Suecr Loc: Luxemburg, Wisconsin

I am looking for suggestions on a camera to buy. I was hoping to find one under $1,000. I looked at Rebel 7, Canon R6 and lots of other recommended cameras - Sony and Nikon as well. I used to have a Canon but it was film so I started using my phone. Digital was too expensive. I have retired and love taking pics of family and our travels so it is time for me to get back in it. My old lenses won’t work anymore so I have to start back slow. I have a friend who is willing to sell me his RebelT3i with EF lenses. I thought maybe I should just buy a new body. would need to buy an adapter depending on the camera.

Thank you for any suggestions or help you can give me.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

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We are nearly to the end of the current Golden Age of photography, at the transition from DSLR to MILC. One might think to buy the best and newest (and mirrorless) camera you can afford. Others might think to stretch your limited $1000 budget as far as possible, as you need to account for both camera and lens(es). Actually, you also need to consider computer editing software, possible disk storage, batteries, cards, so forth; meaning: your budget has to stretch beyond the initial camera and lens(es).

For DSLRs, your best 'value' from Canon for a new model is the final Rebel model, the EOS Rebel T8i, coupled with an EF-S 18-135 lens.

For MILC (mirrorless interchangeable lens camera), the entry-level models are pretty much DSLRs with the mirror removed. You'd need to step-up to an IBIS-enabled model to justify starting with a more expensive and newer MILC body.

The 'best' stretch of a budget is to shop used. Online resellers like MPB or KEH offer plenty of used models, with a limited return option after you receive and quickly inspect the body received.

Buying your friend's 12-year old T3i and EF lenses will get you started, but don't let 'friendship' drive a higher price than you could pay elsewhere. It should instead drive a lower relative price, as you're really only buying the used lenses, with an ancient (but perfectly fine) digital body tossed in for free, or at a nominal price inside the packaged price. Your friend might think otherwise, but they'd wake up to this reality of used digital-age camera equipment if they tried to sell to some random stranger.

Suecr Loc: Luxemburg, Wisconsin

Thank you so much for your thoughts. Researching has been exhausting. I expect to get my friends lenses cheap. His brother is a professional and gave it to him years ago. It has been sitting in his closet for the past couple of years.

Everything I have read is the Rebels are cheaply built, which I wasn’t aware of. I need stabilization as my hands will move slightly. Mirrorless are lighter which I love. DSLR are cheaper. My goal is to find a camera that I will be happy with for at least 5 years.

My hubby is a computer programmer so the only thing I would need to buy is the program. My house has plenty of computers, printers and monitors. I know I will need more but first a good camera and then lots of practice.

jburlinson Loc: Austin, TX

If you're looking for a good travel camera that ticks many boxes (flip-down monitor and dedicated selfie mode, in-body 5-Axis IBIS, wi-fi, 4K video), consider the Olympus E-M10 Mark IV. With a 14-42mm F3.5-5 lens, a new model comes in at around $800. Image stabilization is world-class.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

The Rebels are 'cheaply built', only in the context of comparison to more professional bodies. They have all the trickle-down technology of the pro-bodies, just not the rugged all-weather features. If you want to shoot sports and wildlife in all-weather situations, or shoot 1000 images daily as a working pro (paid) photo-journalist, a Rebel might not be the best idea. Otherwise, don't let that talk get you confused about an otherwise appropriate line of cameras.

If the goal is the next 5 years, here an 12-year old camera might be a risk. No one knows the date (nor the time) when their camera will fail, but the older the model, the greater the risk. Many people happily use digital bodies older than this T3i candidate, but it does seem a decade is a natural end-point for the lower-end models, were the 'i' Rebels are a slightly higher-end distinction from the non-i model numbers.

I mentioned IBIS earlier as that mirrorless technology enables stabilization for any candidate lens, where the DSLRs are limited to IS-enabled lenses. As you consider your friend's equipment, look at the lenses for their IS support. Judge the usefulness of that equipment based on which lenses are IS-enabled, and which are not. My earlier suggestion of a general purpose EF-S 18-135 lens is an IS-enabled lens for all the multiple versions available for this zoom. A non-IBIS MILC just means you need to focus on IS-enabled EF and native RF lens options, where you might find cheaper and older non IS EF lenses problematic.

tcthome Loc: NJ

Scroll down to the R10.

https://www.usa.canon.com/shop/cameras/mirrorless-cameras?p=2

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Alas, an example of a non IBIS mirrorless offering from Canon. Great camera, but lacking this mirrorless feature.

DaveyDitzer Loc: Western PA

[quote=Suecr]

Mirrorless are lighter which I love. DSLR are cheaper. My goal is to find a camera that I will be happy with for at least 5 years.

From what I use and what I've studied, don't be swayed too much by the lightweight aspect. By the time you add a lens and battery, the weight differences though real, are small. In general, DSLRs will probably be less expensive in the used market. Lenses as well.

wdross Loc: Castle Rock, Colorado

I am sort of curious as to why you are not considering possibly buying a 4/3rds camera. Is there a specific reason for going with a system that has more size, weight, and cost?

PHRubin Loc: Nashville TN USA

As CHG_CANON alluded to, IBIS (In-Body-Image-Stabilization) is not available in DSLRs, only in some mirrorless models. However, many DSLR lenses have IS which is much better than the older lenses. Having a combination IBIS body/IS lens is the best. One can use the EF/EF-S lenses on an RF (mirrorless) Canon body if you use an adapter.

I recently sold a perfectly working T2i with an 18-250mm IS (they called it OS) enabled zoom lens to a friend. She loves it.

alberio Loc: Casa Grande AZ

If you go with Canon, you might be happy with the Canon Digital Post Processing software that is free download from Canon. I use mine all the time.

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

Only if you are aware of stabilization and want it. I did without it for years. Stabilization helps me only below shutter speeds below 1/100 or so.

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

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