest path to some shallower DoF in a similar focal length to your 17-55. Using a larger aperture means a lower ISO is possible, so you can get some lower noise levels too. Would that suffice?

I haven't shot a 5Dc a great deal but I suspect you wouldn't be happy with the high ISO performance of it either, so you'd be looking at the cost of a 5D2/6D + F/2.8 zoom (i.e. Tamron 24-70 VC), minus what you can get for the 7D and 17-55. That will bring the shallower DoF you're after and lower noise levels. A 5D2/6D + a fast prime be more your thing?

You could simply keep the 7D and go to some bigger aperture prime lenses or longer focal length like the 24-70/2.8 (which personally I like better for portraiture on a crop camera, than on a full frame).

If you go full frame, you'll get a bit better high ISO performance, and more enlargeability. For what you say you shoot (no sports/action what-so-ever), for portraiture and landscapes a 5DII would be fine, there would be little advantage to spending an extra $1000+ for a 5DIII. You won't see the full advantages of the the full frame unless you make big enlargements and/or unless you are using ISOs 1600 and above.

7D images can be post-processed for very good high ISO performance. Look up Teamspeeds methods to get the best out of the camera at very high ISOs.

Get the right prime lenses to use with your 7D now, and you'll be all set if/when you move to FF. I use the 20/2.8, 28/1.8, 50/1.4, 85/1.8 and 135/2 (on both 7D and 5DII). The 50mm and 85mm are the "traditional" portrait focal lengths on crop. When using full frame, 85mm thru 135mm are the "traditional" portrait focal lengths.

5d3 if you can spring for it, or 6d. They will give you a nice ISO advantage.

Why not buy a fixed focal length with a larger aperture?

My two cents - when I was upgrading from the T1i, I did consider the 7D; however the biggest concern I had was noise. I read plenty that the noise was noticeable with the 7D, with people stating that of course it was noticeable, you just needed to know how to process. I also read that the 7D required more post-processing. Having never used the 7D, I can't say that it's true; but I suspect you could be experiencing the same.

You have a fantastic lens, the 17-55mm f/2.8. Be aware that going to full frame would mean that you would have to give up that lens and the Canon equivalent to that lens costs twice as much and doesn't have IS. Just something to think about.

With that said, I would research the 60D vs 7D and compare the noise, if you want to keep the crop and lens. Surely a replacement for both cameras is due soon, if you can wait. Or go full frame, great (fantastic) deals on the 5D ii right now, I absolutely love this camera.

So many choices and things to consider - good luck with your decision and happy shooting.

lapino wrote in post #15405944
Still not sure that going fullframe will be a noticeable improvement, but to be honest I've never shot a fullframe anyway so I can't compare. Maybe some people would say it's not worth getting a different/fullframe camera compared to this combination. I'm open to all opinions!

I'm currently in a similar situation (50D + 17-55). I tried out a 5D3 recently and given that you want thinner DOF and higher ISO I'd say its DEFINITELY worth the upgrade. The difference in both is very significant.

I'm wondering why people are suggesting the 5DIII when the OP specifically said the tracking of the 7D wasn't important...

If you want an upgrade for landscape and portrait, then I suggest either a 5DII or a 6D. I would go 6D myself due to the even bigger improvement in high ISO performance (better even than the 5DIII) which would be useful indoors, as well as the low light AF. Anything other than FF will not be an upgrade, since the other APS-C bodies have an extremely similar sensor to the 7D (which incidentally is the best APS-C body, thus not really possible to upgrade from without going APS-H or FF), ergo you will not see any difference in your photos.

Maybe I should add that I'm far from an inexperience photographer. Been using SLRs sinds the 10D and do quite a bit of (paid) photowork like weddings. So I definitely know the technical differences between the cameras like the 5DII and 5DIII). I was just wondering what other people's experiences would be who upgraded from a crop to FF. I would not even consider going to a different APS-C camera especially since I still think the 7D is about the best you can get now.

But, I'm very intrigued by a fullframe, especially for my style of shooting. I won't say I never need a fast AF (have two small kids, so they don't quite sit still) but maybe a 6D would suit me fine. I really don't know. I'm going back and forth now between 'hm, it's not worth upgrading now" to "would love to use a FF now and see what difference that makes". Unfortunately, where I live you can't buy a camera and return it afterwards. Buying=keeping here in Belgium.

Is there places where you can rent in Belgium?

lapino wrote in post #15411311
Unfortunately, where I live you can't buy a camera and return it afterwards. Buying=keeping here in Belgium.

Actually, if you buy it online and have it shipped to you, you are allowed to return it within 7 days (may be more) for any reason. You can thank the EU for that.

However, I'd recommend just going to a store and trying one.

When I upgraded from a 30D to a 60D a little over a year ago, I knew I would one day go full frame, having 40 years or so 35mm under my belt. So I started by replacing my EF-S lenses with Ls.

4 weeks ago today, I bit the bullet and bought a 5D3. Having all Ls and the 85 1.8 made the upgrade relatively painless.

I absolutely LOVE the ISO improvement and drop-dead focusing. I absolutely HATE the loss of RED AF points when the focus locks on! The grey-color focus-locked displays are near invisible except against very light backgrounds. I've resorted to pressing the AF point selection button to find what I've selected and then aim from there before it blinks out. The focus lock beep is useless on me, as I am hard of hearing and couldn't hear the beep in an otherwise silent room.

If undecided whether 6D or 5D2 or 5D3, do your online homework on this forum and elsewhere, and make the best choice for your needs.

bratkinson wrote in post #15411600
I absolutely HATE the loss of RED AF points when the focus locks on!

Mine blink when the camera locks on. Or do you mean in Servo?