Wayfall

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Hi

I'm currently using a Canon 450D with a Canon 50mm 1.8 STM, 18-55mm 3.5-5.6 kit non-IS and a Sigma 105mm macro lens.

I'm looking for a camera that has a sensor than will allow high ISO up to around 3200-6400 so i can get higher shutter speeds when using a tighter aperture such as F8-11. I mostly do macro and portrait shots so i prefer the using a slower aperture. With my currently camera i struggle to get above 1/50 of a second and due to living in England its mostly overcast lighting so i have to use ISO 400-800.

I was thinking the 7D or the 5D Mark II (but i hear the 5D can's use EF-S lens), i will most likely buy my camera off ebay or from a used camera shop.

I'm happy to hear any recommendations.

Thanks!

 
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DP review , is a great place to look for reviews. Looking at noise at high ISO is important, and their reviews are very detailed. https://www.dpreview.com/

I'm not sure what you are trying to achieve, but I know that you have a good enough understanding of the relationship between Aperture, shutter speed and ISO. If you want a faster shutter speed say 1/500th then open up the aperture, at the cost of depth of field whilst maintaining a decent ISO to avoid noise.

You might find that an OS lens will help, and give you about 3 more stops of exposure (before it blurs through lens movement).

I had a 400D, and moved to a 550D, and the difference was dramatic, much bigger than a single model update should have created.I don't think that...

gondo

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First off portrait and macro would normally use a faster, larger aperture setting. F2.8-F4 or so. Unless you are trying to eliminate any background blur or bokeh. You are correct though that your camera will only go up to ISO 1600. At night/low light sometimes you must just use a larger aperture in order to get a good shot and sacrifice some depth of field blurring.

Some tips:

- If you are struggling with the 18-55mm kit lense maybe replace it with a faster lens for low light situations.
- Remove any filters such as a polarizing since it can reduce light input.
- Use a tripod for longer exposures
- Post process your images on the computer to brighten things up

Those cameras will accept EF-S lenses no problem. Don't be scared to jump ship and get new lenses. If you want to keep your macro and the 50mm then stay with Canon. All Canon's will accept EF-S lenses except for the mirrorless systems.

A new camera will give wifi, gps, and ISO up to the 50,000 range.

If you were to jump ship something like Pentax would give in camera image stabilization which allows up to a 1/50sec exposure hand held with no blur for low light. They also offer water proofing. Nikon and Sony also make beautiful products. Give us your budget and your exact needs.

But based solely on you are not happy with low light situations it's more a lens/setup problem than your cameras ISO. You need to use a larger aperture, tripod, etc.... You should be doing cloudy/overcast shots at ISO 400-800, not trying to go above 1600.

If you need a higher ISO with F11 that seems like an aperture that would be used for a landscape or cityscape type photo with low light or at nighttime. You should be using a tripod in that case and taking up to 30sec exposures.
 

Wayfall

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Well when i use F8-11 its for macro mostly as overwise the depth of field starts to creep up on my subject and blurr its edges which is not nice. Macro has a super harsh fallback with depth of field and that why i use F8 at the very least.

Its just the amount of times i have missed a shot as my shutter speed wasn't fast enough.
 

rhysiam

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Great info above generally.

However the note on lens compatibility is wrong. The 5D series (all of them, including the MK II) are full frame DLSRs, which means they are compatible with EF lenses ONLY. EF-S lenses will not fit or work on a 5D, or any full frame cameras (1D, 5D, 6D ranges). The 7D series, and all Canon cameras with two or more numerals in the product name (70D, 80D, 750D, 1300D, etc) are all cropped sensors which are compatible with both EF-S and EF lenses. On a cropped sensor like your 450D you get a 1.6x magnification from EF lenses. So a 100mm EF lens on a cropped sensor would give you a similar zoom to a 160mm EF lens on a full frame camera.

Portrait shots will usually use wider aperture to separate your subject from the background.
Macro shooting, particularly with dedicated macro lenses, often needed narrower apertures because it can be very difficult to get your entire subject in focus when it's very close to the lens. However, you can often use a tripod as @Gondo suggests.

While new cameras are nicer for sure, if you care primarily about image quality you will get better bang-for-your-buck in the long term spending your money on lenses. But if your f1.8 lens isn't fast enough for you, or you really do need to shoot at narrow apertures in low light, then you have no real option other than high ISO which will require a newer camera.

