misty_prochaska

<p>I came here to ask almost this exact question- I am looking for something that I can have in addition to my 5DMII. I want something that is lighter, and that my husband can use in auto mode.<br>

I bought and returned the Canon S100. I absolutely hated it. The in camera noise reduction was very excessive (I did not shoot in RAW as LR was unable to process the images at the point I had it). I would have waited and given it in a chance in RAW, but the AF modes were very hard to manipulate (and made it clear to me why on a camera of this size a touchscreen could be really useful), the shutter lag was way longer than I could tolerate, etc. Granted, I am very used to a DSLR, and it had been a long time since I had used a point and shoot, so I suppose my expectations were too high. I honestly felt like I could get pretty much the same photos with my iPhone, and have a far easier time with the focus while using it. I am just not sure where to go from here. I don't care about a viewfinder, I don't care about the camera being tiny and fitting in my pocket. I just wanted less of the shutter lag, very high quality, and something my husband can use so I can actually be in some photos. I am thinking one of the Olympus PEN cameras, the Fuji X100 or X10, or the Panasonic GH2?<br>

I will be listening for more suggestions- but I just wanted to add my experience with the S100.</p>

<p>Thanks so much to everyone for your thoughtful responses. I do shoot in manual mode when I use my flash, and I do bounce it, and the results are ok. I have LR3, which has outstanding noise reduction capabilities. There are a lot of other reasons I want to move to FF- DOF, IQ, being able to use natural light rather than flash, and the difference in focal length (which yes, I know, can be addressed by using different lenses, obviously). It is just hard to purchase those wider lenses for a crop body knowing I want to move to FF eventually. There is still so much I have to learn about photography, and looking at all of the options, I should probably just sit tight where I am and work with the gear that I have.<br>

At least at this time, I know that upgrading and staying with Canon is NOT the right answer- due to just getting to the point of what I would call "decision fatigue", I almost just ordered a 5D Mark II before I posted here. All of the information provided has for sure made me feel like that would not have been a good decision. My husband would like me to just order a D700 and get it all over with. I would like to order a D7000, a 35 1.4, 105 macro, and flash, and then later get a D700 when the D800 comes out and prices go down. And after all of that, I end back up at the fact that I am just a mom with a camera, this is just a hobby for me, and that I should just work with what I have. :) All of this would be easier if Canon would do something about the autofocus issue. I know some say it is fine, but for me, even though I prefer Canon "colors", the autofocus is really lacking.<br>

So thanks again for all the input! Even though I have decided to not upgrade at this point, thank goodness I have come to a decision.</p>

<p>I do have a flash. And it really helps. It is a necessity indoors at this point.<br>

As far as the 7D- I guess I didn't see the point of the larger heavier body when I got no improvement in IQ or improvement at high ISO, or any of the other improvements FF offers (DOF, and no crop factor- my house is tiny, my 35mm on a FF is pretty much perfect as far as focal length). I also think that the AF is overly complicated for the results (as compared to what i experienced when I rented the D7000).<br>

As far as posting a picture, I will look for something that illustrates the problem and see if I can post, although I think you can imagine what a photo of a toddler taken by a Rebel at 3200 ISO would look like.</p>

<p>I have an external flash (430 EXII). The two lenses I use 99% of the time are a 35mm F2, and the Tamron 60mm F2 macro.<br>

<br />I very rarely print. Very rarely. When I do print it is 4X6 or 5X7, although we have talked about eventually making some rather large prints for display in my husband's office.</p>

<p>I have a T1i, and I have been wanting to upgrade for quite some time to a full frame camera. I am just a hobbyist. I take a lot of macro photos, and then photos of my kids. I am really unhappy with the low-light, high ISO results of fast moving toddler shot inside my dark house with my Rebel. I have not much of an investment in lenses. I know upgrading right now is complicated by the possible release at some soonish point of an updated 5D. In the course of trying to make a decision, I purchased and returned a 7D (which I disliked), and rented a D7000 (loved the AF, amazing, clarity in good lighting conditions, but still a crop camera, so hard to justify selling all of my Canon gear to move to another crop). <br /> <br /> I told myself that I am not thinking about this any more, and I am making a decision today. My options are to...<br /> <br /> Just buy a 5D Mark II- I don't even care any more about paying full price this late in the product life cycle. I am just afraid of the AF problems. My T1i leaves a lot to be desired as far as AF, and I do toggle and select my AF point. Outer points are terrible. <br /> <br /> Buy a refurbished 60D through the Canon loyalty program- the only thing I might gain is better AF?<br /> <br /> Buy the D7000 and some fast wide primes (probably not going to be a popular option on the Canon forum, I know).<br /> <br /> Stop obsessing, and just keep my camera. I am just a hobbyist mom with a camera, so when I take a step back it all seems quite silly that I am this fixated on the upgrade, at such a bad time to upgrade. <br /> <br /> Tell me what to do! Be as harsh as you want. And I know the whole world is sick of the questions related to buying vs. waiting, etc. on both Canon and Nikon sides.</p>

<p>Yes, correct about the shooting situation. And I know that the lenses I mentioned would not solve my problem, but I just think they would make me "feel" better (which sounds insane, I know). What I mean is, with the 60mm macro, maybe it would be a more all purpose lens even if it has some other shortcomings. And I would consider the Tamron 60mm f2 macro lens as opposed to the Canon as it is f2.8. As far as the zoom lens, I just think that I would probably be more satisfied and less "challenged" at this point if I had invested in a better zoom lens than my kit lens. I am just wondering if that is where I should have put my money first, and then maybe purchased the 50mm 1.8 rather than the 1.4.</p>

