upgrade from 550d

My 550D has given me some superb images over the last 2-3 years of shooting with it. I tend not to shoot over ISO 1600, but I'll shoot 1600 quite often. As long as you get the exposure set up properly, you won't see too much noise. A good tip is to over-expose slightly and pull back exposure in post, then you'll see less noise in the shadows.

Having said all that - I'm now moving to FF for improved low light performance and have just ordered a 6D with a 35L.

Please post examples of ISO 800+ where you feel the noise is awful, and we might be able to point out what specifically is the cause of the noise and how to change your shooting technique, settings, and post processing.

wellsie82 wrote in post #15953840
thanks for the early replies, 6d & 7d are the early contenders but surprised that the sensor is the same across all this series - is that because canon/it's customers were satisfied with it?

is there much between the 6d & 7d? and will the existing lenses ive got go onto say the 6d/7d? i guess the answer is a clear yes given they're all eos' & it's the same sensor, meaning i'll still have the crop factor which does have it's advantages

The 6D and 7D have completely different sensors; the 6D is full frame, and the 7D is APS-C (crop). EF-S lenses will not work on a 6D, and 3rd party lenses designed for crop sensors will physically fit and function on a 6D, but will probably vignette to a greater or lesser extent (some don't vignette, some vignette a lot).

mine1 wrote in post #15954908
and no your sigma won't fit on the 6d as it is a ef mount not an ef-s

Yes, it will fit and function properly, though it will likely vignette the image.

TeamSpeed wrote in post #15955891
Please post examples of ISO 800+ where you feel the noise is awful, and we might be able to point out what specifically is the cause of the noise and how to change your shooting technique, settings, and post processing.

thanks for this - i doubt ive got many online but i'll have a dig around. i'll certainly be trying out higher iso's next week when im away so if i dont have many to post now, i will do in ten days or so

thanks for the tip - will try that out. im absolutely stunned by the quality of some of mine shot from the 550d but they tend to be the very low iso numbers - ive got a real reluctance to bump the iso up to be honest, possibly because of bad experiences - possibly caused by human error/technique

Wellsie, it depends to an extent what you want to do, what lenses you already have etc

I had a 550d for 3 years and loved it. I sold it recently to jump to full frame, i picked up a 2nd hand 5dMkII for £800. The detail on any pictures i managed to get in focus was a massive step up. That said, it was a learning curve. I actually used to get a lot more keepers with the 550 BUT when i got it right with the 5D the image would be superb (for me anyway!!). So it is quite a steep learning curve IMO.

The 5DMKII is an amazing camera but it never felt quite right for my circumstances, the majority of pics i take are of my daughter these days and i felt i had to put a bit more work into metering and exposure, tracking was sometimes tricky too. Im not knocking it but i did keep looking at the 6D reviews and thinking is it better ?

I assume your UK based as youve quoted £. Is there anywhere you can go to test them? Local camera shops are scarce now so i struggled. In the end i made the leap because the 2nd hand value of the 5D went up so i made a profit, and it meant for an extra £150 i could grab a 6D. All of the 6D Vs 5DMKII reviews helped too.

So far its early days but im made up with it. ISO performance was great moving from the 550d to the 5D and i can say its improved again on the 6D, its fantastic with ISO ramped up. Metering, exposure, colours seem a lot better. AF is more than adequate for me and does feel more responsive than the 5DII despite it not being much of a leap. The wireless functionality is a great little bonus and useful for including myself on some of the shots with my daughter. GPS i couldnt care less. I actually prefer the feel and weight of the 6D too. Yes its not as "solid" but with a flashgun, long lens and the 5D it felt a bit too heavy and clunky. My mate joked that he got whiplash of the shutter action of the 5D (he has a Nikon d600). The 6D has a nice shutter action and can be quitened if need be. In terms of controls, moving to the 6D will be more natural but i wouldnt worry to much, your instincts soon learn which button is where for any camera.

As the price was close to the 5DMKII i know for my circumstances i made the right choice. Weigh it up depending on your circumstances and what you want - if you do paid work you may want the 5DMKIII for the better AF, dual cards. It looks a fantastic camera. If you take mainly sports again it may be your better option. But you need to decide if the advantages it gives you are worth the extra money (£1k), for me they arent but for many they will be.

Trust me i spent ages going from thread to thread reading how great the 5D MKIII is and general 6D bashing but it depends on your reuirements. If you can get somewhere that has both and test.

Hope that helps a little!

Jonny

OP already states that the 5D2 is out of range, so then would the 5D3. If FF is being suggested, the only 2 feasible options based on budget would be a used 5D classic or a 6D I believe. This means a lens swap or two as well though.

Assuming the existing 550D is not faulty, there may be no reason at all to move to a new body, if we can address the ISO issues. It is worth a bit of discussion to see what is happening on the 550D, and what Wellsie can do differently to raise that ISO "keeper" ceiling to at least 1600.

