Budget: 2400.00 USD
I currently own a Canon XSi with Battery grip, 55-250 IS, 18-55 IS (kit lenses), Canon 100mm f2.8 Macro USM, 430EX and some minor accessories. Will have 2400 dollars to spend this fall. I really like the idea of having more control over the camera so was looking at the following:

50D
Tamron 17-50mm F/2.8
Canon 70-200mm F/4L
RHAF09 Lens Hood for 28-75mm f/2.8 & 17-50mm f/2.8 Lens

Then sell off my XSi and kit lenses and use the $ for some more equipment.

From what I have been reading even though 50D gives more control of the camera the image quality is essentially the same between the two bodies. Now beginning to wonder if I should keep the XSi and buy some REALLY nice glass (70-200 f/4 IS and a Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM) instead of the 50D body.

Any input from experianced users would be greatly appreciated as I am starting to drive myself nuts!

Alan

What do you shoot?

I'm gonna go with glass as being a good choice. That being said I'm gonna contradict myself and say that you should go ahead and look at a nice used 5d. Your getting a great FX camera with full control and it's gonna give you a huge quality difference compared to you XSI and therefore your 50D (I think, I'm coming from the Nikon camp, I'll let the Canon experts correct me if I'm wrong).

That would leave you with a bit of left over money for a nice lens.

PS everyone is gonna ask what you want to shoot so you might as well say now...

Evan

lol avi beat me too it

FX?!? How dare you utter such word here!!

silverpony, 60D might be coming next month. Tamron 17-50 is a great lens and comes with a lens hood and I wouldn't call the Canon 17-50IS an improvement in terms of IQ. You gotta keep the 100mm macro. The XSi is a great little camera and unless you're strapped for cash, keep it as a second backup body you can sell the kit lenses.

The XSi is a good camera.
Buy glass before upgrading the body. The exception to this advice
is if you really want to move to a full frame sensor.
Used 5D bodies are around $1200 now. Otherwise, I'd stick with the XSi for a while.

50D will not give you a huge improvement on the IQ side. AF will be much improved though.

ok, what's not working on your camera that you think should work?

AF? Then upgrade.

If you need a top quality zoom, get yourself a 70-200 f2.8L IS because frankly, you'll always wonder if you should have gotten it...

The tamron 17-50 is a fine lens.
The Canon 10-22 is a terrific wide angle lens too

Really, it depends on what you like to shoot.

n0b0 wrote:
FX?!? How dare you utter such word here!!



lol... whooops!

Thanks for the replies....keep em coming! I shoot mostly Macro and wildlife. Looks like I might be better off getting the good glass and not worry about the body until this one breaks or go full frame in the future.

Keep the crop 1.6x for wildlife and get good glass... 50D and 400mm f/5.6L .....

Doing lots of thinking. Right now this is what I am leaning towards. I really don't think I will be wanting FF any time soon, so:

50D on AMAZON.................999.00
Canon 70-200 f/4 IS USM.......999.00
Tamron 17-50 2.8..............400.00
Already have 100mm f2.8 macro USM
Sandisc Exteem III 16 gig 85.00

Total.........................2483.00

That should be a nice all around kit. This is what I will be selling. Any idea of what I should ask? The money generated by the below will go into my "Camera Kitty" for future use.

XSi about 7K clicks Like brand new
Optika Battery grip 1 month old
18-55 and 55-250 IS lenses Not used much at all. I do mostly Macro
Everything in original kit (cables, books, strap etc)
Charger
1 Canon and 3 aftermarket batteries
Remote switch (wired)
16 gig Sandisc SDHC card
4 gig Sandisc SDHC card
all lens caps(front and rear) and body cap.
All original boxes.
LowPro Slingshot AW 100.

if you are getting 50D kit, the Xsi is relatively redundant. Just sell that stuff and get a solid tripod, some shutter release and 580exII, then you are golden.

silverpony wrote:
Thanks for the replies....keep em coming! I shoot mostly Macro and wildlife. Looks like I might be better off getting the good glass and not worry about the body until this one breaks or go full frame in the future.

