My trusty 400D well be celebrating it's 3rd birthday in 2011, but as it was a refurbished model from Canon's eBay outlet, it could actually be older. I have already taken it around the clock and half way round again, so depending on how Canon actually refurbish their cameras, I could soon be hitting the average life cycle of my DSLR. All I need to do is convince my other half of the need to buy a new DSLR. But which one?
The 7D has great appeal, but long term aspirations point to a 5D Mk II. In the meantime, the 60D could be the way to go.
As for lenses, this is where it gets tricky. I have the range 17-250mm covered mainly by two zooms, the excellent EF 17-40mm f/4L and the EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS. The latter produces some excellent images, but the AF is prone to hunting even when using the centre AF point and for what I have needed these last couple of months, just a touch too slow. So am I looking for a faster zoom? No.
The latest events I have photographed have required low light photography, so while I could up the ISO, it is a step I am reluctant to take. Anything over ISO 400 on the 400D exhibits excessive grain in my opinion and results from the 55-250 are less than pleasing. The 70-200mm f/2.8 may be the obvious replacement with the faster aperture, but I feel I would be better served by the 100mm f/2.8L Macro USM, or indeed, the non-L version. Why? Looking at the exif info from the images I took at the theatre, I was able to analyse the settings I used, and more importantly, the focal lengths I used. To get the best composition, 100mm would allow me to get a full adult head to toe standing on stage from my unobstructed vantage point. The f/2.8 aperture would allow me to use a faster shutter speed to avoid camera shake and make sure the action on stage is frozen - at 100mm, the 55-250mm gives me f/5.0, almost two stops slower.
Also on my shopping list are a few accessories for the 580 EX II, the EF 24-105mm f/4L and a book on on-camera flash by Neil van Niekerk.
Have a great New Year and don't forget yo ucan follow me on Flickr
References:
Exif Tool - http://www.sno.phy.queensu.ca/~phil/exiftool/
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