<p>I know that I may not be explaining myself very clearly, I apologize.</p>

<p>Original poster back, I thought I would update and respond to some of the recent additional comments. I went to class last week, talked to classmates/ instructor, felt reasonably better about keeping the lens. Now, as the end of the return period approaches (I have 15 days, which would be next Tuesday), I continue to struggle somewhat about if I should keep it or not. <br>

I am being pretty picky with myself, and again I think my expectations were really high, but I think that for a beginner, this is a really difficult lens to work with. I do find focus to be pretty difficult (at least as far as photographing my children indoors without flash). I am cranking the ISO up to the max (3200 on my camera), which is really getting me in touch with the difference a high ISO makes to an image. I did order a flash (Speedlite 430 ex), but it just came today and I have not used it yet.<br>

Today I started to wonder, again, if I would not be happier using a macro lens as a portrait lens (I was thinking the 60mm Canon). I am interested in getting a macro lens at some point, and I feel like having the 50mm would be redundant. I decided to go to my local camera store to actually play with some lenses to see if I could get this decided and so I could stop thinking and obsessing about it.<br>

I tried some macro lenses, as well as extension tubes and close up filters, and I don't think any of those things would really meet my needs (wants). I did like the 60mm macro lens quite a bit in general. What I did figure out, and this is just my perspective, is that what would have made me happier at this point is to REPLACE my kit lens (18-55) with something like the Tamron 17-50mm f2.8, or the Canon equivalent. Or if I would have known enough to get something other than the kit lens to begin with. It is just really, really, much "easier" than the 50mm 1.4. The f2.8 of the Tamron zoom lens makes a world of difference in comparison to my kit lens. I do think that as a portrait lens, the best option is still the 50mm 1.4, and so I am still leaning against returning it. I think that I would have been happier having a better zoom lens first though, and then getting the 50mm lens later as more of a specialty lens. <br>

I am so thankful for everyone contributing their thoughts to my little newbie problem, and I am saying that truly and with no sarcasm. I hope this might be helpful to any other beginners out there struggling with which lens to buy, or wondering why they are having difficulty with the 50mm lens they just got.</p>

 

<p>I am so appreciative of everyone taking the time to answer me. I guess what I wanted to confirm is that there is not a better lens for my needs at this point, and it seems like this is the lens I need. I know that the 30mm or the 35mm would be other possibilities (I think the 85mm would not be ideal given the space I am working with). This is a confidence issue more than anything, and I agree that a lot of my focus issues (and worries) will resolve with practice. I could increase shutter speed if I increase ISO, but I was just feeling like 1600 was already so high. I can also increase light, and take some more time to practice outside. I think my situation would benefit from the use of flash, but I also feel like that is also just another factor to control. I got my first tripod when I got the lens but have not even tried to use that yet. I am shooting in RAW, and I am using just one focus point. I am sure the issue is increasing light, increasing the shutter speed, and maybe trying to get better at focusing before trying to shoot wide open. Thanks again for all the time taken, your explanations and suggestions have been very helpful.</p>

<p>No, it doesn't sound glib, it is true that a few lamps would help! My house is over a hundred years old, with not many windows, and in our front room we have no overhead light at all. So again I think that my expectations are pretty high, and I may need to consider adding a speedlite to my wish list. I think to some degree I have this idea that I should not use flash, but it may be what I need to do (in addition to adding other lighting/ lamps). Thanks for the responses.</p>

<p>I was shooting tonight with my ISO at 1600 at some points. It was the only way to get correct exposure in the low light I was in. Then I start to wonder if the pictures are turning out so noisy as to look more out of focus than they are, or rather if the softness of the photos is coming from the high ISO, if that makes sense. I will keep working on it. I might have to adjust my expectations also. Tonight I was shooting in VERY low light just to see if I could get correct exposure with this lens, and without flash I need to realize there are really no miracle lenses when photographing toddlers.</p>

<p>I am not using a tripod, and to take candid photos of my kids, I don't want to have to use a tripod. I have very little kids (ages 1 and 2.5), so I know that my shutter speed needs to be very fast. I am shooting mostly in shutter priority mode for that reason, and given how dark my house is, the lens does end up wide open. Given how mew to this I am, I feel that the softness is very unlikely the fault of the lens. I just wonder if I would be less frustrated with a Macro lens in my situation, or if at some point I would regret letting go of this lens if I sent it back. Thanks so much for replies so far!</p>

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<p>Sorry if this is a little all over the place... I have a T1i, and am taking a community college photography class. I just want to take great pictures of my kids. I got the Canon 50mm 1.4 lens last week. I live in an old house that is very dim, so I wanted to take advantage of the wide aperture of this lens. I am feeling like the lens is a little soft. I don't feel like I am able to get pictures to be as sharply focused as I want them to be. I don't think I want a wider lens than this at the moment, but I do feel that I am often trying to take pictures closer to my kids than I should be (I think I need to be about six feet away, right?). Anyway, I am not sure what to do. Am I eventually going to get the hang of this lens? Should I return it and get something else? I am wondering if I should get a macro lens instead. Or should I keep this and then get a macro lens additionally? I am going to class tomorrow, and I will ask my instructor, but I just wanted some additional feedback. I am wondering if a lot of the really awesome portaits I have seen taken with this lens are actually taken with flash.<br>

<br />THANK YOU! I would love to hear any opinions anyone has.</p>

 

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