Alan's post I am referencing now has given you everything you need to know based on your original posting. Others have given you some great advice as well.

My take:

There is absolutely nothing wrong with the camera you have...PUT YOUR MONEY INTO BETTER GLASS!

Sorry to shout but wanted to get your attention. I have the Canon 70-300 L IS USM Alan mentioned. You can buy a good one used (rated excellent +) from KEH in Atlanta (no I do not get paid to say that and not affiliated) for around $900 to $950. You can hand hold it nicely with its great IS ability. With your crop body your 300mm will reach to 480mm! That lens is tact sharp from wide open to full telephoto! I have a friend on the Florida Gulf Coast who sells seascapes regularly and for good money using that lens and a lower end Canon Rebel than you have. Put your money into that combo and I think you will be in super shape equipt wise. The rest is practice and training on your part! Good luck and happy shooting!

Tom

good
I see someone down played the 77D, the extra top screen, the extra buttons and the weather sealing are well worth the price over the T7i.
In fact if you could swing it the 80D has even better weather sealing and more options. Not as good as the 7DII (an even better choice, but more $$) or the upper end full frames, but more than the T7i and you are going to be in a kayak and VERY close to the water. Cameras and water do not play well together.

Someone else suggested the 100-400L mk2 lens. It is my favorite lens but I would not recommend it for use from a kayak, it is fairly big and heavy for hanging around your neck in a boat. A 28-135 would be a better choice here, smaller, lighter and goes wider if Orcas or other subjects get up close. You lose on the long end, but... And the 55-250 or 70-300 (several versions, some much better than the others) would be a "in the middle" compromise.
Of course having 2 or three lenses in a bag is better from the photography point of view but not from the "I will be in a kayak and trying to change lenses." point of view. The Tamron 18-400 would also be a great alternative as long as you are not looking for extremely high image IQ. The zoom range is tempting but I do a lot of birds and butterflies-I like extreme details.

One tip for the posting, use "quote reply" instead of "reply" or "quick reply" so everyone knows just who or what you are talking about.

Bingo! That would help (and the result is like you see here, so we know who and what you're responding to).

I just took another, closer look at your sample image of the butterflies....

The highlights are "blown out" (no detail in the brightest/whitest areas of the image)... and there is strong purple fringing. Finally, sharpness and detail are okay, but could be better.

Regarding those aspects of your photo, I have four rather rhetorical questions:

1. Do you have a "protection" filter on the lens? Often stores will push those... and some folk like to use them. But lower quality, uncoated filters - in particular - can lead to image problems such as I've noted.

2. Are you using a lens hood? If not, one that's properly matched to the lens is highly advised. Does a better job physically protecting a lens than any thin glass filter ever could... Plus can improve image quality by keeping oblique light off the lens. And so long as it's a properly fitted one, a lens hood can never "harm" an image, the way shooting through a filter can.

3. What lens are you using? I really can't tell from the image EXIF and scanned your many previous responses, but didn't see info. All the above observations about your sample image also could be due to a lens' shortcomings. Someone else suggested you concentrate on upgrading your glass (lens) and not worry too much about upgrading the camera yet. That might be good advice. There's also something to be said for taking gear that you're familiar with on a long-awaited trip, so you don't have to spend your time figuring out how to use a new camera.

4. Have you had the camera's sensor cleaned or done so yourself? The reason I ask is because something that's often overlooked is that a dirty sensor also can lead to some of the image "issues" I noted above.... a dirty camera sensor makes for reduced sharpness and less fine detail. It also can lead to "blooming" and flare effects, if there are oils on the sensor (usually lubricants from the shutter mechanism).

Your T3i has a "self-cleaning" sensor feature that runs every time you turn the camera on or off. It's a great feature... but can only do so much. A careful and proper cleaning of the sensor is still needed, though a lot less often than with cameras that didn't have self-cleaning sensors. It's sometimes surprising how much difference you see in your images, after a good cleaning.

You can clean sensors yourself (see www.cleaningdigitalcameras.com for more info).... and might want to invest in some of the stuff needed for that purpose anyway, to have with you "just in case". But it does need to be done properly and carefully... there's risk of doing damage to the camera if it's done wrong. If at all uncertain about doing it yourself, I recommend having a local professional camera repair tech do the cleaning. It usually costs $30 to $50, depending upon where you are. But it may be worth it to avoid some of the possible mistakes that can leave you without a camera for a while and with an expensive repair!

