Can an Old Canon Dog Learn New Tricks?

[fwafwow]

I’ve been out of the photography hobby for ~12 years and need some RS input before I go back to Fred Miranda boards. My current equipment is a Canon Rebel XT and the following lenses: Canon 135L, 85 f/1.8, 50 f/1.4; Tamron 17-50 f/2.8 and Sigma 100-300 f/4. My uses would probably be family and outdoors, with perhaps some related to hunting (although carrying a bunch of prime lenses to a stand doesn’t sound appealing at the moment). Nothing professional. Primarily stills, but quality video would be nice.

I’ve just been made aware of the mirrorless revolution and have done just enough research to know that I would get a silent shutter (good for hunting) and a smaller body, but with less battery life and the need for an EF-M adaptor.

Should I drop the full coin to go mirrorless, or stick with one of the newer DSLRs? I can’t stand the old school transfer of pics process and really look forward to WiFi and Bluetooth. And I’d prefer to stick with Canon given my lenses.

NOTE - I am a gear junkie and am seriously afraid of having two vices (photography and hunting) at the same time….

 

[Camera Land]

First...regardless of what you buy, don't transfer to your computer via wifi or bluetooth. Get a $20 card reader and save battery life and tons of time.

Now for the meat. If you go canon mirrorless you can get the Canon ef, ef-s to either M or R adapter depending if you go crop sensor or full frame. 1 adaptor and you get to use all your lenses at 100% of their function.

The battery life is not horrible on the mirrorless cameras and they are much smaller so you have room to bring a back up battery or two.

The camera you had, Rebel XT was the entry level at the time and you had some nice glass. The entry level of today is beyond the top of the line 12 years ago. So no matter what Canon you get the images will be cleaner, better colors, MUCH better in low light. Canon still makes the Rebel line, T7, as well as the T8i and 90D in crop sensor DSLR and the 6D Mark 2 and the 5D Mark 4 in full frame Pro cameras and the EOS1DX Mark3 for the shooting Pro

In Mirrorless the current line up from entry level on up
Crop Sensor
M100
M200
M50
M50 Mark II (Great for Vloggers)
M6 Mark II

Full Frame mirrorless from consumer to Pro
RP
R
R6
R5

Regardless of DSLR or any mirrorless the menu will resemble what you have now, with MANY more options
Feel free to call me to discuss

Joel
516-217-1000

 

[fwafwow]

Thanks Joel! Let me do some research so that I narrow down my follow-up questions, and try to make them a bit more intelligent.

 

[Camera Land]

Sounds good. There's a lot of info out there

 

[fwafwow]

I think I've narrowed it down to the M6 Mark II vs. the RP. Here's the status of my internal circular debate:

• FF would be nice now, but the M6 Mark II is the most advanced cropped and the RP is the base model FF​
• Do I really need to spend that much when the Rebel XT was fine for me before? $500 vs $850 or $1k?​

 

[Camera Land]

If you were happy with the rebel then go with the M50. The 100 and 200 do not have a viewfinder. The M50 is a "miniature" version of what you had only worlds better with the latest technology

 

[fwafwow]

Wow. Time has flown, and despite your helpful feedback Joel @Camera Land (thank you!), I haven't touched my old Rebel or those lenses since then. As much as I want to hold on to these babies, I think I'm going to have to list them for sale - first here on RS, then on Fred Miranda.

 

[Camera Land]

Always happy to help