I am flying to South Africa next month on Emirate Airlines through Dubai, and with the new restrictions on electronics larger than a cell phone, there is NO option of not checking camera equipment. It MUST go in the belly of the plane if the return flight is through Dubai. The equipment can be in the cabin going over if the flight originates in the U.S. Certainly this poses concerns of damage and theft. Trying to figure out how to manage two cameras and lenses and the other necessities all in a checked bag with size and weight limits is proving to be quite stressful. In cabin limits me to only one piece weighing only 15#. I guess the best bet for me, since I have a camera case backpack, which I will use in the country, will be to wrap all equipment in bubble wrap and hope for the best. I will take the backpack as my onboard piece, with one camera and lens going over, as all equipment exceeds the weight limit, so in the event of a catastrophy I will have a camera and lens for sure. I called the airlines and there are no exceptions for photography equipment.

If you aren't getting sharp shots with your Canon 20mm, 28-135mm and 100-400mm.... YOU are doing something wrong. All three lenses are VERY capable.

Don't waste your money on that Tamron "do everything" zoom. It will be slow focusing and dim at f/6.3.

Canon has offered three different EF-S 18-135mm lenses:

1. The Original and cheapest is a slower focusing, noisier "micro motor" focus drive lens. This lens might be discontinued now... I'm not sure.

2. An STM or "stepper motor" focus drive version came next... At about $400, it sold for about $50 more than the micro motor. In comparison with that lens, it's quieter and faster focusing, though still not a "speed demon". This lens was an optional kit upgrade from 18-55mm on many cameras, including the 70D.

3. The newest and best of the bunch is the USM or "ultrasonic motor" version... about $200 more than the STM, it uses a new form of "Nano" USM that's also quiet, and Canon claims to be 2X to 4X faster than the STM version. This lens is often bundled in kit with 80D. Canon also offers a power zoom module exclusively for use with the 18-135mm USM... which might be of interest to videographers, especially.

Frankly, the EF 28-135mm USM IS that you already have is pretty darned good. It's as fast focusing and capable as any of the 18-135mmm... just not quite as wide (but since you have a 20mm, that's pretty much a moot point). It's USM focus drive isn't as smooth as the new "Nano" USM. It's also a little noisier, though not as loud as micro motor. The STM or "Nano" USM would be better for video work, if interested in that. But the 28-135mm's AF is fully up to fast sports photography, if needed. One minor thing...racked all the way out to 135mm, the 28-135 is a wee bit soft wide open. Stop it down to f8 or so, and it really improves. It's plenty sharp at other focal lengths and is pretty well corrected.

Compare the lenses for yourself at http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/ISO-12233-Sample-Crops.aspx?Lens=809&Camera=963&Sample=0&FLI=4&API=1&LensComp=116&CameraComp=963&SampleComp=0&FLIComp=4&APIComp=1 Note: for comparisons there I used 7D Mark II camera because it uses the same 20MP sensor as 70D, which wasn't tested with both lenses. You can change the focal length and/or aperture setting of the lens.The three test target shots are highly magnified views from center, midway toward the edge, and the corner of the image. I use this tool all the time... but I also have used 4 or 5 different EF 28-135s over the years, currently have two of them, and know they are a very underrated and good performing lens. I also use the EF 20mm f/2.8 and the EF 100-400mm "II". Both are excellent.

The image below was taken with the Canon EF 20mm on a 50D (f/5.6, ISO 200, 1/400, B+W Kaesemann C-Pol filter):


Lot's of fine detail in the above, though it may not come across online at Internet resolutions and the typical computer monitor. A print shows it off much better. I've printed this image as large as 12x15" and could probably go larger.

Do you have "protective filters" on the 20mm, 28-135mm and 100-400mm? If so, that might be what's ruining the sharpness of your lenses. The original 100-400mm (push/pull zoom) in particular, doesn't "play well" with filters. Even high quality, multi-coated filters make it go soft. A lot of 100-400mm users who felt the lens wasn't as sharp as they'd like, were stunned how good it was when they removed the filter they thought was somehow protecting it. So, if using filters, try the lenses without them. (Lens hoods and lens caps do a better job of protection, anyway!)

Yes, it's possible your 40D needs focus calibration. This has to be done professionally, on that camera. Either Canon Service or a local independent repair shop should be able to check and adjust that for you. (Note: most subsequent models in the series, including 70D, have Micro Focus Adjustment feature that allows the user to make fine tuning adjustments to focus accuracy, if they wish... 60D doesn't have it, even though the 50D that preceded it does... Among current models the Rebel Series don't have MFA, but all others do.)

