I sold my 30D, looking for something else.

(sorry, yes another one of those threads)

I sold off my 30D and I need a new camera and I have no clue what I should get (well yes do but...).

Ok to start I have 0 camera stuff right now, no lens, just 2 memory cards and 1 after market battery for the 30D, oh and a camera bag, so I can start fresh.

Here is my money deal... Right now I have $725 in my "toy account" (as the wife puts it) and each month on the 15th I can add $200 to this so called toy account, so lets just say 2 weeks from now I will have a total of $925 to spend.

In my 2 weeks from now price range I can go with the 40D 28-135 kit (refurb) from Adorama.

Or.. Wait 6 weeks and get the 50D 28-135 kit (refub). But just like a kid waiting for something, it will drive me nuts to wait 6 weeks before having another camera.

What will I do with the camera... To be honest, I am just not sure. With my 30D it was more or less used as a family camera, but with using "The Creative Mode" of the dial and not the auto side. My 30D was my 1st DSLR and I think I did pretty well with learning on it, I know I have lots to still learn.

I want a camera I can grow into and not have to upgrade again for a while, to start a lens collection. I want a camera better then the 30D, I mean after all I just sold it. I really hope to get another camera with a metal body, I just don't think after having the 30D I would be happy holding a plastic camera. I hope to have something with good ISO performance, has no problem keeping track of kids and once in awhile a running horse or two (we have horses and the wife is always wanting photos of them).

I don't have a problem buyer a refurb. I don't have a problem buying used, as long as what ever it is I get a good copy that will last for sometime and is in my price range with a somewhat "all around lens". Also, this could hurt, it doesn't have to be a Canon, BUT I really did love my 30D, the layout of controls, the photos it took, the programs that were included and so on.

So with all said...

Should I just get the 40D kit and be happy? Now remember I don't want to upgrade for awhile.

Should I wait and get the 50D and take my chances I wont pull all my hair out waiting that 6 weeks?

Is there something in my "$925" price range I could hope to find a good copy of with lens that is at least equal or better then the 40D?

Should I wait for "something else" besides the 50D with using my 6 week time frame? The 6 weeks is max, I just know I wont handle waiting any longer .

Thanks for any help you could give and reading this long post from a guy that can't make up his own mind.

(I hope added this in the right forums)

Buy the 40D now, then in 6 weeks get a prime like the 85 1.8, one hell of a lens, I love mine

The gear you get should be based on your needs, not desires*...the kinds of pix you take or want to take, the level of complexity you're comfortable with, and the patience you have for the learning process...
*yeah, right...as if gear lust can be separated from real need...ha!

Why did you sell your 30D if you loved it so much?

Thanks for the replies.

cdifoto wrote in post #8014482
Why did you sell your 30D if you loved it so much?

I wanted to upgrade and I thought this was a good time to sell off the 30 before the used prices got lower... I guess my thought was if the 60D (or what ever it will be called) came out this summer, my 30 would have been 3 models down in the list and "maybe" harder to get a good dollar for it.

to me it seems like the 30d would have done you just fine. should have just bought some lenses with the money saved and youll be set.

30d to 40d doesnt seem like it will be much of a jump... maybe the 50d would be better. higher iso, better lcd, 15mp.... if that even really matters... micro adjustment.

or wait out for the 50d replacement and maybe you can dabble in some video stuff too if youre into that.

i sold my 30D and 10-22 lens month ago for a 5D... no regret yet... i wish i coulda gotten a 5D2 though

I think you probably know what you want, so just save up for it. Won't take long at 200 a month. Patience is a virtue.

Pardon me, but I think your reasoning is weird. Going from the 30D to a 40D is not much of an improvement. Well, yes, yes, I know the 30D is gone, but what I would have done is kept the 30D and start buying lenses.
The bodies of the XXD cameras are not much different construction-wise, you still hold a "plastic camera".
If you want a higher level camera, find a used 5D and get an 85mm f1.8 or a 50mm f1.4 lens, then you can get much better images - technically, at least.

