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Archive 2023 · Logical upgrade from rebel T6

  
 
jashaw
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p.1 #1 · Logical upgrade from rebel T6


A friend of mine is asking about upgrading her current camera body from a T6.

The primary use is high school yearbook (think sports in less than poor lighting, proms, general use).

No budget in mind, but it is high school yearbook, nothing real high-end would be necessary.

The main complaint is: "For sports, we dont get great pictures, They're blurry, and dont seem exciting"

Could be a settings thing from that info.

She uses the lenses that came with the kit (18-55, 75-300) right now. Would a good step forward be upgrading the body to a different DSLR(80d or similar, maybe 6d), upgrading to something like the R10, or upgrading to an EF 70-200, and keeping the T6.

I have no experience with any of the equipment listed.




Mar 02, 2023 at 10:10 AM
AmbientMike
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p.1 #2 · Logical upgrade from rebel T6


That sounds familiar. What sports? I'd say get a 50/1.8 to start. It misses, you'll have to shoot a lot, but the 1.8 is bright indoors. You'd want to be able to get to 6400 at least, though you don't have to go to 6400 if you use 1.8. Noise reduction software and basic skills a big deal. The 75-300 doesn't have the greatest af, could be OK at 6400 I guess, f/4 not ideal. Really needs lens(es)

The SL2 is an af upgrade to the T6, and so presumably most other 24mp aps. That said, I don't really consider it a sports body, but it might be OK. I think the most recent DSLR I shot high school basketball using was the 40D. Not ideal, but can be OK. I'm sure 1Dx + 70-200/2.8 non IS is better but is she going to spend $1500-2k? Yearbook photos don't usually pay anything.



Mar 02, 2023 at 01:12 PM
Mike_5D
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p.1 #3 · Logical upgrade from rebel T6


The slow lenses certainly aren't helping for low light sports, but I'd really want to see an example with exif data. For all I know, she's shooting basketball in full auto at f/10 and 1/50 sec. So she might not even be getting the best out of her current gear. I do like the idea of getting an old 70-200 2.8. Get the oldest, cheapest, most beat-up one you can find online as long as it still works. The best equipment won't get exciting pictures without some skill behind it.


Mar 02, 2023 at 01:50 PM
jashaw
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p.1 #4 · Logical upgrade from rebel T6


Mike_5D wrote:
The slow lenses certainly aren't helping for low light sports, but I'd really want to see an example with exif data. For all I know, she's shooting basketball in full auto at f/10 and 1/50 sec. So she might not even be getting the best out of her current gear. I do like the idea of getting an old 70-200 2.8. Get the oldest, cheapest, most beat-up one you can find online as long as it still works. The best equipment won't get exciting pictures without some skill behind it.


I do not know what settings are being used. I'll try to find out. I would say the 75-300 is the limiting factor.



Mar 02, 2023 at 01:55 PM
jashaw
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p.1 #5 · Logical upgrade from rebel T6


AmbientMike wrote:
That sounds familiar. What sports? I'd say get a 50/1.8 to start. It misses, you'll have to shoot a lot, but the 1.8 is bright indoors. You'd want to be able to get to 6400 at least, though you don't have to go to 6400 if you use 1.8. Noise reduction software and basic skills a big deal. The 75-300 doesn't have the greatest af, could be OK at 6400 I guess, f/4 not ideal. Really needs lens(es)

The SL2 is an af upgrade to the T6, and so presumably most other 24mp aps. That said, I don't really consider
...Show more

The normal suite. Football, basketball, baseball, track, volleyball.

The 1Dx combo might be out of reach for the yearbook budget. I dont know what used 6D prices, or used 70-200 2.8 or F4 prices are right now.



Mar 02, 2023 at 01:57 PM
jedibrain
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p.1 #6 · Logical upgrade from rebel T6


What's the budget?

The best upgrade would be a R3 with 28-70 f/2 for the indoor events, and a 400 2.8 for the outdoor sports. Total cost about $20k.

For an entry level, I like Mike's suggestion of a 50 1.8 and/or even 24 or 35mm fast prime for the indoor stuff. Teach her how to select ISO and aperture and leave shutter speed to the camera (Av mode). And/or buy a Godox/flashpoint flash and diffuser for it. That will definitely do the indoor stuff much better and does not require a new body.

The sports side, this is where an R10 or R7 with subject tracking or just general better AF would help. Teach her how to set SS for action (1/1600-1/2000), set the aperture wide open and ISO to make it work. Night sports will be a nightmare without a big white. So they are probably out of luck there given the field lighting sucks (per your post). Better may be tying to learn to capture side line reactions or celebrations.


