# Canon t3i



## bdk12 (Mar 15, 2014)

Hey, I'm new to this forum, I've always had a passion for photography and videography but could never really afford a decent camera. Now that I almost can I want to invest in the right one.

So would the t3i be a good starter? I'd be using it for fisheye videos, and pictures.

Thanks


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## vimwiz (Mar 15, 2014)

Yes. Its probably the best Canon to start with, in terms of features vs price. I started with the more basic T3. Get the one with the 18-55mm IS kit lens, its a good all rounder.


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## SpikeyJohnson (Mar 15, 2014)

The t3i is definitely good as a starter. A question I would ask yourself is how fast you want to learn. I bought a Nikon D3200 last August and I love it, but I am limited a bit. Make sure the t3i has the features you need for what you want to do. Also take some time to shop around, and feel the cameras. You dont want to jump into a system, which is what your are doing, before you look at the costs, benefits, and learning or evolving you want to do.


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## SpikeyJohnson (Mar 15, 2014)

Also a funny quote from a favorite teacher of mine, "buy the camera for which your friends or family have the most accessories or lenses for". The first reason being, they can help you learn. Secondly, they may let you use their lenses when you're with them!


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## goodguy (Mar 15, 2014)

Canon t3i is an ok camera but I would do my best to try and get the 70D.
The t3i is already pretty old camera using an even older sensor.
Yes it is still a capable camera but if I was you and I would go with Canon I would get the 70D.

Good luck


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## IronMaskDuval (Mar 15, 2014)

bdk12 said:


> Hey, I'm new to this forum, I've always had a passion for photography and videography but could never really afford a decent camera. Now that I almost can I want to invest in the right one.
> 
> So would the t3i be a good starter? I'd be using it for fisheye videos, and pictures.
> 
> Thanks



I'm relatively new to this as well, and I can tell you that with good optics, most of the people who will be looking at your pictures will not be able to tell if you're using an entry level or high end camera, BUT they will notice when a picture is captured with great optics and composition (although they may mistake this for you using a high end camera). The other thing is that the quality of photo depends on the person behind the camera AND the person processing the photos. Obviously, you want to get into photography and not remain a point and shooter. You will want a camera that will offer you as many quick access controls as possible, ie iso, shutter, aperture, exposure compensation and so forth, because if you stay in auto or a preset every time, what's the point? 

Sure, the entry level cameras all have access to these controls, but you will have to dig around the menu a bit to get to them. I think I read a post on here a few days ago that you can program certain entry level cameras to avoid doing this, but buying a camera with all the buttons already there is much easier.

The other thing you want to look at is ISO performance. You may not start shooting out in low light, but you will one day, and you will hate yourself for producing a picture that looks like it came out of an early 2000s point and shoot at night. High ISO performance is great if you're like me and haven't gotten experience with flash photography. Getting fast prime lenses (low aperture number) is also a must for these types of shots.

I also suggest buying used from companies that offer at least a 6 month warranty and gives you a no hassle return. This way, you feel comfortable buying from the used market. Camera bodies depreciate, so going used will give you the opportunity to obtain a higher level camera from previous years. Although the 70D is a great choice as mentioned by another poster, it's pricey when compared to the t3i. If you can stretch it, the Nikon D7000 will do everything you need it to do for quite some time. The 70D does a lot better at video, but the D7000 will only run you about $600 new and will produce adequate video for a beginner and exceptional image quality for its price. If $600 is still too much for a body, the Nikon D90 is also a great option, although it videos in 720p and has lower megapixels. 

When I was in your position, I bought a whole bunch of cameras at the same time and kept the one I liked most, and all of them were used except for one. Just to name a few of these cameras, I bought the Canon 5d mark ii, Nikon D90, Nikon D7100, Nikon D3000, Nikon D3100 and a few other lower and middle end Nikons and Canons. Out of these, I found out that I love Nikons, and I loved the D90 and D7100 the most. I have also tried the D610, and I love that too, but I didn't want to spend the extra money on a full frame, which is why I passed on the mark ii as well.


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## brunerww (Mar 15, 2014)

Hi bdk12 and welcome to the forum!  Since you're going to be shooting video (I'm assuming skateboard video from your avatar ), you might want to look at a more video-friendly camera.  People are shooting great skate video with the T3i, and you can get a brand new one with a US warranty from buydig for less than $500 right now, but this camera has serious limitations for video:

1. The viewfinder stops working when you switch to live view (video) mode - when I bought my T2i, I was very surprised by this
2. Autofocus stops working when you switch to video - this surprised me too
3. This camera has no high frame rate progressive HD recording (e.g., 1080/60p) for smooth in-camera slow motion
3. If you ever want to use the camera to record continuous video longer than 12 minutes, you're out of luck.  The camera will stop recording and have to be restarted.  Another shocker when I tried to use my T2i like a camcorder.