But, when was the last time the 40D's sensor was cleaned? Believe it or not, this often is a reason that images start to seem soft.... Gunk that's built up over time on the sensor (actually on the protective filter in front of the sensor itself), causes loss of resolution. At some point it, when the sensor is particularly dirty, it can really impact image sharpness. Even cameras with self-cleaning sensors eventually need a "proper" and more thorough cleaning. Many shops will do that for a relatively low cost. Or, you can buy the supplies and do it yourself (read everything at www.cleaningdigitalcameras.com to decide if you want to tackle it).

The 70D is now discontinued. It's still widely available and quite capable... But the 80D was a significant upgrade in many ways... new sensor, new AF system and more.

Your current lenses will work fine on either camera. You could buy "body only", unless you want a new lens too.

To save some money or make your budget stretch a little farther you might consider refurbished direct from Canon at https://shop.usa.canon.com/shop/en/catalog/cameras/refurbished-eos-digital-slr-cameras#facet:-810369798332554868,-810369798332564868&productBeginIndex:0&orderBy:&pageView:grid&pageSize:&

Refurbished can be a really good deal... Canon now sells most of their own directly from that website. You may need to be patient as stock comes and goes there quickly. Refurbished are often little different from new and Canon warrants them the same as new. In fact, many refurbs are demo cameras or just returned overstock or open box that have seen little or no actual use.

OTOH, keep an eye on deals for new, too. I was all set to buy two refurbished 7D Mark II early last year, when instant rebates and "bundles" were announced that actually ended up costing me even less than refurbs, once the value of the bundled items were factored in (a printer in one case and an external storage drive in the other... both of which were items I was going to need to buy soon, anyway).

Hope this helps... Have fun shopping!

I safari'd with two bodies with a Tamron 18-270 on one and a Sigma 150-500 on the other. I returned with excellent images I was very pleased with. I think you will do fine with the Tamron 18-270 and the Canon 100-400 although you might consider a Canon teleconverter to increase the reach of the 100-400. You may find 400 is a bit short for some animals but we found the animals ignore the Land Rovers and you get quite close. We parked 40 feet from a group of lions feeding on a wildebeest and they never hardly looked at us.

I would still go for faster shutter speeds and larger apertures and try again. Nice subject.

Been a Canon user since 1976, some lenses are sharper than others. In the digital age some sensors are better than others, Canon, although still catching up is doing better and better and they make their own tech.

Canon is also stronger financially than either Nikon or Sony's camera division that makes the sensors for other camera vendors such Nikon and Pentax.

We live in an interesting world. Expect it to keep changing.

That formula is based on 35mm or "full-frame" angle of view. The use of smaller sensors changes that - 1.6 "crop factor". This doesn't change the focal length of a lens but can magnify camera shake so from an operational point of view you could consider 109 mm as being subject to the shake effect of a 175 mm lens, essentially hitting a smaller target, so 1/250 or faster is a good choice. Also, f/8 or close could be the sweet spot for the lens. I would experiment and see what you find.

If you are responding to my AA (low pass) filter narrative (please use "show quote" button) then the simplest solution is not to waste time using software approaches to "sharpening" to overcome the first impediment to sharpness, but to abandon those camera's that do still use AA Low Pass filters in front of the sensor, or spend the $500 thereabouts to have the filtering neutralized by the third party companies that do such things.

I consider it a poor choice to continue to try to use a software solution to sharpen EVERY image shot by a poorly chosen camera. If the camera is capable of a sharper image written to the memory card in the first place, that would be the best solution.

I consider it also some what of a "screw" job on the part of an industry that has compromised the hardware we buy (lenses particularly) by the use of the Low Pass filtering method, ie smudging sharpness at the point of writing to the memory card.

I am heartened by the manufacturers that have removed such practices, and righteously pissed off by those who ignore this issue. (Canon?)

I shoot Olympus and Fujifilm. Olympus since about 2006 when they weakened and then removed AA filtering, and Fujifilm, who has never used AA filtering on any of their sensors. Nikon has dropped such filtering most of their latest models... (not all). Canon is on my DNB (Do Not Buy) list if that means anything to others.

To me, the biggest hurdle if looking for sharpening in post, would be to first attempt to nullify the impact of the AA filtering and then move forward from there. I have no idea how one would go about that, other than to avoid the AA filtering in the first place. ie. remove it from the camera body!!!