teresajewell wrote:
I am looking at becoming more proficient in photography. I currently own a Canon T3i. Yes....quite old, I know, I am looking to upgrade and have done a lot of research. I do have a limited budget but have been considering the following. Canon T7i, Nikon 5600, Pentax K1 or KP. What do you all th9ng about these and are there better options that I should be considering?
Thanks,
Teresa
Hi Teresa,
Don't be too quick to give up your T3i!
If all you have are the "kit lenses", then that's where you should be putting your money, instead of into another camera.
T3i came in kit typically with the EF-S 18-55mm and sometimes also with a telephoto... either an EF-S 55-250mm (a decent lens) or an EF
75-300mm III (Canon's cheapest and worst tele-zoom).
If the lenses are "STM", they are a bit faster focusing than the unmarked ones which use "micro motor" focus drive, which is both slow and noisy.
It appears you like to shoot wildlife, in particular. A fairly affordable lens for that is the EF 70-300mm IS USM II, costing about $500 right now, on sale. The previous version is also still widely available new for about $450, and isn't a bad choice. If you have the 75-300mm III, an EF-S 55-250mm IS STM would be a good upgrade for you. 250mm or 300mm is just marginal for wildlife, though. 400mm or longer would sure be nice! Canon's EF 100-400mm IS USM II is a superb lens, but bigger, heavier and more expensive at over $2000. The previous version is a pretty darned good lens too, and might be found used for a bit less, but still is typically well over $1000. Sigma has just introduced a 100-400mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM for $800 that might be an alternative and is a bit smaller and slightly lighter than the Canon lenses. I have not used the Sigma, so can't say how well it's image quality compares.
It also appears you have some interest in macro photography. There are a lot of good macro lenses, but one of the most affordable is Canon's EF-S 60mm f/2.8 USM at about $400. It's also relatively compact. Tokina also offers a 100mm f/2.8 for around $350... the longer focal length gives more working distance between the lens and tiny subjects, which can be handy at times.
Traveling to national parks, you probably are going to see some scenes you'll want to photograph and might want a wider lens than the 18-55mm kit lens. Canon has one of the best deals of all in their EF-S 10-18mm IS STM for under $300. Most other lenses of this type cost at least $500 and some of them are much more than that.
Aside from those lenses, you'd probably be best advised to work on your technique and skills. Read books. Take classes. Watch online tutorials. Join a photography club and go out shooting with them.
The T3i is a pretty decent little 18MP camera.... quite capable. It's primary short-coming is it's autofocus system. It has a 9-point AF array, but only the center point is the better/faster dual axis or "cross" type. The rest are lower performance single axis AF points. Canon T5i improved upon the AF system. It's still 9-point, but all of them are the better "cross" type. The T6i saw an increase to 24MP and also got a fancier AF system, similar to what was used in the 70D... 19-point, all "cross" type. (The 70D inherited a sort of dumbed down version of the original 7D 19-point AF, which is quite high performance.). The T7i keeps 24MP, but inherits the 80D's 45-point AF system. The 80D, T7i and 7D Mark II (20MP, with it's own 65-point AF system) all also have "dual pixel auto focus" in Live View, which is a huge improvement in speed and performance over earlier versions of Live View focusing. In fact, the 70D has DPAF, too... it was introduced on that 20MP model.
I'm mentioning all this because while I think you'd be better served upgrading lenses than camera, if you still wish to do so, any of these models would be a logical choice if you want to stick with Canon.
I'm a Canon shooter and don't hesitate to recommend them... best selection of lenses (all of which made the last 30 years can be fully used on a camera like your T3i and all the models mentioned above).... great customer service... and it's what you're familiar with. But if you do want to change systems, now would be the time to do so... before you are invested too heavily. Frankly, all systems are good in their own ways. But you need to commit to one or another because once you start to buy lenses beyond the kit lens you will be getting invested in a system to the point it would be very expensive to switch to another brand.
One way to stretch your money is to buy refurbished. In the case of Canon, that's done from the Canon USA website online. Stock comes and goes there, so you might need to be patient. But it's one way to save (always check against prices of new, though... sometimes new go on sale for even better prices). Refurbished are usually little different from new... might be in a plain box instead of the usual one seen in stores. They have the same warranty as new, too. Canon sells cameras, lenses and accessories through their refurbished program. After large trade shows they often have a large stock of items, but sell out quickly. I'd guess those were demo units that were on display for a few days, then couldn't be sold as new.
There are also good sources for used items, to stretch your budget a little further. A dealer such as B&H Photo, Adorama or KEH.com will offer a short warranty on used items. Usually 90 days, which is time enough to insure things are working properly.
Hope this helps! Have fun shopping.