For skate video, I would get a camera that can autofocus quickly; has a viewfinder so you can see what you're shooting outdoors in bright sunlight; records at 1080/60p for smooth slow motion - and can shoot for hours continuously if you need it to - without a 12 or 30 minute continuous recording limit.

If you want all of those features, and a camera that can produce skate video like this:


[video=vimeo;78507820]http://vimeo.com/78507820[/video]​

You may want to take a look at the Panasonic G6, which is on sale at Amazon right now.  It's a little more expensive, but worth it if you want to make your life easier when you're shooting video.

It is a darned good still camera too: Flickr: The Panasonic LUMIX DMC-G6 Pool

Hope this is helpful!

Bill


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## JerryLove (Mar 15, 2014)

bdk12 said:


> Hey, I'm new to this forum, I've always had a passion for photography and videography but could never really afford a decent camera. Now that I almost can I want to invest in the right one.
> 
> So would the t3i be a good starter? I'd be using it for fisheye videos, and pictures.


 It should be fine. 

That said: The SL1 would be better (because of phase sensors in the CMOS and longer recording times), and the 70D would be better still. Though the 70D is about $1500 with a kit lens.


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## JerryLove (Mar 15, 2014)

RE: Get a Nikon

Certainly take a look. One issue is going to be motor noise during AutoFocus. The Canon STM lenses are quiet when auto-focusing.



brunerww said:


> 1. The viewfinder stops working when you switch to live view (video) mode - when I bought my T2i, I was very surprised by this
> 2. Autofocus stops working when you switch to video - this surprised me too
> 3. This camera has no high frame rate progressive HD recording (e.g., 1080/60p) for smooth in-camera slow motion
> 3. If you ever want to use the camera to record continuous video longer than 12 minutes, you're out of luck.  The camera will stop recording and have to be restarted.  Another shocker when I tried to use my T2i like a camcorder.


1. This is true for all cameras with an optical viewfinder (including all DSLRs). 
2. True. Canon has neglected 1080p/60 for some reason.
3. The time limit is a function of the card's max file size combined with the format of the video. Camcorders usually get around this by writing multiple files. On the t3i, it's more like 44min on a 16GB card.



> For skate video, I would get a camera that can autofocus quickly; has a viewfinder so you can see what you're shooting outdoors in bright sunlight; records at 1080/60p for smooth slow motion - and can shoot for hours continuously if you need it to - without a 12 or 30 minute continuous recording limit.
> 
> I'm not sure how many hours of 1080/60p would fit on a realistic memory card without significant compression going on (which means more issues with editing).


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## brunerww (Mar 15, 2014)

JerryLove said:


> RE: Get a Nikon
> 
> Certainly take a look. One issue is going to be motor noise during AutoFocus. The Canon STM lenses are quiet when auto-focusing.
> 
> ...



In fact, a 64GB card will hold 175 minutes of 50mbps 1080/60p video.  My GH3 can record for over 200 minutes without stopping.  My old Windows 7 computer and Sony Vegas handle the files just fine.

Cheers,

Bill


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## JerryLove (Mar 15, 2014)

Your use of RED and odd indentation has made everything clear.



brunerww said:


> 1. This is true for all cameras with an optical viewfinder (including all DSLRs).
> 
> That is why I recommended the Panasonic G6 - it has an electronic viewfinder.


Which is , in many important ways, inferior. There's a reason optical viewfinders still exist. 



> 2. True. Canon has neglected 1080p/60 for some reason.
> 
> Except on their camcorders and the $12,000 Canon 1D C


Which are out-of-scope. I also didn't check their point-and-shoot cameras.



> 3. The time limit is a function of the card's max file size combined with the format of the video. Camcorders usually get around this by writing multiple files. On the t3i, it's more like 44min on a 16GB card.
> 
> This is not correct - to quote the camera's spec page: "The file system limits the file size of a single movie clip to 4GB.  If the movie clip reaches 4GB, *the shooting will stop automatically*. [emphasis added]. This translates to around 11 min. for 1920 x 1080 and 1280 x 720, and around 46 min. for 640 x 480."
> 
> Panasonic cameras write to multiple files, just like camcorders, and don't stop recording after 12 or 30 minutes.  Canon certainly knows how to do this - they link files together for their camcorders, but don't do it beyond 30 minutes for any of their DSLRs except the $12,000 Canon 1D C


It's funny that you don't realize you just agreed with what I said.



> I'm not sure how many hours of 1080/60p would fit on a realistic memory card without significant compression going on (which means more issues with editing).
> 
> In fact, a 64GB card will hold 175 minutes of 50mbps 1080/60p video.  My GH3 can record for over 200 minutes without stopping.  My old Windows 7 computer and Sony Vegas handle the files just fine.


1920x672 in RAW mode at 60 fps requires 129 Mb/s. Your files are inferior due to compression. But as long as they are good enough for you: have at it.


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