Upgrade from 20D to 60D? Worth it?

[Barry.Pearson]

Hi everyone. I was wondering if some people could help me out in choosing wether or not to purchase a Canon 60D. I currently own a Canon 20D which was given to me and have purchased a 28-135 f3.5 USM lens. This was an "upgrade" from my Canon 1000D with non IS kit lens (18-55).

Since I got the camera I fell in love with it and found using the 1000D wasn't as enjoyable, it was feeling too small and light in my hand.

Now I'm not a professional or even an advanced amature, I have excellent technical knowledge on how the camera works but have yet to learn how to "take" good and interesting pictures. I'm thinking of upgrading to a Canon 60D as I think the 7D is both a little out of my price range and beyond what I would ever need.

However would buying the 60D be a waste of my money? Would I be better sticking with my 20D or would this be the catalyst to get me out and taking pictures and hopefully improving my technique. I do enjoy photography but seldom feel I have an excuse to take photos and I'm worried that this could be a waste of £800?

Any thoughts would be fantastic, as would any suggestions on what I could do to improve my photography.

Thanks again and sorry to ramble on somewhat.

[peterlyall]

Not being a Canon man I couldn't tell you the difference between the cameras themselves but anticipate that Mr. A. Lwin may offer his quite definitive views on the pros and cons of each. However he, I am sure, will agree with me though that buying a Bechstein and putting it in the music room doesn't make you a concert pianist. Now I am sure there is some merit in changing camera bodies but it sounds as though it's some of the basics which are troubling you far more than the size of a sensor or the shutter speed range. It's your eye and its ability to compose that needs training............join a camera club, look at the work of great photographers and those which win competitions in magazines etc and get the feel of what may work and what seemingly doesn't, then go out and compose, then shoot. Depending on where your interests lie, think of the camera as having a roll of film in it, with a limited number of exposures left, then each one counts, instead of shooting loads and hoping one looks good.
Spend money where it counts, when it counts!

[Barry.Pearson]

Hi thanks for your view. I know the difference body wise (oh how I know them after the amount of research I've done). Sensor size is the same for the crop factor so I'm not upgrading for full frame or anything of that sort. The higher pixel count from 8 to 18 would be good for me as I'm still doing a fair amount of cropping afterwards, then again training my eye could mean I'd need to do less cropping.

I've looked into a camera club but around where I live there doesn't seem to be any active clubs

[bcash]

Hiya,

Well, if knowing you spent the money on the camera sort of makes you go out and use it to make sure you get your money's worth, maybe. But if you already feel you seldomly have an excuse to go take photos, may not be worth the money! As whatever your situation is that makes you seldom have the excuse, is not likely to change no? I used to have a 20D, and it's what made me like Canon cameras. It really takes such lovely images, over the noisy bridge Fuji camera I had before. That camera alone made be a bit more excited to taking photos, if just because the low light images (of which I take a lot) were so much better for it. Next step was a no longer needed 40D from a friend, which I fell in love with, maybe try one of those as it's the next one up, and I know many photographers who still use it too. 10mp is enough for anything you're doing, and you get live view on a nice size lcd. Perhaps better build than a 60D as well? As sometimes the newest ones actually have a cheaper build. But if anything will find you an excuse to go take photos (who needs an excuse anyway?! ), it's maybe finding what you really like to photograph, and learning to take those photos in a way that inspires you to take more. I was getting a wee bit bored for a while, until a friend showed me how to technically get the images I was sometimes getting by luck. That helped more than any camera did. Good luck on any account! Cheers, Beverly

[Barry.Pearson]

Hi Beverly. Thanks for the reply. If you don't mind me asking what kind of images do you go out and take? I use my 20D often I just seem to have trouble when I take it out finding a purpose of my shots. They rarely have a theme and I usually return home with a collection of odd images.

[peterlyall]

Barry, Sounds from your comments to Beverly that you are struggling...............a new camera body may not be the answer unless you enjoy retail therapy. You said you had poured over the technical data and have identified the differences. I don't think this will help you at this stage. You need some inspiration so why not wait until Friday and see what the DP project for the weekend is and focus(if you will pardon the pun) on that. Hopefully, that will provide a purpose.

