Canon 1300D Upgrade Advice

DaleTheWhale · 24 Jan 2019 at 15:35

Hi All,

I bought a Canon 1300D with 2 kit lenses (18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6 & 75-300 mm f/3.5-5.6 Lens) last year and have had fun with using them (landscapes and wildlife mainly) but feeling it's time to upgrade to something better as I can tell the quality of the kit lenses aren't that great compared to other lenses I have seen for not too much money?

I'm going to The Gambia in 2 weeks and will have a week to get some decent photography in as we'll be travelling around a bit, would definitely be after some decent pictures of the wildlife (birds & safari mainly) with some landscape work.

Have been eyeing up a Canon D70 and a EF 70-300 mm f/4-5.6 IS II USM Lens, but not sure if it's the best choice for my money with still having the 1300D? Have been looking second-hand too and seems some good bargains can be had. I'm mainly interested in that lens or similar for the IS, as I doubt I'll be able to setup a tripod for some of the trips.

Was also looking at a Canon EF-S10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 IS STM to replace the 18-55mm, but unsure.

I suppose the TL;DR is, is my 1300D worth replacing just yet and if so, what's the natural progression?Which lenses should I be looking at for a noticable upgrade in quality?

I have no solid budget, if I was to put down a figure, I could spend £600-1k but it's flexible.

iamtheoneneo · 24 Jan 2019 at 21:21

Go full frame. Get a second hand 5d mark2 with average shutter count for like 400-500. Then get a low entry prime or two and it gives you a decent upgrade path for the future.

Dont see the point of moving from one crop sensor to another with low entry zooms. It's not gonna make your photos any better.

DaleTheWhale · 25 Jan 2019 at 14:54

Thinking about it overnight, I can live with having a crop sensor for now, I've only got about 7k shots off on the 1300D so can definitely make use of it with a better lens.

I like the look of grabbing a Canon EF 70-200mm f/4 L IS USM for around £500 and seeing how I can make that work as a solid investment.

SDK^ · 25 Jan 2019 at 15:24

The 1300D is a great place to start and as you noted, having a decent lens makes more of a quality step impact. The 70-200 F4 IS L should make a big difference and will help bring the wildlife on your trip closer to you

If you’re thinking of entering video then the Canon 200D is worth checking out, with Dual Pixel AF, flip out screen, and it offers some mild photo upgrades over your 1300D for a low price.

Comparison here https://www.wexphotovideo.com/blog/reviews/should-i-buy-a-canon-eos-200d-or-1300d/

DaleTheWhale · 25 Jan 2019 at 16:44

SDK^ said:
The 1300D is a great place to start and as you noted, having a decent lens makes more of a quality step impact. The 70-200 F4 IS L should make a big difference and will help bring the wildlife on your trip closer to you

If you’re thinking of entering video then the Canon 200D is worth checking out

Not really thought about video, not for anything I have planned to do this year but could do in the future. The 1300D was to get a DSLR in my hands so I could start learning the basics which I've got my head around over the past 6-7 months. I've taken some pictures I'm happy with but think some upgrades would be nice to up the quality/features at my disposal.

Over the coming months I'll definitely benefit from having a decent telephoto lens as I'll be doing a fair bit of wildlife photography as it's what I want to learn at the moment.

I see I can get one for about £559 from mpb - https://www.mpb.com/en-uk/used-equi...es/canon-ef-70-200mm-f-4-l-is-usm/sku-785219/ Assuming it's a fair price?

Think I see it as, make use of the 1300D for now to keep more practice in and then grab a FF Camera in the future and maybe a wide angle 16-35 when I get a chance at some landscape photography.