# Upgrading from Rebel XTi



## LaurieBeth (Jan 1, 2013)

Hi there. I'm new to the forums and I'm looking for some advice. I currently have a Rebel XTi with a 50 mm 1.8 and an 85 mm 1.8 (plus the kit lens which I never use). I'm looking to upgrade and am currently considering the 60D, 7D, and 5D Mark ii. I definitely want to stick with a Canon so I can continue to use my lenses. I'd love to hear thoughts on what would be a good upgrade. I use my camera for photos of my kiddos and for photos of items I sell in my Etsy shop. I'd like to stay under $1200 (and I'm willing to just purchase the body). 

Also, is it worth the $200 extra to get the 18-135mm kit lens? I don't have a zoom so I'm thinking it might be nice.

Thanks so much!

Lauren


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## EmmaBproductions (Jan 1, 2013)

LaurieBeth said:
			
		

> Hi there. I'm new to the forums and I'm looking for some advice. I currently have a Rebel XTi with a 50 mm 1.8 and an 85 mm 1.8 (plus the kit lens which I never use). I'm looking to upgrade and am currently considering the 60D, 7D, and 5D Mark ii. I definitely want to stick with a Canon so I can continue to use my lenses. I'd love to hear thoughts on what would be a good upgrade. I use my camera for photos of my kiddos and for photos of items I sell in my Etsy shop. I'd like to stay under $1200 (and I'm willing to just purchase the body).
> 
> Also, is it worth the $200 extra to get the 18-135mm kit lens? I don't have a zoom so I'm thinking it might be nice.
> 
> ...



Hi, i'm sorry about this not being relevant. But today i turned on my canon xti and it had deleted ALL my photos! I don't know if this is a manufacturing fault, or just the card. Since the camera is new to me, 5/6 days, i am somewhat of a novice, i have not owned a dslr before, and was wondering if it was my fault or will it happen again. 
Thank you so much if you can advise me


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## LaurieBeth (Jan 1, 2013)

EmmaBproductions said:


> LaurieBeth said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Emma - so sorry this has happened. I have absolutely NO idea why that would occur. Since I'm new to the forums, I can't even point you in the right direction. Hopefully someone will have better answers for you.


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## SamiJoSchwirtz (Jan 1, 2013)

60D or7D.


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## Dao (Jan 2, 2013)

Taking photos of your kids and stuff for Etsy, your current XTi should do a fine job.

However, upgrading it to a newer better camera body will give you ....

- Better ISO performance (60D, 7D and esp 5Dmk2)
- Convenience - top display with 2 wheels for camera control (60D, 7D, 5Dmk2)
- Spot metering mode (60D, 7D, 5Dmk2)
- Better AutoFocus (60D: 9 cross type AF points, 7D: 19 cross type AF points, 5Dmk2: 9 point with only 1 cross type.  XTi is also 9 point, but do not seems to have any cross type AF points)
- Better body build (7D and 5Dmk2: Magnesium alloy.  You may already notice, even your XTi is made with plastic, but it is still pretty durable.  Metal body also mean heavier body)
- Better sensor, the recording medium (6D, 7D and 5Dmk2 perform better with high ISO than XTi esp. the 5D)
- Larger sensor (5Dmk2 has a larger sensor which provide a wider field of view with your current lenses. So when you use your 50mm and 85mm lens in a indoor environment, you may not feel as tight in space as when you use your XTi)
- More megapixels (You may not need any extra megapixels for Etsy photos, but for your family photos, it is a plus especially hard drive storage space is cheap now)
- Movie mode (6D, 7D & 5Dmk2)
- AF micro adjustment (7D, 5Dmk2: That let you fine tune the AF for your lenses especially those wide aperture lenses)
- Burst mode (60D: 5.3 frames per sec, 7D: ~8fps)


That's all I can think of now.  If any of the above is important to you, upgrading the camera body is a plus.   But I do not believe the changing the camera body will have any impact on your Etsy photos at all.  They will look the same as long as you have sufficient lights. Also, if you go with the 5Dmk2, the kit lens that come with your original camera will not work.  5Dmk2 camera will not take any EF-S lens.


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## Robin_Usagani (Jan 2, 2013)

Thats crazy that you only used 50 and 85 on your xti.  I bet the shots of your kids are very tight indoor.  Anyway, I love my 5DII.  If you take a lot of shots with internal flash on your xti, you cant do that anymore with 5D because it doesnt have one.  If I were you, I would get a 5D classic.  You can find a used one on Craigslist for $700.


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## EmmaBproductions (Jan 2, 2013)

LaurieBeth said:
			
		

> Emma - so sorry this has happened. I have absolutely NO idea why that would occur. Since I'm new to the forums, I can't even point you in the right direction. Hopefully someone will have better answers for you.



Thanks for replying, ok, i was just wondering.
Emma


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## KenC (Jan 2, 2013)

You'll also get better ISO with a newer Rebel - the sensors were improved greatly by the time the T2i came out.  The 60D and 7D have the same sensor as the current Rebels and will likely give you similar image quality - the 5D series has a larger sensor and would clearly be even better, but the cost obviously is much higher.  Only you can decide if the other features Dao listed are important enough to justify the extra money.


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## EIngerson (Jan 2, 2013)

With the lenses you use, I agree with Robin. The 5D mk ii will open up many new options for you. I say get the 5D mk ii and then start saving up for a 24-105 L.


