# Upgrading from Canon Rebel XTi - what camera??



## Jaimiem (Aug 27, 2010)

Please excuse me if this has been discussed to death already - I'm a newbie.

Almost 3 years ago I bought myself a Canon Rebel XTi for Christmas to take better pictures of my daughter.  A 430EX flash, 50mm 1.8 prime lens, and 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS Telephoto Zoom Lens later I'm looking to upgrade the camera body.  I have around $1K to put into the new camera (can be persuaded to go a little higher if it's a big difference in quality).  My primary subjects are my kids and my main focus is improving image quality indoors.  I had some great moments last weekend in front of the camera but the images turned out grainy which was extremely disappointing.  I'm not a "for hire" photographer but will take pics for friends and I want to take really good pics of my family.

I'd love any and all advice you have.

Thanks!


----------



## Big Mike (Aug 27, 2010)

The first thing I'd suggest, is trying to diagnose why your photos were grainy.  If it's something you're doing wrong, or unaware of, then getting a new camera won't necessarily improve your situation.  

So post some images along with the EXIF info.

If you do still choose to upgrade, the new D60 is going to be about $1000 and would be a great upgrade.


----------



## Derrel (Aug 27, 2010)

"grainy" indoor photos usually result from really elevated ISO settings, or underexposed images, or a combination of both. Do you perhaps have some exposure compensation dialed in on the +/- control??? If you used flash, was the flash set to some Minus compensation on its +/- control???

A photo or two could really help diagnose the problem, since it carries EXIF information showing all the settings of the camera and or flash.


----------



## Jaimiem (Aug 27, 2010)

Thanks Mike.

Here's a shot that turned out grainy.  I shot it in RAW and did the auto adjust and a little tweaking in PS4, but not much.  I'm a wannabe PSer without much knowledge or talent and no time to learn.






(this picture was just funny - not the facial expression I was after, the little monster)

Stats: f/2.8 1/1000s ISO 1600 50mm - and no flash.  I know the flash would have helped but it was downstairs and I hate to break away sometimes when the kids are agreeable.


----------



## Jaimiem (Aug 27, 2010)

And just to redeem myself a little, here's another shot I got that same morning






A little bright on the one side but I like how it makes his eyes stand out.  Almost embarrassed to share that here...


----------



## Derrel (Aug 27, 2010)

Jaimiem said:


> Thanks Mike.
> 
> Here's a shot that turned out grainy.  I shot it in RAW and did the auto adjust and a little tweaking in PS4, but not much.  I'm a wannabe PSer without much knowledge or talent and no time to learn.
> 
> ...



1/1000 at f/2.8 at ISO 1600 in light like that is simply underexposed...it needs a much slower shutter speed...


----------



## Jaimiem (Aug 27, 2010)

I was going on the dial in the viewfinder and of course with the small screen I couldn't tell that it wasn't right.  I was also scared to get too far down for fear of making the shot blurry.


----------



## AdrianC (Aug 27, 2010)

You could have easily used a lower ISO in the first pic. High ISO = more noise, so keep the ISO down.


----------



## Jaimiem (Aug 27, 2010)

AdrianC said:


> You could have easily used a lower ISO in the first pic. High ISO = more noise, so keep the ISO down.



Okay so this is why I was thinking of upgrading.  The 60D goes to ISO 6400 so my thoughts were that it must mean that at ISO 1600, the camera would capture better images since it's in the middle of it's range.  Is that just crazy newbie logic?


----------



## AdrianC (Aug 27, 2010)

I don't know much about Canon, since I'm a Nikon guy, but yes, I'm guessing the 60D would have a better sensor thus less noise.

You aren't getting my point tho. Your current camera could easily get better pictures, you're just not using correct settings. The first pic is shot at 1/1000 sec and 1600ISO. Lower the ISO, increase the exposure time and you will get *a lot* less noise.


----------



## Jaimiem (Aug 27, 2010)

AdrianC said:


> I don't know much about Canon, since I'm a Nikon guy, but yes, I'm guessing the 60D would have a better sensor thus less noise.
> 
> You aren't getting my point tho. Your current camera could easily get better pictures, you're just not using correct settings. The first pic is shot at 1/1000 sec and 1600ISO. Lower the ISO, increase the exposure time and you will get *a lot* less noise.



I understand that, but to do a lower ISO, I would either have to adjust my aperture or shutter speed, right?  I didn't want to make it blurry with a slower shutter speed and don't have a tripod.


----------



## Big Mike (Aug 27, 2010)

Yes, AdrianC is right.  Rather than shooting at 1/1000, you could have shot it at 1/250 with and ISO of 400, and got the same exposure with much less noise....or 1/125 and ISO 200 etc. 

Also, if the shot was underexposed and you use software to brighten it up, that will really accentuate the noise.  So getting the exposure right, in the first place, will really help with noise as well.

So really, there is nothing wrong with the camera you have.


----------



## AdrianC (Aug 27, 2010)

Yes, you would have to use a longer exposure time, but you shot that at 1/1000sec. You could have used 1/50sec with 100ISO for a similar exposure. As long as you don't have really shaky arms, you shouldn't have a problem. If you do have shaky arms, then maybe 1/100 sec. 1/1000 is incredibly fast.

Shooting at a focal length of 50mm generally allows you to shoot hand held at 1/50sec. A 200mm focal length would allow you to hand hold the camera at 1/200sec.


----------



## Big Mike (Aug 27, 2010)

> I understand that, but to do a lower ISO, I would either have to adjust my aperture or shutter speed, right? I didn't want to make it blurry with a slower shutter speed and don't have a tripod.


You need to realize what shutter speeds will give you blur.  The rule of thumb is that you want at least 1/focal length, to avoid blur from camera shake.  And I doubt you were using a 1000mm lens.
1/125 would probably be fast enough to freeze you kids unless they are running around, in which case, 1/250 would probably be good.  If they aren't moving too fast, then 1/60 might even be fast enough.


----------



## AdrianC (Aug 27, 2010)

Yeah, according to the exif data, he was shooting at 50mm, so a longer time of exposure would definitely be possible.


----------



## Jaimiem (Sep 1, 2010)

Thanks for the tips on how far I can go down.  I think I've been doing much better and relying less on my flash.

I still think I want to upgrade my camera.  If you were upgrading, would you get a 7D or save the money and just get a 60D?  I would like to eventually do some children's photography for friends/family and would especially like to save the money of paying for photography for my own children.


----------

