replacement for 300D

Hello,

our beloved 300D (with firmware hack) seems to be getting close to the end of it's natural life: the auto focus very often only works when switching to manual, turning the focus on the lens and switching back to auto focus (and then we still miss good photos as it still doesn't work), the flash often doesn't work, and some other smaller things. I guess we should be looking for a new body sooner or later.

What we're looking for:

RAW

we like the somewhat more bulky and heavier shape of the 300D compared to the following cameras (only consciously saw the two models afterwards, not sure how the size has changed)

Viewfinder (Lets hope they haven't vanish in the meantime)

Don't care about video functionality, wifi or gps, quality of the screen, but would like to see same priorities, manual shooting, metering methods, and shutter speeds (maybe there are better ones now?) as on the 300D. That's all we need, really.

pixels: hmm... we prefer great photo quality over too many megapixels. Plus don't want to buy a new computer just to be able to handle very huge files. But around 20Mpixel is fine.

Continue using the lenses we have. Same crop factor would be great.

Budget? No idea to be honest... We don't want a toy, but are not looking at the professional range either. Can we get a good body for up to 1000 USD if not at what price range should we be looking at? note: not only looking at the Rebel range. We'll be buying in Middle East or Europe.

Take your pick, you already have the lenses, get another Rebel, get the 700D it is the best version of what you already have. Want a higher end body get the 70D. I think the 700D is the newest in the USA we call it, T5i.
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Lets promote calm rational arguments.

I went from 300D with undutchables firmware to 650D with its original software. 700D is almost equal to 650D (700D has some minor software extras). You'll get a major upgrade in all areas. It's just a far more Pro camera. Just to mention a few:

Better high ISO, faster startup, faster and much better AF (more points, all cross), better metering..

All flash compensation settings you need. External flash control.

You'll be able to use RAW in all modes. Also the other mode restrictions are gone (metering, focus mode etc.)

Swivel screen with touch focus opens another world of shooting options (very precise focus, low and high angles)

Buy it together with the EF-S 18-135 IS STM and you'll have a perfect travel combo.

The 650D/700D grip is a bit smaller though. I'm used to that now. Otherwise the 70D will give you a larger grip, a top LCD like the 300D has, and a bigger and brighter viewfinder with an even more advanced AF in both the viewfinder and on the touchscreen.

Regards,

10s

sunflowergirl wrote:

thomasw333 wrote:

Take your pick, you already have the lenses, get another Rebel, get the 700D it is the best version of what you already have. Want a higher end body get the 70D. I think the 700D is the newest in the USA we call it, T5i.
--
Lets promote calm rational arguments.

I've indeed been looking at the 700D and 70D and trying to find out how they differ, though the information here doesn't seem to be complete. Otherwise both seem to be doing what I want. Sensor is almost the same, ISO-range of the 700D is unclear, focus points between both differs greatly, both use SD carts (I'm glad of that! it's difficult to find new CF cards!).. have to think about weight. I like the 300D weight, the 70 is 100 grams heavier, while the 700D is a bit lighter, but quite a bit smaller. Hmpf...

We're traveling a lot, thus the camera will be traveling with us and often comes along in a backpack on day-long hikes. That's probably an argument for the lighter body. I don't know how image quality and build quality differ. Any insight into that? The review scores are quite different, thus there must be a reason for that.

The 700D has 9 autofocus points, all are "superior" cross type. 9 focus points is enough they are well spaced and the autofocus system works well, unless it is dark. I have the SL1 which has 9 AF points only the center being cross type. I find the AF to be as good my Olympus MFT camera was, except when it gets darker, the Olympus could focus better in the dark.

The 70D has 19 AF points all cross type, so you can get slightly finer control of AF selection in the center of the image. The range of AF points across the frame is the same. It also has the DUAL PIXEL CMOS sensor, it supposed to be able to have better focusing in live view than any other Canon DSLR.

The 70D is an advanced DSLR and micro adjustments enabled for lenses, this is great if you know what you are doing and can calibrate your lenses to focus 100% properly.

To me the 70D is way too heavy, the 700D is also too heavy, only the SL1 works for me.

There are great websites that can give you more info,

http://digital-photography-school.com/review-comparison-of-the-canon-eos-70d-vs-canon-700d/

http://www.photographyblog.com/

also just read the reviews on this website.

sunflowergirl wrote:

the auto focus very often only works when switching to manual, turning the focus on the lens and switching back to auto focus

Does your F/W have an option for "Focus Search?"  If turned off, the camera will not attempt focus if the focus is initially too far off.  Just a thought.

Otherwise, I agree with the others that the 700D and 70D would be your two top picks.  The main difference is that the 70D is a lot more capable when shooting action.  And it has Micro Focus Adjustment if any of your lenses front or back focuses.

I'd recommend heading to a store and trying them out in person though.  You'll probably come to a pretty quick/easy decision.

Best of luck,

R2

sunflowergirl wrote:

Thanks a lot all,

I'll indeed visit a camera shop (the only in the country, apparently) and see what they have. It's quite possible they don't have the 70D, but I'll have a look at the previous model if they have it.

I'd recommend the 700D over the 60D myself.

The autofocus: it's probably something with the sensor. In the past it only happened in fog or otherwise confusing light, but now it happens 2 times out of 5, with all lenses in perfect conditions.

Maybe blow out the AF sensor (below the mirror).

I'm wondering also how the image quality differs to the 300D. With the 300D I knew I could not get decent photos in poor light, but otherwise the images were fine. What followed afterwards (yes, I know it's 10 years ago) were bigger and bigger sensors and poorer quality photos.

Some IQ samples...

From the 650D (the 700D's evil twin) @ ISO 1600...

Fisheye lens. Click "original size"

650D at ISO 4000 using the nifty "Handheld Night Scene Mode"...

Click on "original size"

The 650D's AF is excellent...

Click on "original size"

Multiply all this with the 70D...

100% crop (Click on "original size")

Here's a full-sized image from the 70D @ ISO 800 with no sharpening and no noise reduction...

Click on "original size"

IMHO I think you would be pleasantly surprised with any of the newer cameras.

R2

I am told that eventually the Compact Flash cards will be extinct, they are going away. They cost too much to make and take up too much room when compared to the SD Card and the microSD. That said I think that you should keep the web address for Sandisk in your smart phone's phone book since they seem to be one of hte hold outs making the cards and they are happy to tell you where to get the cards, the web site you need is sandisk.com/products/memory-cards/compactslash.

Trandscend makes them as well except they will not tell you where to get them:

http://www.transcend-info.com/product/memorycards

They are o nthe bottom of this screen.

Another interesting thing that Sandisk has told me is that they are working on a 1 terabyte secure digital card. That's amazing, 1 terabyte on an SD card that I can balance on the tip of my finger.

Check into the blackfriday deals before you make a decision at blackfriday.bestbuy.com page 35.

If you are not wedded to Canon, you might consider the Fujifilm X-E2. It is selling together with the 18-55 f28.-4 for $1100 at B&H. Having shot Canon full frame for years, I am moving over to Fuji. The cameras and lenses are compact, and the quality of the lenses is equivalent to Canon L lenses.

Most of the most recent pictures on my pbase site, www.pbase.com, were taken with the Fuji X-E2.