Bike guy wrote:
I found a great deal on Canon lenses at a garage sale.
Bought a 50mm EF1.8, 80mm EF1.8, and 18-200 EFS .
They look great. I know nothing about Canon cameras, been years since I had an EOS and AE.
What would be a reasonable 24 mg pixel to look for in the second hand market?
To use BOTH the EF lenses and the EF-S 18-200mm (and all other EF-S lenses, some of which are excellent), you will need to get one of Canon's "APS-C" or "crop sensor" camera models. EF-S lenses
cannot be used on full frame cameras (such as the 5D-series and 6D-series Canon). Canon offers a huge selection of lenses.... approx. 90 total. Of those,
all can be used on the APS-C crop cameras..... while the full frame cameras are limited to using about 60 EF lenses. Canon has been making EF lenses for 30+ years.... and they will all work on the following APS-C models.
On a Canon APS-C camera, that EF 50mm f/1.8 will "act like" an 80mm lens did on film cameras, makes for a nice short tele/portrait lens. The EF 85mm f/1.8 you got will "act like" approx. 135mm lens did on film ("full frame") cameras. And that zoom will "act like" approx. 29-300mm lens would have on full frame/film cameras.
BTW, there have been three versions of the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 lens... the original was intro'd in 1989 and was a decent little lens, though it wasn't particularly fast focusing. They cheapened it in a "II" version, a lot more plasticky, deleted the distance scale. Back when the "II" was still being sold new, old used copies of the original lens actually cost more! More recently Canon revised the lens again and it's now an "STM" model with improved autofocus performance and a little better build quality, but still offered at a quite reasonable cost (around $125).
Current Canon DSLRs that can use all the lenses you listed include:
- EOS 7D Mark II...$1400... 20MP, dual Digic 6 processors, ISO 100-16000 (expands to 51200), 1/8000 top shutter speed & 1/250 flash sync, 10 frames sec, 65-point AF system (-3EV, f/8 capable), 100% .95X pentaprism viewfinder, fixed 3" rear LCD monitor, dual memory card slots (1 SD, 1 CF), larger LP-E6N batteries, BG-E battery/vertical grip available (double battery capacity & add vertical controls).
- EOS 80D... $1000.... 24MP, Digic 6 processor, ISO 100-16000 (expands to 25600), 1/8000 top shutter speed & 1/250 flash sync, 7 fps, 45-point AF system (-3EV, f/8 capable), 100% .95X pentaprism viewfinder, articulated 3" rear LCD Touch Screen, single SD memory card slot, larger LP-E6N batteries, BG-E battery/vertical grip available.
- EOS 77D... 24MP, Digic 7 processor, ISO 100-25600 (expands to 51200), 1/4000 top shutter speed & 1/200 flash sync, 6 fps, 45-point AF system (-3EV, f/8 capable), 95% .82X penta-mirror viewfinder, articulated 3" rear LCD Touch Screen, single SD memory card slot, smaller LP-E17 battery (fewer shots per charge), no provision for battery/vertical grip. Note: control and display differ from T7i. Despite the name, this camera "is a Rebel series" model. It replaced the Rebel T6s and has the same shutter specs and cost/weight saving penta-mirror as other Rebels.
- EOS Rebel T7i (800D)... $700... 24MP, Digic 7 processor, ISO 100-25600 (expands to 51200), 1/4000 top shutter speed & 1/200 flash sync, 6 fps, 45-point AF system (-3EV, f/8 capable), 95% .82X penta-mirror viewfinder, articulated 3" rear LCD Touch Screen, single SD memory card slot, smaller LP-E17 battery (fewer shots per charge), no provision for battery/vertical grip. Note: controls and display differ from 77D.
- EOS Rebel SL2 (200D) & SL3 (250D)... $550... 24MP, Digic 7 processor, ISO 100-25600 (expands to 51200), 1/4000 top shutter speed & 1/200 flash sync, 5 fps, 9-point AF system (-0.5EV, f/5.6 limited), 95% .82X penta-mirror viewfinder, articulated 3" rear LCD Touch Screen, single SD memory card slot, smaller LP-E17 battery (fewer shots per charge), no provision for battery/vertical grip. Note: World's smallest and lightest DSLRs. These two models are very similar... the SL3 has improved battery efficiency and slightly enhanced WiFi connectivity.