With a bit of help, we might be able to pull out ISO 3200 to be acceptable. I am a bit more forgiving than others, so this 3200 works for me.
http://teamspeed.smugm​ug.com …wrgW/0/X3/IMG_2​195-X3.jpg
http://teamspeed.smugm​ug.com …fQzC/0/X3/IMG_9​883-X3.jpg

wellsie82 wrote in post #15955672
thanks for the recent replies guys - this is all very helpful

when some of you have said ISO 1600 is ok on your images, are you saying it is free from noise or that there's noise but it's "acceptable". perhaps its my expectations here as opposed to the overall performance? that said, ive got a week off work next week so i'll be aiming to recheck the performance on higher ISO's in different scenarios

Digital is never free from noise on any camera at any ISO. It's part of the medium like grain is to film. You have to learn to shoot for it and process with it. Refraining from pixel peeping also helps tremendously.

It's easier to show than to explain ISO performance. This is ISO 12800 on the 6D. It was shot with a 24-105 f/4, significantly cropped and minimal noise reduction run.

TeamSpeed wrote in post #15956216
OP already states that the 5D2 is out of range, so then would the 5D3. If FF is being suggested, the only 2 feasible options based on budget would be a used 5D classic or a 6D I believe....

He said he couldn't justify it, not that he couldn't afford it... we're just helping him justify it!

TeamSpeed wrote in post #15956216
OP already states that the 5D2 is out of range, so then would the 5D3. If FF is being suggested, the only 2 feasible options based on budget would be a used 5D classic or a 6D I believe. This means a lens swap or two as well though.

Assuming the existing 550D is not faulty, there may be no reason at all to move to a new body, if we can address the ISO issues. It is worth a bit of discussion to see what is happening on the 550D, and what Wellsie can do differently to raise that ISO "keeper" ceiling to at least 1600.

With a bit of help, we might be able to pull out ISO 3200 to be acceptable. I am a bit more forgiving than others, so this 3200 works for me.
http://teamspeed.smugm​ug.com …wrgW/0/X3/IMG_2​195-X3.jpg
http://teamspeed.smugm​ug.com …fQzC/0/X3/IMG_9​883-X3.jpg

The OP stated he could go up to 1.2k which would have bought him my 5DMKII both times, as well as the 6D. Not sure what they go for brand new but doubt its far off the 6D. Granted the MKIII is out of the question though.

I agree though, if its just some guidance on technique/ISO etc then im sure he will get lots of decent advice. If they are trying to self justify an upgrade (like i did) then thats my 2p.

You should be able to get printable results up to ISO 1600 with your T2i. Work on your shooting and post techniques a bit before buying your way out of this one. ETTR is a huge help, as is Lightroom.

A used 5D2 should be well within your budget as well. A 1-stop ISO improvement would be wonderful, but you should be able to get 2 stops just with technique alone.

One other wrench to throw in the works is that my 1D3 has pretty similar noise performance to the T2i, but the 1D3 noise is significantly easier to handle in post. I would not, however, call it a significant ISO improvement -- on paper it's probably the same, but quite a bit better in practice. You should be able to find a 1D3 for ~£500 below your budget. Something to consider. AF is MUCH improved over the T2i, and, well, it's a 1D experience. Read up on them though, as there are some copies out there that never had their issues resolved by Canon.

I love mine.

5Dmk2 used is my advice, you had the crop sensor.. time to go FF?

Upgrading from the 550D/T2i, I went to a 6D.

I recommend checking out used 5D Mk1 maybe a used 1D Mk2. To stay within your price range.

jocau wrote in post #15953814
If you want significant improvements in ISO performance and in AF there are basically only 2 options: the 5D3 and the 1Dx (that is when you only consider cameras which are still available new too). All other options will be tradeoffs. But if you don't want to spend so much money and you want a new camera the 6D would be the best option I guess.

The 6D is not a trade off, in fact it has a better sensor than the 5D3. If you're making this line of argument, the 5D3 is just as much a tradeoff. If you need the AF system for action, you'd be better off with the 1DX.

waterrockets wrote in post #15957241
A used 5D2 should be well within your budget as well. A 1-stop ISO improvement would be wonderful, but you should be able to get 2 stops just with technique alone.

Note that the 6D has 2 stops better ISO than the 18MP crop bodies, and one stop better than the 5D2.
But you are correct in saying technique. The 550D is very usable up to ISO 3200, if you expose properly and use noise reduction in your post processing. ISO 6400 however... needs so much noise reduction you start to get that plastic look. You don't have to worry about this on the 6D, as ISO 12800 look as good as the 550D/7D's ISO 3200.

It does get a little rough on the 7D (and thus 550D) at the higher ISO registers, but with good technique and smaller print sizes, it still works.