If you decide to try doing sensor cleanings yourself, you'll need to invest between $100 and $150 in the necessary supplies to do it right, but those will be enough for a number of cleanings so it will end up costing less per cleaning than having it done professionally. Just be sure to read everything at the link above, before tackling the job. The guys who maintain that site are professional repair techs themselves, as well as owning and operating Micro-Tools.com, one of the top suppliers to the camera repair industry. They pretty much sell everything for the purpose, so have some experience with it all and are fairly unbiased in their recommendations. Larry also has "written the book" on professional camera repair.... well actually many of them.

You were all so helpful with your ideas for how to survive no electricity for 3 days on vacation that I decided to ask your help on a more important question. As you have all guessed I am a novice. I don't aspire to become a full time photographer. I just want to take great photos so that I can enlarge them and enjoy them at home. So before my Vancouver Island trip in August I decided it is time to update. I will be buying the Canon EOS Rebel T7i It gets good reviews. I am still practicing on being fully manual but I fear that working 2 jobs I may not be proficient by then, so I will probably be shouting a lot in auto. This camera gets good reviews for fast auto with many more sensors. Now along with this I am going to buy a new lens and here is where I need all your output.
My 2 choices are the Canon EF 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 IS USM DO Lens or Tamron 18-400mm f3.5 Di II VC HLD Zoom. I will be buying used on all 3 since money is an issue. Keep in mind that if dolphins and whales are plentiful and active I will shoot auto because my manual isn't up to par. If you have any other suggestions, please let me know. Thanks in advance, I trust all your opinions. I am downloading a photo I took last week of Monarch butterflies in my backyard. This was manual because auto couldn't focus on the butterflies alone. I have

Some portions of this thread touch on a topic that was discussed by many of us recently, Artist Talent vs. Technical Skill. TexasLynn you seem to have a good eye for composition and so if you had more time for photography you could make artistic photographs. But it does seem like your technical skills need more practice. Not sure why your example image is so soft. The equipment you are using even now should be better than that.

Learning to shoot Full Manual is great, but not necessary for good control. I learned how to expose ages ago with film cameras and just match needle meters, and also used handheld light meters. After a while I bought a really nice Film camera with Av AE, as well as M, X, Tv, a Pentax K2 DMD. It is still my main film camera. Once I got used to the Av mode, I rarely use full Manual. That does not mean that I do not watch what shutter speed the camera is choosing. And so the same for my DSLRs, I usually shoot on Av mode and use Full Manual when needed (old vintage manual lenses, close-up and macro), and Tv for Action / Motion shots. I take it you never had a Canon AE-1 or AE-1 Program film camera? They started AE with Tv, opposite Pentax. So for you, try Av for general or close-up shots, and Tv for Action, like your Mustang Horse photography. For moving animals you should learn with Auto Focus too, so buy an AF lens with SR / VC. Some modern Prime Wide Angle lenses and cheaper lenses in general lack the "blur" reduction. Good luck and please post your horse images.

Lynn, I am sorry, I forgot that part of your post, so my recommendations did not include that. I was thinking since the Mustangs would likely be far off sharp telephoto would be the supreme area of concentration. I also failed to mention that the 70mm on the lens I suggested would effectively be 112mm (because of the 1.6 crop factor on your camera). So my suggestion might not be good for closer shots.

The only way I know to reduce the lag would be to shoot while setting your camera (assuming it will do so) to a smaller sized file. Don't remember if you indicated you shoot RAW or not. One way to keep file size down is to shoot jpeg rather than RAW, although the very best PP will virtually always be done with RAW files as they have more detail to bring out in PP. That also depends on what PP software you use. Unless you are using a good photo editor that handles RAW files, you might as well shoot jpeg.

In short, like all of us, you would like to have better equipt and I do not blame you. Most of the recommendations you got, certainly those that included the 77D, 80D and 7DII were good recommendations. Based on what you said you were willing to spend at this time, I did feel that your money would be better spent on better lenses, but if your current camera buffer cannot handle what you are throwing at it then you either need a larger and faster buffer or you need to reduce the file sizes you are shooting, which is not usually what you would want to do.

