upgrading my XTI

[john_valjean]

<p>Hello all, I did my homework and I like to hear some opinions. Situation is simple: I had an XTI for the last 4 years, surrounded by 50mm F1.8, 28-135IS and 70-300IS. Mainly usage is to take picture of the kids. All had been well, until I had to use the camera in door for my kids graduation at school. I bumped the ISO to 1600 (I know the quality of the pic is bad, and grainy and ...) but that was the only way for me to take a picture. All shooting is handled since I can't (not allowed) to use a tripod or a monopad or a flash.<br>

Long story short, I am thinking to upgrade the body for a more high forgiving ISO to be able to take these pictures, I still need to use a variable lens so prime will not work for me. I need your advice on 2 fronts:<br>

1. is it better to keep the body I have and invest with a better lens<br>

2. upgrade the body and still using the lenses I have.<br>

My budget is around 1500$ after all said and done. Thank you in advance.</p>

[phule]

<p>I would buy a new lens, one with a larger aperture, that meets your future needs. Now that this graduation has passed, what you buy would depend on what you would be anticipating photographing down the road. </p>

<p>I disagree that ISO 1600 on the XTi is bad. Yes, noise can be exacerbated if you underexpose (and especially if you try and raise the exposure on your computer later) but noise characteristics should always be judged with your intended output in mind. Wall-sized prints? 4x6's? Facebook uploads only? All will show noise differently. </p>

 

[John Crowe]

<p>For very specific situations like this you really do need a prime lens. You already have general purpose zooms so why add another extremely expensive f2.8 one, that still is not really that fast for interiors. I would consider a Canon EF 135/2 L, a Canon EF 85/1.8, or a used Canon EF 85/1.2 L. Use your current zooms in a similar venue to see what single focal length will work best.</p>

<p>Upgrading your camera will likely help a bit too, but I would do the lens first. I am not familiar with all the specs but consider the 50D or 60D. </p>

[eric_arnold]

<p>for $1500 you could get a nikon d5100 with a tamron 17-50+ 35/1.8. high ISO is one area where nikon's entry-level bodies trump canon's.if i was gonna get a canon DSLR, i probably wouldnt look at anything below the 60d. but that's just me. you might be able to find a used 5d mk I somewhere though, that camera was pretty clean at high ISO and you wouldnt have to dump your other lenses.</p>

<p> </p>

[leslie_cheung]

<p>If you don't shoot extreme lowlight / no flash situation like these often, another option is to rent a lowlight lens (either fast prime or f2.8 zoom) for the day or two. </p>

[wgpinc]

<p>A Canon T2i/T3i would be an inexpensive upgrade that would get you much better image quality and higher ISO performance, keeping with a camera interface you are very familiar with. A couple of good relatively inexpensive lenses that would seriously improve your low light capabilities would be the Tamron 17-50mm 2.8 non VC and the Canon 85mm 1.8. Maybe sell the 28-135mm and the XTi to help fund your upgrades. Good luck!</p>

[john_valjean]

<p>Thank you all for your advice and responses.<br>

I looked on the internet for a T2i and it was hard to find one, but I did find one for around $700. It arrived today and I am charging the battery. I did not have the chance to play with it yet. I will keep you posted.</p>