[ALwin]

I agree with Peter, a new camera would not make you a better photographer. The only way to improve your photography is to go 'out' and take photos, read some books, explore and experiment. And of course, Barry and Peter, please join the weekend contest. The more the merrier

There are only two reasons why I would ever recommend spending your hard earned money to get a 'better' camera. The word 'better' being subjective here.
First reason: you have become very serious about photography (doesn't matter whether you making a living off it or not) and your current camera has too many limitations

Second reason: your current camera has suffered 'damage' beyond repair and it's already several generations old

Now, do keep in mind that there are several good cameras available in the second-hand market. If you do feel that the 20D you has become too old and you're not sure about buying a brand new model, look in the second-hand market for cameras like the 450D, 500D, etc or even advanced compacts. Just be sure to buy from a reliable dealer when purchasing second hand items.

Having several cameras and dozens of lenses does not make you a better photographer, it just makes you poorer (talking from first hand experience here). What makes anyone a better photographer (whether they own a camera phone, a compact, an old polaroid, or even an expensive DSLR) is knowing how to use their camera, which is just a tool for artistic creativity, well.

Normally when people post questions such as "should I get this camera or that camera" I just give them a comparison and get them to think "do I need these features? do I want to invest my money into this item" etc.

[Barry.Pearson]

Hey thanks Peter, I will admit I think part of this is some retail therapy, I have the means to buy it and feel the camera would be something worth while. I will admit that I really enjoy using my 20D still but wish for both a bigger screen and maybe the higher resolution for cropping purposes.

Alwin, thanks for the food for thought. I'm very much aware that give me a 1D and most other people on this site a cheap compact and theyll currently get "better" photograph than I will. I will look into the weekend challenge which will hive me some sort of direction. I have been looking at the monthly challenges but need to check them earlier in the month as any ideas I have usually have already been done.

Thanks everyone I think I've decided to stick with the 20D and maybe buy some photograph books for inspiration.

[peterlyall]

Barry,
I think you have made the right call. The good thing, most of the time, about waiting for the 'next' model is that they are unlikely to cost more than the model they are replacing...........come later in the year you may wish to revist this whole issue and see if it generates a different result. Happy shooting!

[ALwin]

As Peter said, Canon, Nikon, etc are always introducing new models each year. From what I can observe, the lowest level consumer line of cameras seem to get updated each year. Then the mid levels: every couple of years and the pro levels every few years.

As for books to read, if you like, I recommend reading some books on exposure and composition by Peterson and Within the Frame by David duChemin. I promise they will change your view of photography forever.

[bcash]

Hi Barry,

I have a number here on DP http://www.dphotographer.co.uk/show_profile.php I mainly do land and seascapes, but a lot of flowers and macro too really. Though, I used to be like you and was really random until I narrowed down what I really like to do. And though, I still do enjoy a variety, eventually it mostly became about those main three things really. But as I said, main thing was learning how to get what I wanted to get and saw in my mind, but only got by chance before. Shame there's no active camera clubs around you. But books can do just as good. My photo guru was self taught through books and tutorial type things. Unfortunately I'm more a hands on learner! The 20D does take nice images, but If you decide in the end to upgrade, but don't want to go the full monty, I still say a good used 40D. It probably would help to have something with live-view though, as it can really help compose a shot more than just the view finder. You could get yourself a cheap film camera too! using them can really help compose your shot when you only have 36 to take. I have a friend who still uses film, so the times I went shooting with him, brought my film camera along instead. But it really does help too. Lots of Canon slr film cameras for cheap, and since you already have the lens, there you go. That's how I ended up on Canon digital, because I had bought an Eos 3, so had the lenses for the digital when I went from my old Fuji bridge. Anyway, hope you find some inspiration!! Cheers, Beverly

[coseleymike]

Barry, i recently brought the 60D, moving up from the 400D. It feels better in the hand and is a great camera. The vari screen is a real help, not just for macro work but also for trying shots from weird and strange angles. The view finder is a lot brighter compared to the 400D.

I alos looked at the 7D but the extras features, to me, did not seem worth paying.

I took it on holiday recently and had chance to use the extended ISO range as flash was not allowed, the images although grainy, are more than acceptable, so if you have not yet taken the plunge, do it, you will not be dissapointed.