Other than your buffer problem, and possibly the need of a shorter telephoto (for a crop framed camera think between approx 17mm and 85mm or so, not sure what is available in that range so you would need to look). I use a Canon 24-105 L IS II USM for that range ) the lens I recommended would be superb. Always think of the best lenses available, bought used as opposed to brand new cheap glass! Camera bodies will be traded from time to time. Great glass is a lifetime investment!

Best of luck! Tom

Lynn,It sounds as though you've done your research and getting a newer camera with some of the bells and whistles that you desire and are good reasons. I do agree with Elliott937 and that you should leave Auto way behind you and look at A or Tv in particular. It sounds like you have control over your focus points too... If you are wanting to control your depth of field shoot with A (aperture value) and if you are looking to stop some action like with birds and waterfalls I'd go with Tv (Time value/shutter speed). If you set your ISO and then choose what you want to accomplish Aperture or Shutter then the camera will do the other for you... and if you find your shutter speed is too slow in A, then kick up your ISO a little. You can stay on AWB and fix it in post processing or set that when you set your ISO. Someone else also commented about a wider angle and I agree with that too. Tamron are decent lenses we have the 28-300mm and it never leaves my husbands camera, well hardly ever... and the 70-300mm is a great lens, I have the 70-300mm 4.0-6.3L and it's an awesome lens, but if you are looking at only one lens then I'd do the Tamron 28-300mm... you can always add to your lens collection as time goes on, and on, and on, and on... cause we do :)
enjoy your new camera and practice in A and Tv and leave Auto alone!!

Thank you Tom, Here is what I am going to do as of today..see what you think. I am taking my t3i in for a good cleaning and I am going to buy the Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS II USM, refurbished, and play with that on a clean camera to see if I can achieve what I am looking for. The lens was well recommended on here and all the reviews I read on all the different sites gives it very high marks. This is not what I even considered because I didn't now enough about it but once I learned about it - it all makes sense.As for shooting, I always shot JPEG because until a year ago I really didn't know about RAW. So over the last year whenever I go out to get something important I do shoot RAW, unfortunately haven't had much time to play in the pp yet.

Well Lynn, you will love the lens I believe. But that will not be a good shorter range lens as earlier mentioned, so if you are interested in wider angle shots, landscapes, etc you will need an additional lens. Perhaps what you already have would fit that bill??

Also your buffer will still be the same.......... but the pictures you will take with that lens will be some of the best you have ever shot, compared to the lenses you already have.

One additional thought before you spend a grand or so on that lens, you might want to clean your current camera as you indicated and RENT the lens for a few days from one of the rental companies. For a few bucks you can try that combination out without risk of having purchased and regretted it for whatever reason. Or be sure to return to Canon Refurb during the no-questions asked return period if that turns out to be true.

Good luck!

Tom

That should cover your shorter range nicely. I have no experience with the Sigma but I do have a Tamron 2.8 17-50 that I bought new about 7 years ago. When I shoot with my 60D, I often use that lens as it is fast and sharp. That leaves you only missing out on the 51mm-69mm range with those two lenses, which may not make a bit of difference to you. But if it does, consider purchasing a 60mm prime down the road, which on your crop camera is the FF equivalent of 96mm which would be an excellent portrait lens. A 60mm MACRO by the way should be a consideration to complement your other two lenses as it would make a great portrait lens, and if you ever get into MACRO photography, you would have that covered as well.

So you are selling the T3i to a friend? And what did you decide to purchase to replace it? I hope you considered the other excellent suggestions you got, especially the 80D, a great camera. And while more expensive, a good used 7DII would be even faster. Either camera would be a great step above the camera you are selling.

Tom

Hi Tom, If I do buy another camera I was going to go with the 77D. I watched multiple side by side comparisons and read so many articles that my eyes crossed. But over all I thought it was the best for my needs. I looked into the 80D at the same time as the T7i and 77D - they are considered to be the basic same camera for a few minor differences. I just checked and even the refurbished 77DII it is closer to a grand. Not this time around.
I will keep your suggestions for future lenses on hand. (I have a file with all good information) . I don't think my freind needs my T3i - I think she just needs a good point and shoot but she insists she needs this camera. I will clean it to test the new lens first and if I do still want the 77D I woudldn't sell anything that wasn't in good condition. Thanks for sharing your knowledge with me.