Upgrade Camera body

[muralireddy]

Hi,

I currently use Canon 550D and Canon 400mm f5.6 tele. Primarily into bird photography. I want to upgrade the camera body and due to budgetary constraints (cannot spend more than 1000 USD) looking at buying used equipment. What would be a best upgrade from the below bodies:

1. Canon 40D
2. Canon 1D MarkII
3. Canon 1D MarkIIs
4. Canon 1D MarkIII

How good are the above equipment in terms of noise reduction. Request the feedback from the members.


Thanks & Regards,

Murali

[PhilCook]

How about a Canon 7D ?

[muralireddy]

Hi Phil,

Thank you for your response. I heard that the sensor in Canon 550D and 7D are same, will there be any difference in noise reduction if I shift to 7D.

[Ashley Cohen]

Interesting problem, I've been in a similar situation recently. Are the bodies listed the only available bodies in your price bracket? It might be best to list them all. Are you looking at buying them used as in the UK the 40D has a massive price difference compared to for example the 1D MK III. Why are you worried about noise reduction? Are you shooting Raw or Jpeg? The 550D is 18Megapixels and some of the cameras your looking at are 10 megapixels and below. Though the 1D bodies do have bigger sensors. It'll be easier to give some advice once you've answered those questions.

[muralireddy]

Thank you Ashley.

Here are my answers to your questions:

1. Are the bodies listed the only available bodies in your price bracket? - No, these are the ones I have shortlisted. Suggest if I'm missing any other bodies within my budget
2. Are you looking at buying them from UK? - I'm planning to buy them from US used market.
3. Why are you worried about noise reduction? - My current body Canon 550D generates lot of noise beyond ISO200.
4. Are you shooting Raw or Jpeg? - I always shoot in Raw.
5. 18mp Vs 10mp or less than that why? - I'm looking out especially for 1D bodies because of their bigger sensors which might help with noise reduction.

[Ashley Cohen]

Thank you for the reply. I think some of of the questions got a little bit misunderstood though, I wasn't suggesting you were buying from the UK I was just saying there's a large price difference and if you have a higher budget you should make it count. I was asking which bodies were in your price bracket as if the 7D and others were in it then I wondered why they weren't considered.

Anyway to back to the advice. My first thought is why are you getting excessive noise at ISO200 and above. I had a 7D for 3 years ( Same sensor as the 550D) and now have a 60D after switching back from a short change to Nikon and although Im fully aware that the 18mpx canon sensor does have more noise than most I was able to shoot at ISO 1600, post images to the web at up to 1024pixels wide and show hardly a hint of noise. If your looking at the images 1:1 (zoomed in 100%) your going to see noise beyond ISO200 and probably so on all the bodies you have listed too. The images you capture, what are you cropping them down to? With Cameras like the 550D, 7D you do tend to need to apply NR to the background to remove some of the noise present if you want super clean shots.

With new cameras from Canon no doubt not that far away, is upgrading to one of these older but more professional bodies really worth it? Personally if I was happy with the AF performance and shooting speed I was getting from the 550D I would wait for the 70D or 7D MK2 to come out before upgrading.

[Steve Kaluski]

If that's your choice then I would go with the MKIII, but make sure it has had the fix, or is one that was built after the issue. Wouldn't even think about the 40D, likewise the 7D. If you wait for the 7D MKII then I bet it will be more than your $1k budget. What is the 5DMKII worth S/H?

[Don Railton]

From your list my suggestion would be a MkIII as well (so long as its had the focus fix). My only reservation on this is that if you are like me, once you use a 1 Series camera it hard to go back.. I love the customisation features and the purposeful feel of a 1 series..

DON

[Ashley Cohen]

To add to what I said before, if your having issues with noise and it's from heavy cropping of images then I would be careful going to a bigger sensor as your going to get less reach and also going to the Mk III your getting 8 less megapixels. It would be my choice of camera too but only if reach isn't a big issue.

[David Stephens]

Of the ones listed, MkIII, for the best compromise in ISO, crop and camera handling. Going one more generation current, you'll gain much DR and even better handling, but you'll bust your budget.