Upgrading to Canon 70d from 1100d

[russy01]

Afternoon,

Had my 1100d about a year, love using it. Got a couple half decent lenses (Canon 18-135, 50-250)....I try to shoot as manual as I can and have had some fairly good shots (I avoid the Auto setting as I am trying to learn!) Most of my shots are of Sport, Children indoors and open countryside...

Anyway the boy in me really wants to upgrade to the 70d. It doesn't help that a friend and my BIL just bought them too...

So...for a beginner is it overkill? Or will I instantly take better shots with the better equipment? One thing I have been struggling with is indoors with bright artificial light, I understand this isnt the best conditions - but I wonder whether the better camera would help me out?

Basically just looking to justification to pull the trigger as the Mrs keeps telling me I just like spending money and my current camera is plenty good enough...

Thanks.

[DavidY]

If you want to do video, or want to print bigger than A3 then the 70D will be an improvement, but for taking basic pictures, it is unlikely to make much difference.

If you tell us what the problems are that you have shooting indoors, I suspect myself and others can provide more help.

[russy01]

God dammit, just tell me I need to upgrade! I can then use the thread as proof to the Mrs that an upgrade was required...

Indoors I have been struggling with both bright light and low light - specifically keeping shots in focus when shooting people by hand. If I use Auto mode in low light it just wants to use the flash and the shots look awful...but then if I try playing about with the shutter speed/exposure the shots are either dark and focused - or if I slow it to let some light in it just ends up out of focus. I cant find a happy medium - maybe I need a better softer flash and to try bouncing it off the ceiling to try and illuminate the room a bit. (Doesnt help that the downstairs living room is open plan and 60ft long.)

Another issue is taking shots of the baba in another room when dark outside. The room is obvs only lit artificially, but baba just comes out very yellowy from the lights.

Now I dont expect magic, as light is obviously key to a good shot - however I cant help but think that somebody who knows what they were doing would take infinitely better shots.

[DavidY]

russy01 said:

God dammit, just tell me I need to upgrade! I can then use the thread as proof to the Mrs that an upgrade was required...

Indoors I have been struggling with both bright light and low light - specifically keeping shots in focus when shooting people by hand. If I use Auto mode in low light it just wants to use the flash and the shots look awful...but then if I try playing about with the shutter speed/exposure the shots are either dark and focused - or if I slow it to let some light in it just ends up out of focus. I cant find a happy medium - maybe I need a better softer flash and to try bouncing it off the ceiling to try and illuminate the room a bit. (Doesnt help that the downstairs living room is open plan and 60ft long.)

Another issue is taking shots of the baba in another room when dark outside. The room is obvs only lit artificially, but baba just comes out very yellowy from the lights.

Now I dont expect magic, as light is obviously key to a good shot - however I cant help but think that somebody who knows what they were doing would take infinitely better shots.

1) A big room will need a big flash, so a flashgun will help rather than the inbuilt flash, you can then soften the light using diffusers and point the light away from directly at the target, eg to bounce it off the ceiling, etc.

2) Without flash in a darkened room you need a camera with some higher ISO capability and ideally a faster lens (ie one with a bigger aperture). Something like the Canon 50mm f1.8 would be a good start. The 1100D isn't brilliant a high ISO, but certainly up to ISO1600 is capable of producing acceptable images. I suspect you out of focus is just blur caused by camera shake as in Auto Mode it's selected quite a long exposure time with your current lenses.

3) Artificial light is at a different colour temperature than outside light, so the white balance of the image needs to be adjusted. This is easy to do in something like lightroom.

Fundamentally the 1100D is capable of producing great images, but ultimately you will reach it's limitations. I would suggest that you invest your money in the following three items and learn to use them (fully) before considering upgrading:-

1) Canon 50mm f1.8 lens, for indoor portrait shots.
2) Reasonable Flashgun with tiltable head and some diffusers
3) Lightroom or similar.

Learn to shoot in raw using some of the manual modes, aperture priority, etc.

I bought my step daughter an 1100D for her A level phography course, and she proved it more than capable.

[Robertj21a]

To be blunt and honest, upgrading to a 70d won't make very much difference. You need to better understand what goes to make up a well-exposed image, and the tips above will go a long way to achieve that.

Sorry that it's not the answer you really wanted !

[RobDickinson]

as above, usually its not the gear thats the limiting factor and when it is you will know and you will also understand what to move up to to fix it.

[Goody13]

I've just moved from a 450D to a 70D but not been out to play with it yet. The major advantages I have found so far is the ease at which you can adjust settings compared to the 450D and it also seems cleaner at high ISO.

