Upgrade help from 400D

I bought my 400D in 2007, it served me fine until few months back and now has seen its end of life.

I have a 85mm 1.8 prime lens and EFS 17-55 2.8 IS lens. I would like to upgrade to either 750D/760D or M3 setup which is where I need some guidance.

In the recent years I didn't carry my 400D a lot due to it's weight especially combined with my 17-55 lens. So I prefer to have a smaller/lighter setup for travel and general street photography. So I'm thinking to sell my 17-55 2.8 lens and buy canon M3 body and the 24mm 2.8 pancake lens. Between my 24mm and 85mm I should be able to cover my street and portrait photography needs.

However I might miss the 17mm wide focal length for general landscape / outdoor coverage. I might also miss the viewfinder which I like very much as the lack of it makes me feel I'm shooting with PS/phone cameras. M5 has EVF but it's going to be very expensive.

gunzeye wrote:

I have a 85mm 1.8 prime lens and EFS 17-55 2.8 IS lens. I would like to upgrade to either 750D/760D or M3 setup which is where I need some guidance.

My main concern with the M3 is the (purportedly) slow autofocus with EF/EF-S lenses via the adapter. It's a much lighter camera though and that sensor is really nice.

You won't gain any real size/weight advantage with the 750D/760D. IQ will be quite a bit better though. You'll retain that nice fast (viewfinder) Phase Detect autofocus, plus you'll gain Live View.

One other camera you might consider is the (18MP) SL1. It's small and light. You'll gain some IQ, and retain PDAF too. Plus Live View.  No flippy screen tho. You can find it at great prices right now.

In the recent years I didn't carry my 400D a lot due to it's weight especially combined with my 17-55 lens. So I prefer to have a smaller/lighter setup for travel and general street photography. So I'm thinking to sell my 17-55 2.8 lens and buy canon M3 body and the 24mm 2.8 pancake lens. Between my 24mm and 85mm I should be able to cover my street and portrait photography needs.

However I might miss the 17mm wide focal length for general landscape / outdoor coverage.

Definitely. You might consider one of the STM kit lenses (or better) for that.

I might also miss the viewfinder which I like very much as the lack of it makes me feel I'm shooting with PS/phone cameras.

Viewfinder makes sense in a lot of cases.

M5 has EVF but it's going to be very expensive.

Boy, if there's any way you can fit the M5 in your budget, IMHO it looks to be a real winner.

The new 24MP sensor will not only give you better IQ (in the form of increased dynamic range over the other 24MP sensors), but the Dual-Pixel design holds a lot of promise in the way of improved autofocus (esp with EF/EF-S lenses). We won't know for sure until the M5 hits the streets of course, but if it's anything like the Dual-Pixel AF on my 70D then we'll all be partying in Hog Heaven.

I also like the latest crop of EF-M lenses (15-45 Kit and 28mm macro are at the top of my list, and that 22mm f/2 looks really useful too).

Yes, I'll still be keeping my 70D for its blazing fast (viewfinder) PDAF for BIFs and sports, but I think the M5 will cover about everything else with aplomb. Plus it's a whole lot lighter than my DSLR setup (my main reason for upgrading).

Well, good luck with your own quest. Hope this helps some.

R2

Gunzeye,

I was in the same situation a couple years ago, wanting to replace my 400D (XTi). I was going to purchase the newest Rebel xxxD at the time until I handled the SL1 at the store. I bought it because of it's small size and light weight. I've been very happy since.

Allen Murray wrote:

Gunzeye,

I was in the same situation a couple years ago, wanting to replace my 400D (XTi). I was going to purchase the newest Rebel xxxD at the time until I handled the SL1 at the store. I bought it because of it's small size and light weight. I've been very happy since.

I did the same . Later I bought 24 mm pancake to that and until that my m4/3 Lumix stays on the shelf. Pity to sell the 17-55/2.8. In that case I would buy a 100D kit + 24. Sorry Iam writing on tablet.

Another vote for m5 here. It looks like awesome camera. If the price falls a bit, it will be good choice.

Here's another vote for the SL1/24mm pancake combo as a street camera, which I have, use, and like a lot. I also have flippy screens on my 60D and G12 cameras and love the idea but for street shooting through a viewfinder, I much prefer the SL1/24mm combo. Keep your existing EF lenses. They'll still work on the SL1 just fine for when you're not street shooting.