Just some thoughts. Sports is very demanding on cameras and lenses at night. That's the biggest issue.

-Brian




Mar 02, 2023 at 04:52 PM
jashaw
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p.1 #7 · Logical upgrade from rebel T6


jedibrain wrote:
What's the budget?

The best upgrade would be a R3 with 28-70 f/2 for the indoor events, and a 400 2.8 for the outdoor sports. Total cost about $20k.

For an entry level, I like Mike's suggestion of a 50 1.8 and/or even 24 or 35mm fast prime for the indoor stuff. Teach her how to select ISO and aperture and leave shutter speed to the camera (Av mode). And/or buy a Godox/flashpoint flash and diffuser for it. That will definitely do the indoor stuff much better and does not require a new body.

The sports side, this is where
...Show more


No budget was given. So I artificially set one at near $1100. Roughly a used 6D and non IS 70-200 2.8.

Unfortunately, she lives 200 miles away. Any in-person training is not possible.

I'm getting some pictures emailed to me this evening to look at the settings, i'll post them up if I think they're OK to post.

I have a nifty 50 1.8 that I could send for her to try.



Mar 02, 2023 at 05:02 PM
macentropist
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p.1 #8 · Logical upgrade from rebel T6


I think a lightly used Canon 6D with an EF 135mm f2 would more than suffice and could be in the 11-1200.00 range used, then add a cheap nifty 50, she would be golden!

Imho

Regards and good luck,

Brian



Mar 02, 2023 at 09:13 PM
tr1957
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p.1 #9 · Logical upgrade from rebel T6


R50 ($700), Meike EF-RF adapter ($60), 50mm f1.8 ($100), used any brand 70-200 f2.8 or f4 ($350). This gives her significantly better AF and burst mode, a good lens for in school events, and a better outdoor night sports lens.


Mar 02, 2023 at 10:07 PM
TeamSpeed
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p.1 #10 · Logical upgrade from rebel T6


A 50 ef 1.8 isn’t a good lens for sports, it just isn’t. The 75-300 is also terrible for sports for a couple of reasons, the 55-250 stm is better as a budget lens. Add a 17-55 foot wide angle fast aperture maybe. Could also look at the sigma 50-150.

For a body, 90d for EF, else R50 or R7 for R mount but use an adapter to continue using EF.

There wasn’t a Rebel capable enough to consistently get good mid action shots with a high keeper rate, certainly not the SL2. The Rebel 77d might have been close though. I used the sl2 for static sports shots like mounting it behind the backboard and remotely firing it. When I moved to the M50, I lost that capability because there was no longer a wired method to remotely trigger it, only Bluetooth and the lag was terrible.

There are reasons there are different model lines at different price points, the Rebel line was the “gateway drug” into canon’s digital ILC solutions and was a big seller for canon. The next move would be the XXd or 7d models, or now the R7, R10, R50 with eye af.

That all being said, based on the comments of the friend, it sounds like they really don’t understand how to set up the T6 and are likely shooting in auto modes of one kind or another? TV mode, speeds of 1/500 or faster, ISO 6400 or higher, and run high ISO NR to strong. Maybe consider EC of +1/3 as well. Center AF point set, and if allowed use helper/expanded points in a pinch.



Mar 02, 2023 at 10:32 PM
jashaw
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p.1 #11 · Logical upgrade from rebel T6


I looked over the pictures and thought they were decent enough for yearbook stuff. Maybe the printing technology/quality they use has far advanced what I remember yearbooks being 15 years ago.

I dont have the ability to upload photos here. I dont have flickr pro anymore, and have over 1000 shots posted...anyway.

The basketball shot was taken using the "action program (biased toward shutter speed)". Definitely on the right track.

Rebel T6i w/ 18-55
F4
1/400
ISO 6400
55mm

The file sent was only 2976x1984. Cropping probably isnt helping the blurry situation at ISO 6400.



Mar 03, 2023 at 08:00 AM
TeamSpeed
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p.1 #12 · Logical upgrade from rebel T6


Typical shutter speeds really needed to stop action is 1/1000th or more. I personally shoot at 1/2000th if at all possible at the expense of ISO. Blur is usually from a too-slow shutter speed and/or movement of the shooter. The issue too is that the kit lens isn't the fastest at focus tracking (better than the aforementioned 50 1.8 if it is the STM version).

1/400th is simply too slow for any real action during ball games. If you are a master at timing, you might be able to snap a shot at the peak of a jumpshot, or a free throw, etc. but typically for a quick break or fast layup, etc.