You do need to know what you want your camera to do, however.

[JustinP1]

DavidY said:

Fundamentally the 1100D is capable of producing great images, but ultimately you will reach it's limitations. I would suggest that you invest your money in the following three items and learn to use them (fully) before considering upgrading:-

1) Canon 50mm f1.8 lens, for indoor portrait shots.
2) Reasonable Flashgun with tiltable head and some diffusers
3) Lightroom or similar.

Learn to shoot in raw using some of the manual modes, aperture priority, etc.

Exactly this OP - I read your post and came up with exactly the same answer.

I've gone from a Canon XXXD to XXD to 6D over the years. A lot of the time, the images are not much different. I would bet that if you take exactly the same shot with the 1100D and the 70D you would see hardly, if any difference, and the same shots you are finding problematic will have exactly the same problems.

In reasonable indoor light you can shoot with the Canon f1.8 without a flash. Start there, at the princely sum of £80 and you have started on the right track. The other option at about £200 is the Sigma 30mm f1.4 with I found not only to be a little 'faster' (more light through it) but a better match for a crop body in terms of shooting in a limited space indoors. With the 50mm I was always trying to lean backwards.

With your 1100D and one of those lenses above you'll have all the gear you need to produce better photos than your friend with the 70D and a kit lens.

[mike80]

Totally agree with this. If your main issues are shooting indoors, then fast lenses and / or a decent flash are probably the first things to get. I'm not really familiar with the lenses you have, but the look like they are more good all rounders, rather than really specialised for indoor stuff.

DavidY said:

1) A big room will need a big flash, so a flashgun will help rather than the inbuilt flash, you can then soften the light using diffusers and point the light away from directly at the target, eg to bounce it off the ceiling, etc.

2) Without flash in a darkened room you need a camera with some higher ISO capability and ideally a faster lens (ie one with a bigger aperture). Something like the Canon 50mm f1.8 would be a good start. The 1100D isn't brilliant a high ISO, but certainly up to ISO1600 is capable of producing acceptable images. I suspect you out of focus is just blur caused by camera shake as in Auto Mode it's selected quite a long exposure time with your current lenses.

3) Artificial light is at a different colour temperature than outside light, so the white balance of the image needs to be adjusted. This is easy to do in something like lightroom.

Fundamentally the 1100D is capable of producing great images, but ultimately you will reach it's limitations. I would suggest that you invest your money in the following three items and learn to use them (fully) before considering upgrading:-

1) Canon 50mm f1.8 lens, for indoor portrait shots.
2) Reasonable Flashgun with tiltable head and some diffusers
3) Lightroom or similar.

Learn to shoot in raw using some of the manual modes, aperture priority, etc.

I bought my step daughter an 1100D for her A level phography course, and she proved it more than capable.

[russy01]

Ok chaps, thanks for the replies. Maybe ill save the cash and invest in one of those lenses, trundles off to have a look....

[russy01]

Ok chaps, to resurrect my own thread.

So....I took your advice and asked Father Christmas for a 50mm F1.8 lens. So I had a go yesterday, uploaded a load of my pics to my mac this afternoon and the vast majority are out of focus.

All of my shots have been portraits indoors - during the day. What do I need to do - how should I be using this lens? Av mode? What Aperture? I am half happy using Av mode as it keeps ISO and Shutter on auto.

Any advice gratefully received.

[jurbie]

Are they out of focus or is it camera shake from shooting indoors in poor light? Best thing to do is post a pic so we know what we're dealing with.

[russy01]

Ok, see two images on the links....

Not doing anything different to what I would have been doing with the 18-135mm lens.

http://d3d71ba2asa5oz.cloudfront.net/73000354/imag...

http://d3d71ba2asa5oz.cloudfront.net/73000354/imag...

[Tony1963]

The Canon 50mm f/1.8 isn't the greatest at autofocus in low light. However, the camera will tend to not take the photo if the lens hasn't focused. So, as mentioned above, you probably blurred the shot yourself by either not moving with the action or using too low a shutter speed.

If you're photographing an indoor sport such as basketball and want crystal clear frozen shots, I reckon you'll need at least 1/250th of a second, maybe up to 1/1000th. When taking such photos, use Tv not Av, and try different speeds to see what works best.

With the same lens for portraits, Av, f/2.0 to f/4.0 ish, and let the shutter speed sort itself. Use manual iso for this, 100.

[LC2]

Those 2 shots do look soft, but judging from where you've set the focus and the fact that nothing is in sharp focus, I don't think you've got a copy that is front or back focusing.