The problem is that 3200 ISO is a big ask for anything other than high end cameras. I have a 70D and I don't like shooting above 1600. 3200 looks pretty bad to my eye. The original 7D won't be much better. A new full frame like a 5D MK IV will produce nice images at 3200 and even 6400 ISO, but that's thousands of dollars on the body and then thousands more on new lenses. You might need to rethink your shooting strategy.
 

rhysiam

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If you can't use a tripod, what about a macro flash? That's the other thing you could consider and it'll be cheaper than moving to a setup that gives nice frameable images at 3200-6400 ISO. Obviously natural light is preferable. But I just think at your budget you're going to struggle if ISO is your only option.

Just FYI, near the bottom of this very detailed review is some ISO image quality analysis on the original Canon 7D: http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/E7D/E7DA.HTM
You can see even at 3200 you're losing a lot of detail. It's probably okay for small picture frame or photo album shots, but even a small wall-mounted frames is going to be noticeably worse than what you'd get from a shot with ISO 800 or below.
 

13thmonkey

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DP review , is a great place to look for reviews. Looking at noise at high ISO is important, and their reviews are very detailed. https://www.dpreview.com/

I'm not sure what you are trying to achieve, but I know that you have a good enough understanding of the relationship between Aperture, shutter speed and ISO. If you want a faster shutter speed say 1/500th then open up the aperture, at the cost of depth of field whilst maintaining a decent ISO to avoid noise.

You might find that an OS lens will help, and give you about 3 more stops of exposure (before it blurs through lens movement).

I had a 400D, and moved to a 550D, and the difference was dramatic, much bigger than a single model update should have created.I don't think that there was much of a shift between 400 and 450. I used a rented 6D Mk2 on a wedding shoot, and loved it, was it better than the 550D, not sure. Note that the latest generation have had a massive bump in resolution and I think sensitivity.

These are UK with a 18-70 2.8 OS sigma lens, settings should be on the photos, indoors with poor lighting, outdoors overcast. These are just the JPG's not adjusted raw images. https://flic.kr/s/aHsjQKi2kU
 
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13thmonkey

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I've added images above, so you can see what a couple of improvements can do.

And i'm not making a list for you, Your purchase, you give us options, ask us questions, we'll give answers, you weigh up the evidence, you make a choice. This is a big purchase, you have to be fully involved.
 

Wayfall

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Hi

I have attended the event and i did some good shots and i posted my favourite to my photography Instagram.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BZwgibPBCJM/?hl=en&taken-by=kirkephotography
The rest are going to be used for the charity Facebooks page and a fundraising article a friend is writting.

My camera did well but i was having to max my aperture to 1.8 and ISO to 1600 just to get 1/50 and i had to place my shots well to avoid blur, hands got a tad blurred but the rest is fine. I was able to get rid of the grain with lightroom.

I've been asked to help out in London for a gig. It's going to be a lot darker with just the stage lights beaming compared to when i shot at the charity gig which had lots of lighting all round the dance and performing area.

I was thinking of getting the 650D. If i want to continue helping at events i will need a better cam eventually that can do faster shutter speeds in event lighting. The 450D is good, it has taught me a lot, i'll keep it on the shelf as a spare.
 

13thmonkey

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consider someone like Lenses for hire: http://www.lensesforhire.co.uk/

http://www.lensesforhire.co.uk/product/canon-eos-80d

Might give you a much better idea of whether you like it or not. Without spending and being disappointed.

Are you using lightroom or doing anything to develop from raw? And what exposure method are you using, centre weighted? spot? Any flash? I can see at least a couple that could benefit from some flash bounced off the environment.

Some of them are really good, 256 on your front page I like a lot,
dude with microphone the exposure is not on him? and 2 girls again seem underexposed, and lack any 'pop'
Girl with hair on decks, the right hand side seems to be over exposed compared to the subject.
shooting through to the yellow umbrella, underexposed subjects again.

I'm no expert, by a long long way, and some of the things above could easily be intended by you, but that might not be the camera, or it could be the camera giving you limited choices.

To the point, I'm concerned you'll splash out on a 650D, and it's something else that's the problem.
 

Wayfall

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Well one or two are very slightly underexposed. I'm fine with the picture of the two girls, the day was very rainy and overcast and i had set my white balance to the cloudy preset. Also the bee on the flower needs a bit more exposure, i will take it down and edit that later then reupload.

Its just the amount of shots i have lost due to slow shutter speed as the camera can't grab anymore light even at 1.8 with a 50mm STM lens. The 450D came out in 2008, its done really well more i need more shutter speed.
 

Wayfall

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Well there is a used 650D on ebay for £200 buy now, body only (with its box and accessories) from a trusted seller. I already have 3 good lens, thou i may get the 18-55 IS kit off ebay used for cheap at some point.