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## kathyt (Jan 2, 2013)

LaurieBeth said:


> Hi there. I'm new to the forums and I'm looking for some advice. I currently have a Rebel XTi with a 50 mm 1.8 and an 85 mm 1.8 (plus the kit lens which I never use). I'm looking to upgrade and am currently considering the 60D, 7D, and 5D Mark ii. I definitely want to stick with a Canon so I can continue to use my lenses. I'd love to hear thoughts on what would be a good upgrade. I use my camera for photos of my kiddos and for photos of items I sell in my Etsy shop. I'd like to stay under $1200 (and I'm willing to just purchase the body).
> 
> Also, is it worth the $200 extra to get the 18-135mm kit lens? I don't have a zoom so I'm thinking it might be nice.
> 
> ...



If I were you, I would go for the Mark ii. I wouldn't invest in another kit lens though. I would start saving for a quality zoom. The primes you have are nice though.


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## LaurieBeth (Jan 2, 2013)

Robin_Usagani said:


> Thats crazy that you only used 50 and 85 on your xti.  I bet the shots of your kids are very tight indoor.  Anyway, I love my 5DII.  If you take a lot of shots with internal flash on your xti, you cant do that anymore with 5D because it doesnt have one.  If I were you, I would get a 5D classic.  You can find a used one on Craigslist for $700.



I take lots of photos outdoors, too. I very, very rarely use flash. I have a large Florida room with fantastic natural light.


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## LaurieBeth (Jan 2, 2013)

Dao said:


> Taking photos of your kids and stuff for Etsy, your current XTi should do a fine job.
> 
> However, upgrading it to a newer better camera body will give you ....
> 
> ...



I definitely want to have better ISO, better sensor, more megapixels, etc. I like my XTi, but I would like a camera with more capabilities - I'm not looking for a new camera to improve my photography. I'm not looking to improve my Etsy photos - they're fine now... I'm really looking to just have a camera that functions better in low light. 

I never use my kit lens


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## Dao (Jan 2, 2013)

LaurieBeth said:


> Dao said:
> 
> 
> > Taking photos of your kids and stuff for Etsy, your current XTi should do a fine job.
> ...




If that is the case, the 5Dmk2 should meet your need I think.  Especially pair it with your 50mm and 85mm lens.  And then look for a standard type zoom lens later such as the 24-105mm from Canon.


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## 07Vios (Jan 2, 2013)

I'd go full frame, so either 5D2, 6D, or 5D3. Better ISO performance would be _my_ reason to upgrade bodies.


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## 07Vios (Jan 2, 2013)

Didn't see your budget, so that would mean 5D2 only.


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## mattbaume (Jan 2, 2013)

I just upgraded from the XTi to the 6D and I'm very happy with it -- much more responsive autofocus, looks great in low-light, and it's very nice to have a full-frame sensor. The WiFi functionality is nice in theory -- it allows you to wirelessly operate the camera and transfer photos with your phone or computer -- but the menus to make it work are so confusing and poorly implemented that I'll probably rarely use that particular feature.

One small thing to watch our for is lens compatibility. The XTi can use EF and EF-S lenses, but 6D and similar models can only use EF. (An EF mount will have a red dot on the ring; an EF-S mount will have a white square next to the red dot.) Both of your 1.8 lenses should be EF, but I believe the XTi's kit lens (which you say you don't use anyway) is EF-S, so if you ever wanted to use it you won't be able to.


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## TCampbell (Jan 2, 2013)

mattbaume said:


> One small thing to watch our for is lens compatibility. The XTi can use EF and EF-S lenses, but 6D and similar models can only use EF.



That's not a drawback, btw.  The "S" in EF-S stands for "Short back focus".  With the popularity of APS-C crop-frame camera bodies, Canon realized that they didn't need the full image circle large enough to fill a 24mm X 36mm sensor.  The EF-S lenses only project an image circle into the sensor body large enough to cover the APS-C sensor AND since image quality degrades as the distance from the central axis of the lens increases, it's cheaper to build lenses that don't have to provide full coverage.   Basically you can build a lens for less money which still produces high quality if it's designed just for the sensor size you need.  That's what an EF-S lens is.  

The reason you can't use an EF-S lens on a full-frame sensor body is twofold:  (1) the lens isn't designed to provide an image circle large enough to fill the sensor with adequate quality and (2) the rear-most element on the lens is set back into the camera body a bit (it actually extends into the body beyond the lens flange).  A full-frame camera requires a full-frame mirror and full-frame finder.  A crop-frame body only requires a crop-frame mirror because it has a crop-frame finder (not the sensor... the finder.)  That means the mirror on a full-frame camera is physically larger.  Since a crop-frame lens' rear-most element sits back farther into the camera body, the mirror does not have enough room to swing clear of the lens element.  Canon deliberately designed a ledge inside the camera body (because the mount & flange design on EF vs EF-S actually are identical) and the ledge prevents the EF-S lens from being attached to a full-frame body to avoid the unpleasant consequences of a jammed or damaged mirror.


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## LaurieBeth (Jan 2, 2013)

Thanks for the info on the lenses. I'm really not interested in using my kit lens for much.  I'm hoping to invest in a good zoom in the not-so-distant future.


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## texkam (Jan 2, 2013)

Consider the T4i as well. They've been as low as $599.00. Money left over for the 17-40 f4L.


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## FilmaTroy (Jan 22, 2013)

Since you are just looking to improve in a body that will be better than the xti, go ahead and get the 60d which is the least costly... then sell that stock lens for whatever you can get it for, and invest in some kind of L lens. 24-70 2.8L or if you need something a little cheaper with awesome quality the older 28-70 2.8L is awesome as well and only about 950 or so used. (I have one for the past year and love it!) it will also help in low light having the option to drop to a 2.8 aperture


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