ehall123 Loc: From Philly live in Tucson

I bought the Canon T7 in November specifically for a trip to Alaska, and also just to get back into taking pictures . I posted photos a while back from that trip. I was second guessing myself a bit and thought the Nikon D5600 might have been a better choice. (All the reviews say the pictures the Nikon produces have extreme clarity) But assuming I stay with the T7, since I have had the chance to get used to the camera a little bit, I was wondering if you'll could recommend some things that might enhance my picture taking. Lens, filters, lens hood, etc.

I found a Canon 70-300mm IS USM lens at Abes for about $345. Would that take better pictures then the lens that came with the camera because it has the IS? I started down this road in someone else's thread but didn't want to hijack that persons discussion, so I am starting a new one here. If it helps, my interests in photos include, but not limited to, scenic landscapes, mountains, canyons, beaches, nature/ wildlife, basically, whatever scene might make a good picture.
Thanks.
Earl

PixelStan77 Loc: Vermont/Chicago

Earl, Run do not walk away from Abe's. They hooked you by price. Check out a bible against Abes have been written here. Buy from a reputable dealer like B&H or Adorama.

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

-Bob

johngault007 Loc: Florida Panhandle

If you have the budget, and want to stay with Canon, L series lenses will give you the best results.


BUT......

I have a T7i and have used the EFS 10-18, EFS 18-55, EFS 55-250 and thought the same thing. The more proficient I get with post processing, I'm realizing as I go back and practice on older files, that these lenses do very very well. It's really just a combination of refining your shooting technique, knowledge, and (if you post process), more experience and ability with that program.

ehall123 Loc: From Philly live in Tucson

Thank you!!! That is exactly why I am here asking questions..

ehall123 Loc: From Philly live in Tucson

I have not done any post processing yet. I don't have good editing software at this point. I really don't want to spend more than $400 for a lens, considering the camera was $500 with both lenses included.
Thanks for you reply.

davidrb Loc: Half way there on the 45th Parallel

A version of the 70-300 is offered in the Canon refurb store for a slightly higher price. This is basically a "new" lens for to buyer and is covered by Canon for 12 months. There are reputable vendors from whom you can buy, and Abe's isn't among them.

ehall123 Loc: From Philly live in Tucson

I will stay away from Abes. I really appreciate your advice.

johngault007 Loc: Florida Panhandle

I took a quick look at the photos you posted and I see nothing wrong with any of them. Your landscape shots were very well done without doing any additional processing.

To answer some of the other accessory questions:

- Lens Hood - A very nice topic of debate. I personally use them for the bump protection if I'm walking around with the camera out. I like to work very near or after sunrise and sunset, so lens flare isn't usually an issue for me.
- Tripod - Another topic of debate. I try to use them for all landscape that I do, but it isn't a necessity unless you are working with longer exposure times and you don't have surgical steady hands
- Filters - Your choice if they are important or not. I have a Circular Polarizer that I use on occasion. I also have a set of Neutral Density (ND) filters for longer exposure when there is too much light to control in camera.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

First, don't ever buy anything from Abe's. The risk vs savings is no where near the bother.

The Nikon model is a bit more 'advanced' in the features. But, nothing about the images would be different, other than the money loss you'd go through in making a swap between one brand and another for 24MP cropped-sensor cameras.

You mention your interests, but not the lenses you have already. The expense would be slightly higher than your Abe's idea, but you'd be really happy with the EF 70-300mm F/4-5.6 IS II USM. They run between $450 and $500 new and depending on sales. Look at Canon's site to see if they have any cheaper refurbished models.

You'd also enjoy a good general purpose zoom such as the EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS, a quality lens that covers most all your general purpose needs.

Consider KEH.com for used equipment rated EX or EX+, typically so lightly used as to seem new, except for the lack of the original box.

Lens hoods help both for protection of your lens and assisting image quality in situations where stray light falls on the lens front. The suggested lenses have IS so you probably don't need a tripod.