This is my line of thought. My Rebel XT is still doing just fine for me. No reason to replace it now as there's nothing on there that's truly disappointing me right now.

first rule of upgrade.
Glass Glass Glass Glass Glass Glass Glass Glass Glass Glass Glass Glass Glass Glass Glass Glass .......

Reasons are.
Good glass rewards you and will stay with you for a long time.
But bodies come and go

Ian.Dobinson wrote:
first rule of upgrade.
Glass Glass Glass Glass Glass Glass Glass Glass Glass Glass Glass Glass Glass Glass Glass Glass .......

Reasons are.
Good glass rewards you and will stay with you for a long time.
But bodies come and go

I agree with your reason but it doesn't apply to all situation. If you feel your camera body is limiting you then the right choice is to upgrade the body.

If you are getting 50D sell XSi and upgrade to 17-55.

n0b0 wrote:
Ian.Dobinson wrote:
first rule of upgrade.
Glass Glass Glass Glass Glass Glass Glass Glass Glass Glass Glass Glass Glass Glass Glass Glass .......

Reasons are.
Good glass rewards you and will stay with you for a long time.
But bodies come and go

I agree with your reason but it doesn't apply to all situation. If you feel your camera body is limiting you then the right choice is to upgrade the body.

Yeah sorry I wanted to go into a bit more depth but got side tracked.

OP has xsi which is a great camera that can hold its own in a lot of situations. only reason to upgrade it would be for the extra FPS and or the buffer depth (its the last one that lets the xsi down most).

Now if you have a goal you want to get to IE a new body and some good glass and cant get it all at once then buying the glass first and the body last will yeild better results than getting the body and sticking with not such good glass for a while.

So maybe I should change the rule to

Glass Glass Glass Glass Body Glass Glass Glass Glass Body......

Why not get that much vaunted 400 f/5.6 instead of a 50D? It will help your wildlife shots.

If you really need good AF and fps, then get a used 1Dmk2 or 2n. I dunno, I'm always for better AF/fps combo than latest and greatest sensor... But that's just me.

So to echo what everyone else is saying. Glass glass glass

What 'control' do you need? More useless bells and whistles and features and modes won't necessarily do anything for your photography. If you don't know EXACTLY what functions you need, you don't really need them! Maybe you are simply succumbing to feature anxiety?

If you feel you MUST buy something, get a lens or two and spend the rest on a trip to Yellowstone or some other pretty place.

Glass for sure. If you are going to completely rearrange, might be a good time to go full frame. If you are set on crop, consider a 40D instead and upgrade to the 17-55 f2.8 IS.

If you want to step up in camera bodies, consider a used 1D series body. Really excellent ones can be had for a good price. 1Ds MK II sells for under 2,000, and i paid $600 for a 1D MK II with 15K actuations just a month ago. Then, you will have something to hold all that good glass.

Simple answer -

Try renting a few of the lenses you are considering, and seeing what you think. I would prefer to spend the money on lenses unless there's something you really want a new body for. If you need better high-iso performance, better AF, better FPS, or micro adjust, that's what you get with a better body.

silverpony wrote:
Doing lots of thinking. Right now this is what I am leaning towards. I really don't think I will be wanting FF any time soon, so:

50D on AMAZON.................999.00
Canon 70-200 f/4 IS USM.......999.00
Tamron 17-50 2.8..............400.00
Already have 100mm f2.8 macro USM
Sandisc Exteem III 16 gig 85.00

Total.........................2483.00

You are going to be buying the 70-200 regardless of the body upgrade. why not get it ahead of time and see how you like it on the XSI. You will notice a big change in the camera and then you may not even want to upgrade body. Personally I am hoping that the 60D has better high iso image quality then I would like to upgrade from my rebel.

silverpony wrote:
Now beginning to wonder if I should keep the XSi and buy some REALLY nice glass (70-200 f/4 IS and a Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM) instead of the 50D body.

That is my recommendation. Fabulous lenses.

Happy shooting,
Yakim.