To give you an example of what you should be getting, these two shots were taken using the settings I pulled from your second shot
iso 1600, f1.8, 1/60th sec




to give you and idea of the sharpness / DoF you should expect.

Obviously my 2 shots weren't of a moving subject, but then neither was the rug your baby was on...

I'm inclined to agree with the previous poster, that the softness is caused by camera movement when you take the shot.

You could try upping the shutter speed to see if it makes a difference?
What kind of stance are you in when taking the shot. I assume you're using the view finder and not using the rear screen... Are your arms (elbows) against your body? Are you breathing (heavily)?
Without image stabilisation (which your other lenses will have) you need to make sure that you're a stable platform.

FWIW I agree with the previous posts, the 70d isn't going to be significantly better than your 1100d at high iso (although it should be a little better) as they are both aps-c sensors. If you want significantly better high iso performance from a canon, then look at the 6D (but then you'll need to change all your lenses except the prime).

[JustinP1]

russy01 said:

Ok chaps, to resurrect my own thread.

So....I took your advice and asked Father Christmas for a 50mm F1.8 lens. So I had a go yesterday, uploaded a load of my pics to my mac this afternoon and the vast majority are out of focus.

All of my shots have been portraits indoors - during the day. What do I need to do - how should I be using this lens? Av mode? What Aperture? I am half happy using Av mode as it keeps ISO and Shutter on auto.

Any advice gratefully received.

Looking at your examples, try some test shots to see where your problem is:

Put the camera on something stable like a tripod or table, and take a photo of static objects. You could set up objects at the other end of the table and focus on just one.

If you now have a sharp picture, it would seem the problem is that if you are using IS lenses that may have been hiding the fact that when you press the shutter down you move the camera a little.

If the object you are focusing on is not sharp, but another is, then the lens is front or back focusing and you'll want a replacement.

Two technical things to think about too:

At f1.8, and especially at shorter distances the depth from you that will be in focus will be very slim, only a few cm if that. For example, for the crawling pic, if you had a sharp nose, the eyes might not be sharp, and ears won't be. To counter that, you can stop down a bit.

How are you autofocusing? If you are just using all the points and just letting the camera decide, then you might want to try this technique: In the settings you can opt to use the centre point only. I can't remember on yours but on most Canons this autofocus point is faster and more accurate than the rest as it's a different type. Then, to compose a shot, you first half-press to get the focus then move the frame to compose the shot.

[tenohfive]

Personal approach that has netted me a decent percentage of keepers for people shots with the f1.8:

If you're going for that nice bookeh effect, set at f2.2-2.5 for a single subject, f3.5 or above for several subjects (if they're the same distance from the camera.) If you've got your focus on a separate button (rather than half-pressing the shutter) this helps. Then recompose to frame it how you'd like and take the shot. Shutter speed will obviously vary on the available light. Always always focus on the eyes though - ears out of shot isn't usually an issue. And I've got some great shots where kids have been reaching towards the camera or similar where you get an out of focus arm/hand, sharp eyes/face, out of focus background.

If you're close to your subject and the background is quite far away you'll get more of that blurry background effect; in that scenario I'll often step down a bit to f3.5 or above for a sharper subject, but 2.5 is fine for indoor shots I find (where your background is never far away.)

A flashgun will help for interior shots as even with decent high ISO performance you're going to need more light from time to time.

[Krikkit]

As someone who did exactly what you're proposing OP I can recommend a body upgrade - the 1100D is very limited in its customisation options (as suggested above having a separate focus button for example), and the AF in low light is very poor.

I always found my shots with the 1100D and the 50mm f1.8 were very soft and poorly focussed, even stopped down in reasonable light, and looked the same on the 70D initially until I ran the focus micro adjustment (something the 1100D lacks) through, now they're much improved.

As a word of warning the new body isn't a silver bullet to turn all your photos into amazing shots, in fact it's easier to screw them up with the increase in the number of available settings, but things like the AF and metering make it a lot easier to judge the shots as you take them.

[russy01]

I tried a couple test shots the other night (Christrmas tree decs) supporting the camera on the coffee table and edge of the sofa and my results were all the same - I couldnt get anything sharp at all. I took lots of shots at various apertures all manually focusing on a certain point and they were all fuzzy! If even one image was sharp Id be happy and assume it was my own inexperience cocking it all up...

Thanks for the advice thus far chaps. I plan to put some time into experimenting later on. I'll let you know how I get on...

Edited by russy01 on Tuesday 29th December 14:08

[Pandaboy]

Just curious if the lens has any protective plastic on the front/rear element? Could be a nice and easy fix :/