An upgrade from the 30D to the 40D won't be all that great. The 50D is an awesome camera; the menu layout is superb, microadjustment for your lenses, the LCD is beautiful.

You can get the body only and gather your lenses from there. Often times you can get a great deal for a new 28-135 on the sell forum here on POTN and on fredmiranda.

There are several other lenses to consider as well. The Tamron 28-75 and the 17-50 would do you well.

I wish my wife would let me have $200/month for my play money. I get $20. Something about feeding the kids.

Actually, the upgrades from 10D to 20D and 20D to 30D were minor upgrades. The upgrade from 30D to 40D was the first major one. Improved LCD, frame rate, MP from 8 to 10, Live View, 14 bit vs. 12 A/D conversion,to name just a few.

The only major change from 40D to 50d was the microadjust AF.

While I still don't understand why you sold the 30D and want a new camera beyond upgrade fever, grab a 40D and get something like the Tamron 28-75 and start shooting.

"What will I do with the camera... To be honest, I am just not sure." You don't even know what you want to shoot at this point. Just get something and start learning.

BTW, horse shooting is what I do for a living.

overclock wrote in post #8016590
I wish my wife would let me have $200/month for my play money. I get $20. Something about feeding the kids.

Me too...My wife only lets me play with money I make selling off the gear I no longer want or selling off the extra gear I don't want out of a package deal I'd buy so I can keep the one odd lens in it that I want... (it's actually my plan too, but don't tell her)

...in the last 2 months I blew $450, mostly on Craigslistings, but sold off $250 (with another $50-100 to come...still some gear to go in the "to sell" box), and got to keep my "new" Canon tele-zoom, 3 minty MF Nikkor primes, and a nice film body...not to mention a nice 300 I gave to a friend...
(I got a G3 for $30 at a thrift shop figuring to sell my old A95, but SHE wants to keep that baby )

...something my wife says about having 3 sets of golf clubs plus extra sets of wedges and putters and fairway woods and...and 4 bags to put them in...
...and I've been too sick this past year to even play one round...

Thanks again everyone.

overclock...
Very true, I think the micro adjustment can be easily worth the extra money.

matonanjin...
Thank you for adding that info. I thought to myself that there was some good with going with at least the 40D over the 30.

snapppy...
Per what matonanjin posted. And I will also add there is a difference in the 40/50 body over the 30. Take a good look if you haven't noticed the difference, hand hold is different, control dial is moved a bit, weather sealing (how good or bad it could be, but still better then nothing like the 30D) and so on. I have to ask, what do you mean by "you still hold a "plastic camera"? There must be something I am missing there... Are you saying just because the xxDs aren't full frames they might as well be called "plastic"? Because as we all know the xxDs are metal.

kitacanon...
By your list in your profile, are you kidding me?

If I was having to make such a choice right now, it would be between the 50D and 5D mk11. I see no benefit in not buying the latest version.

The final decision between the crop and full frame bodies depends entirely on what you tend to shoot. For me and my motorsport it would be the crop 50D, but if you don't need the extreme telephotos and the extra reach the crop frame brings, then the full frame is the obvious choice for the improved quality.

But I tend to hang on to cameras. I do not expect to sell my 30D. Typically cameras will last me ten years before being retired. Selling because I'd get a better price but be without a camera is alien to me.

edited to add: Yes, my 30D is said to have a metal chassis, while the Eos-3 was plastic to its core, but I defy anyone who does not know that to tell the difference.

I don't place much importance on metal/plastic.

I have a Sony 707 that has done a great deal of travelling over the last 7 years... used to shoot in 2 hurricanes, lots of time on hot beaches, thrown into whatever bag was handy at the time and it works and looks fine.

My 40D and 5D and lenses are far more delicate.

I feel that the jump from the 30D to the 40D is not that big. I would some how find a way to get a 50D if you can wait. By doing so you willn't want to upgrade any time soon.