Without spending any money, I would suggest Tv, shutter of 1/640 (minimum), ISO 6400 (will likely have to go to 12800), and check the high ISO NR setting (assuming the T6 has that, pretty basic of a setting). This will require very good tracking on the part of the shooter, and also, don't ask the camera to select AF points, take control of that via single point or expanded point if that is an option. Of course AI Servo, that goes without saying.

The 50 1.4 isn't too expensive and focuses pretty quickly, but having a fast aperture zoom is more desirable. Another option is the 40mm pancake f2.8. It also focuses reasonably fast.

The first lower cost faster zoom to try would be the 24-105 f4 L. It is very inexpensive, and should track focus faster than the 18-55, etc. f4 isn't the greatest for gym sports, but it is better than f5.6 that the shooter is probably at a majority of the time, and will allow ISO 6400 at the faster shutter speeds.

https://www.mpb.com/en-us/product/canon-ef-24-105mm-f-4-l-is-usm/sku-1856555?utm_source=google&utm_medium=surfaces&utm_campaign=shopping%20feed&utm_content=free%20google%20shopping%20clicks&gclid=Cj0KCQiA0oagBhDHARIsAI-BbgeOuj1QYwCNG1FivxGkHAq78H044cjNF1Zz6LH21LS1no86DqcADtQaAomNEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

Tamron makes an interesting f2.8 zoom that could be researched as well: https://www.amazon.com/Tamron-17-50mm-Aspherical-Canon-Cameras/dp/B000FZ3FY8 There are a few sellers (Peacock) selling used versions under that listing for under $200. If it doesn't work out, you have 30 days to return it.



Mar 03, 2023 at 09:45 AM
jedibrain
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p.1 #13 · Logical upgrade from rebel T6


jashaw wrote:
I looked over the pictures and thought they were decent enough for yearbook stuff. Maybe the printing technology/quality they use has far advanced what I remember yearbooks being 15 years ago.

I dont have the ability to upload photos here. I dont have flickr pro anymore, and have over 1000 shots posted...anyway.

The basketball shot was taken using the "action program (biased toward shutter speed)". Definitely on the right track.

Rebel T6i w/ 18-55
F4
1/400
ISO 6400
55mm

The file sent was only 2976x1984. Cropping probably isnt helping the blurry situation at ISO 6400.


If you're already at f/4 and 6400 and only managing 1/400, I don't think a lens is going to help. One stop faster is 1/800, so a 2.8 lens would put you on the border of success for sports. f/2 could work, getting to 1/1600. An R6 can be shot at ISO 12800 prety easily, which will also help. R8 would also be good, but pricey again.

Honestly, I think the best be here is to temper the expectations on the sports end. Try and capture reactions, not action. And for indoor non-sports a 24 or 35mm fast prime and flash will be great on the T6 they already have.

-Brian




Mar 03, 2023 at 11:42 AM
TeamSpeed
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p.1 #14 · Logical upgrade from rebel T6


The T6 can shoot at ISO 12800, so there is wiggle room yet. Having a constant f4 will help coming in to fill the frame so that there is less cropping later. You don’t want to crop the 18Mpx sensor too much.

So f4 at a focal length that will fill the frame at ISO 12800 at 1/640 to 1/800 will definitely produce better results. I didn't have a T6, but did have a couple 7D for several years shooting sports, so the basics are there.

But ultimately you do want to try to stay at 6400, so an f2.8 lens will always help.

f3.5, ISO 12800, 1/1250...










Mar 03, 2023 at 12:26 PM
AmbientMike
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p.1 #15 · Logical upgrade from rebel T6


24-105 over 50/1.8? You have got to be kidding me.

The 50, whatever it's failings, has 1.8, and you need that in a dark gym. 6400 at f/4 gave only 1/400. No, I don't recommend high school kids, having no high iso experience, using 12800 on aps. If they are interested in trying it, fine, I'm not sure they even have NR software at this point though.






Mar 03, 2023 at 01:35 PM
TeamSpeed
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p.1 #16 · Logical upgrade from rebel T6


AmbientMike wrote:
24-105 over 50/1.8? You've got to be kidding me.



Well, no, not kidding. Please give us your history as a sports/action shooter. You constantly tell everyone on the board that all their problems can be solved with a 50 1.8 and a 75-300 is a good lens and rebel cameras are all that we need. You gave this advice elsewhere and that person agreed it was a terrible lens for actions/sports. The AF speed is clunky, inaccurate and cannot keep up with tracking. It is a $100 lens for a reason. It is a good portrait, street and more static scene lens, but a sports lens it is absolutely not. Not only that, 50mm is only good for part of the court, and terrible for the rest of the court, requiring a zoom to really keep the subjects filling the frame.