- EOS Rebel T7 (2000D)... $400 w/18-55mm lens... 24MP, Digic 4 processor, ISO 100-6400 (expands to 12800), 1/4000 top shutter speed & 1/200 flash sync, 3 fps, 9-point AF system (-0.5EV, f/5.6 limited), 95% .80X penta-mirror viewfinder, fixed 3" rear LCD screen, single SD memory card slot, smaller LP-E10 battery (fewer shots per charge), no provision for battery/vertical grip. Note: The T7 is the most entry-level/affordable Canon DSLR avail. in N. America... there is another, lower spec and less expensive model being sold in other parts of the world.
Model designations listed first above are used in N. America. Those listed in parens are model designations outside N. America.
Prices listed above are for new camera, body only (except T7 which is only sold in kit with lens)
from known, well-established, reputable stores. If you search online you will find lower offers from unknown sellers. BEWARE.... there are a lot of shysters out there. If a price much less than the largest, long-established reputable dealers in the country (such as Adorama and B&H Photo) can offer, there's usually an unpleasant catch of some sort... cheaper items substituted or items held back and then offered at excessive prices, bait-n-switch, etc.
If shopping used, I'd recommend 70D or the original 7D models as top candidates...
70D that preceded the 80D (obviously!) has a lot of similarity with the newer model and the 7DII. It uses a 20MP sensor, similar to 7DII's. It uses a 19-point AF system inherited from the original 7D (also used in T6i and T6s). 80D and 70D share the same battery grip.
70D also was the first Canon model to feature Dual Pixel AF (DPAF) in Live View and video modes. This is much better performing than the contrast detection focus method used on previous models. All the current models above use DPAF
except the T7/2000D.
7D was the 18MP predecessor to the current 7D Mark II (d'oh!). It also features high performance AF system, although it has considerably fewer AF points: 19. The original 7D's AF system also isn't quite as low light capable or able to work with f/8 equiv. lens/teleconverter combos.... both of which the 7DII can do. The 7D and 7DII are the only APS-C Canon models that use dual processors to support fast frame rates, as well as a separate chip running the AF system to help it perform better (this is similar to what Canon has done for many years with their top-of-the-line, pro oriented 1D-series cameras, to make them among the fastest focusing and higher performance cameras available). 7D and 7DII also have higher spec shutters that are rated for longer life (150,000 and 200,000 "clicks", respectively). They also use predominantly magnesium outer body panels (i.e., less plastic than other models) and have extra sealing for weather/dust resistance.
Anti-Flicker is a feature that improves exposure accuracy under certain types of lighting. It was intro'd on 7D Mark II and is also found on all the other current models
except the T7/2000D. (70D and &D also don't have this).
Note that the 70D, 80D, 7D, 7DII all have true pentaprism, 100% viewfinders with higher magnification. In the real world, these specs translate into bigger, brighter viewfinders than the other models, which use "penta-mirrors" to save weight and cost.
Shopping for a deal, you might want to consider refurbished cameras at the Canon USA website. They are offered at considerable discount, but often have seen little actual use and look like new, plus have the same warranty as new. All the above models are represented there, but stock comes and goes quickly. You may have to wait. And when a model you want comes available, you may need to move quickly before they sell out.
EDIT: You've discovered a phenomenon here (and on other photography blogs).... Lotsa "Full Frame" fanboyz and fangirlz. Also a lot of folks think mirrorless cameras are the only thing worth considering. Truth is, the majority of interchangeable cameras being sold today are DSLRs and the majority of those are crop sensor type. I made excellent 16x20" prints from images out of 8MP and 15MP APS-C cameras.... it's even easier using today's 20MP and 24MP cameras with that sensor format. Mirrorless cameras are cool, too... To fully use the lenses you bought, you'd need to consider Canon's M-series (which have the same 24MP APS-C sensors as many of the above). HOWEVER, be aware that you'll need an adapter to use EF/EF-S lenses on an M-series camera, have relatively few native EF-M lenses available and aren't as fast focusing as the DSLRs above. They also use smaller batteries and get far fewer shots per charge.