Practice helps a lot as well as subtle configuration settings to the JPEGs. If you post an example or two, we can point to some camera configuration settings you might consider.

ehall123 Loc: From Philly live in Tucson

John - Thank you for the detailed insight and the compliment on my pictures. Sounds like I may not need a lens hood for now. I will look at a polarizer when I shoot in bright daylight situations, maybe? I did purchase a tripod, Manfrotto, I think. When I shot most of those landscape photos, I used Aperture priority mostly, with higher numbers, to get the best depth of field? If I am understanding correctly. I am going try landscape mode as well to experiment. Thanks again.

ehall123 Loc: From Philly live in Tucson

Once again, thank you so much for your insightful and informative post. The two lenses I have are the ones that came with the T7 kit. The 18-55mm IS lens. And the 75-300mm lens, which almost everyone says it pretty much sucks.

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

Your T7 is the beginner model and compares to the Nikon D3500, the Nikon D5600 is comparable to the Canon T7i. Above those would be the Canon 77D and Nikon D7500. Canon makes a series above those but below the Pro/Semi Pro, current model is the 90D and bargains on the 80D to clear them off the shelves are to be found. Above those are the Canon 7DII (due for an upgraded replacement) and the Nikon D500 which are models made for action/sports/wildlife/birds and have high end auto focus and high burst rates.

The suggestion to go to Canon L series lenses is a good one, my two most used lenses are my 24-105L and 100-400L (along with a Tamron 150-600 G2 - I do a lot of birds). And yes, avoid Abes, long ago they were great and I bought some stuff from them back in the 70s and 80s but the family sold out to a corp and they are not what they used to be. Things like removing the accessories from the box and selling them separately at inflated prices.

Because the Olympics was scheduled for this year most of the major companies are bringing out new models etc. So you might want to wait a while to change gear. Then either get the latest and greatest or upgrade to current higher end models that will be discounted when the new ones hit the market.

Be aware that if you switch to Nikon then many of the accessories will also have to be replaced and if you want a better lens you either should stay with Canon (my personal pick) and get better lenses and then upgrade your body later or switch to Nikon now and start to get better grades of lenses. The higher end lenses will be more expensive and if you switch to Nikon the expense will go up because of the trading of your body and present lens(es).

Disclaimer: I am a Canonista - 5DIV, 7DII, 80D + 8 lenses, 2 flashes etc, my wife has a Canon T6s and 4 lenses and our daughter sticks with her T2i and 3 lenses she got when she graduated from High School (she is in Medical School and doesn't have time for photography now anyway).

But if you do switch to Nikon, Sony, Olympus or any of the other major brands = they all make great cameras and lenses. You just have to pick one, learn it well and stick to it or make up your mind that switching around etc will be expensive.

Once you have a good body the two big factors are YOU and the quality of your lenses.

I confined my self to discussion of APS-C/crop sensor cameras. Full Frame with a sensor the size of a 35 mm negative and larger are a whole different kettle of fish. I do recommend buying lenses for FF as they will then work if you ever get a FF body, also in most brands their high end lenses are FF lenses-which do work on the crop sensor bodies.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

I happily shot with a 75-300 for years, before I "learned" is wasn't any good. The drawback is the lack of IS, but I used a tripod or monopod most of the time, again not knowing any better (sarcasm).

Your 18-55 is a fine lens. I mentioned the longer 18-135 lens to put a lens on your body you'd really not have to take off except when changing to some flavor of an 70-300 zoom.

Looking at your Alaska pictures, the idea I mentioned about shooting parameters could help. But, you're getting great results already, even in grey light that is a challenge for all cameras. You could 'punch up' the color and contrast in the camera slightly, or make some quick & basic edits on the computer later. You might find working on your editing is better than any new equipment.

I don't have a lot of older work loaded to Flickr and have been using some of this downtime to revisit older images in my catalog. Here's something from a 75-300 lens. Like I said, before I know better ...

DC Blossoms by Paul Sager, on Flickr

bleirer

It's always technique over tech. I would make sure you have done everything you can do before blaming the gear. Sure it makes a difference but top technique and knowledge trumps better gear every time.

Try setting up a perfect test shot on the gear you have. Use a tripod or put the camera on a picnic table. Choose a nice bright day with the sun at your back. Pick something colorful to take a picture of, set the ISO at 100 or 200, aperture at f8, shutter at whatever the meter tells you. Focus super carefully. Use the 10 second timer to allow the camera to settle down.

If you are still unhappy with the quality of your 'ideal' shot, then it's time to upgrade your gear.