There isn't going to be any avid sports shooter that is going tell people that the 50 1.8 lens is a good action lens.... because it isn't! A 24-105L focuses much faster and tracks better and smoother than the 50 1.8. Just because it is an f1.8 lens doesn't make it a sports lens. Getting light to the sensor is only part of the equation, getting a bunch of OOF shots but at low ISO just isn't the goal of someone shooting sports.

Have you even had a 24-105L? I also gave the recommendation to look at the Tamron zoom that is an f2.8, recognizing the budgetary constraints here. I also suggest the 40mm f2.8, the STM focusing is faster, and has a finer step motor than the 50 1.8.

This is where a budget number comes into play. If budget is $100-200, then sure, try the 50 1.8, the Tamron on the used market, the 40mm pancake.

If the budget is 200-400, then the 24-105 f4l or 70-200 f4l.

If the budget is much higher than one can look at the defacto sports zoom in that $1000 range, the 70-200 f2.8.

Edited on Mar 03, 2023 at 01:51 PM · View previous versions



Mar 03, 2023 at 01:41 PM
AmbientMike
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p.1 #17 · Logical upgrade from rebel T6



TeamSpeed wrote:
Well, no, not kidding. Please give us your history as a sports/action shooter. You constantly tell everyone on the board that all their problems can be solved with a 50 1.8 and a 75-300 is a good lens and rebel cameras are all that we need.

You gave this advice elsewhere and that person agreed it was a terrible lens for actions/sports. The AF speed is clunky, inaccurate and cannot keep up with tracking. It is a $100 lens for a reason. It is a good portrait, street and more static scene lens, but a sports lens it is absolutely
...Show more

Have you shot a T6, I'm pretty sure I've shot at f/4 before in a dark gym. Not something I remember fondly

Is 1/400 fast enough? That's the ss posted at 6400 at f/4. No, I don't recommend people having no high ISO experience expecting much at 12800 on a T6

Yes, I recommend the 50/1.8, and mention it's shortcomings. Makes a lot more sense than some of your recommendations. R7 really? $1500 + lenses on a yearbook budget. If you actually read my posts I don't really recommend the 75-300 for sports, though it could pretty clearly get something for baseball. Pitcher and batter basically stationary. And yeah, mine is pretty good.



Mar 03, 2023 at 01:50 PM
TeamSpeed
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p.1 #18 · Logical upgrade from rebel T6


AmbientMike wrote:
Have you shot a T6, I'm pretty sure I've shot at f/4 before in a dark gym. Not something I remember fondly

Is 1/400 fast enough? That's the ss posted at 6400 at f/4. No, I don't recommend people having no high ISO experience expecting much at 12800 on a T6

Yes, I recommend the 50/1.8, and mention it's shortcomings. Makes a,lot more,sense than some of your recommendations. R7 really? $1500 + lenses on a yearbook budget.


a. No budget was mentioned.

b. This wasn't noted as a school yearbook gear, but rather a personal item of someone shooting for the yearbook, big difference of whether this is school gear and budget driven or someone that is a budding photographer and is starting with yearbook photos

c. I have shot the 7D, same sensor and more more capable.

d. I have shot at f4 in gyms as well, many many times, I still do. Sometimes in order to compensate for bad AF lenses, you have to run a smaller aperture to make up for focus discrepancies. You don't shoot at f1.8 on the nifty-fifty; at f1.8 on that lens for heavy action close to you, nothing that you want will be in focus, so you will raise to f2.8 and hope that works, and if not, you will start to reach toward f4. Action far away means you have to crop, and that starts to expose the high ISO very quickly.

e. ISO 12800 is very doable, and will produce keepers especially for a yearbook, and you can set this up in the camera. There are also many available NR tools to also help.

f. All gyms aren't created equal, so we can only guess at the lighting in this venue. If the school has gone to newer LED lights, then an f4 lens will work. If it is still the old gas lighting, then not much is going to help short of going to newer bodies with higher resolutions with better high ISO performance, but we don't have to go that far just yet.

I do agree we need a bit more detail. Is this school gear, or personal gear? Is there a budget? What is the experience of the person?

However none of that changes the fact that a good shooter with guidance cannot make the T6 obtain better results with a constant F4 L lens at a higher ISO than the current lens lineup and current camera setup. Of course an f2.8 zoom is even better. A good fast focusing prime would also work, but something better than the focusing ring on the 50 1.8, like the 50 1.4. It also isn't a great sports lens, but it is faster yet, and it focuses a bit faster and more accurately.

My sports shooting across all my gear through the years have ranged from 6400 to 32000. About 80% of what I shoot is action. That is my wheelhouse.

I find telling someone to shoot sports with the 50 1.8 is like telling someone that is trying to make cabinets to go get a circular saw to make their cuts. Can you do it? Sure, but you are going to work ALOT harder to get an end result, and you are going to go through ALOT more material to get it right, and in the end, the results are going to show that the tool does matter, and you probably should have tried something a bit more apt for the work at hand.

More interestingly shooting a Canon mirrorless opens up some other avenues not previously available, but again budget matters. Canon M50 with a f2.8 zoom lens, but using the speedbooster to make this f2, and that enabled me to shoot at low ISO at 1/2000 for very good results using eye AF. However again not a good overall tool for sports, but it could produce some very fine results in parts of the action. I am not advocating a complete move to mirrorless however, that would be overkill for this situation.






Mar 03, 2023 at 01:53 PM
TeamSpeed
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p.1 #19 · Logical upgrade from rebel T6


Suggestion for the OP, without changing any gear at all, try having the shooter try this.

a. shoot a custom white balance (shoot something gray defocused and then set WB to custom, using the picture just shot as the basis). Bad WB will create bad noise, and correcting after the fact is very difficult.

b. AI Servo

c. Tv mode, shutter 1/640th, ISO 6400, but if too dark, ISO 12800

d. Camera settings for high ISO NR set to high

e. Try not to get into f5.6 territory on the 18-55, keep the zoom set to the wider end, try to walk around the court instead to get a better framing than zooming the lens. The 18-55 isn't a good lens for sports either though. It is, however, a great team photo lens.

f. Set the center AF as the AF point and keep the focus point on the moving player as shots are being made. Might be good to investigate back button focusing, where they would take focus off the shutter button.

g. See if you can find a site to host raw and jpg from each ISO level, and I will spend some time to go over what can be done during post, but to replicate this, the person may have to get their hands on captureone, dxolab, or something to process raw and jpg filters.

Depending on the results and some answers to questions, the next steps might be pretty clear. If players still have blurred parts of their body and action, then a higher shutter speed is needed. If ISO noise is too much, then either money will be spent on a faster aperture lens or zoom, or a new body that can handle higher ISO much better than the old 18Mpx sensor, if images are pretty decent but just need some TLC on the final results, then good post processing software, etc...

Fortunately this is for a yearbook, ie. a device designed to bring nostalgic feelings to someone years later, so the IQ of the images isn't as paramount as the moment being captured. Shooting with this in mind means creativity and a good eye for the action is sometimes more important than a bit of noise in the image, or a bit of loss of detail. Finally, only a handful of the game coverage will ever really make it into the yearbook, truly a situation where you shoot hundreds of photos only to have about 5-10 selected for the yearbook. The best of those might be printed at 4x5 on a page, requiring resampling of an image down to about 1200x1500, which also helps with the final IQ of an image.

I do want to show the improvements in the rebel lineup over the T6 however. Look at getting the SL2 (or T8i, etc), it marked one of the first rebels that had very improved DR in the shadows. Here is a scene that is shot several stops underexposed, and then the shadows pulled up in post. Usually on many of the older bodies (and especially on the 18Mpx sensor), this is a huge no-no.




Mar 03, 2023 at 02:36 PM
AmbientMike
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p.1 #20 · Logical upgrade from rebel T6


I suggested the 1Dx + 70-200/2.8 non IS in the 1st reply to this thread, for $1500-2K. The op replied probably too much for a yearbook budget. You proceeded to recommend the R6 R7 R8!!! Not that I think you actually read my posts. You chose to misconstrue things, rather than actually read my posts.

There are reasons I am recommending the 50/1.8.

You're right, you don't need that many. So you put your camera in Av at 1.8 and go shoot a few hundred. You'll get yearbook photos of basketball and volleyball. At least it is certainly possible. Honestly you are so dead set against the 50/1.8 you aren't even making any sense so much of the time. It is not that bad. Especially vs f/4 zoom at 12800. I avoid 12800 on the T6, it is not a good idea to go out and recommend they buy something to use 12800 unless they can clean it up. 1600, yes you could probably shoot jpeg and put it in the yearbook without any NR. But idk about 12800.



Mar 03, 2023 at 07:54 PM
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