Upgrading an old Rebel 350D to ???

[moppy]

Hi all y'all.  Nice to be a part of this forum (now I'm looking for something usable).

I have been drooling over ML for as long as it's existed, but my old 350D is just that... Old.  What's the best bang for the buck for ML?  I can not quite afford a 5d2 or 3, even used.  Realistically my budget is 4-700 USD.   Looked at some 700D's and they are in my range.  Is that a good choice?  Something better?  What are your thoughts?

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

mop.

[DeafEyeJedi]

Get the 7D...

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/ol/B002NEGTTW/ref=mw_dp_olp?ie=UTF8&condition=all

Or save up an extra few hundred bucks to get yourself a used 5D2...

Also try Craigslist.

[Greg]

 D3400 (with 18-55 and 70-300) - $600

https://www.dxomark.com/Cameras/Compare/Side-by-side/Nikon-D3400-versus-Canon-EOS-5D-Mark-III-versus-Canon-EOS-7D___1105_795_619

At low ISO is better than 5D4. 

[nikfreak]

I would say it depends on your primary focus: stills or video?

[moppy]

Stills have been my primary use in the past, although, maybe some video moving forward since/if camera is capable.  I already have some canon glass, nothing special though (Sigma redline 70-300 and the Canon ES 25-80 which came with it).  I realize good glass will really help vs a great body and sub-par glass).   I don't do this for a living or even a serious hobby; with something better, I'll devote much more time to it.

How about selling what I have, plus current budget and maybe *maybe* another couple hundred bucks.  Is that a realistic idea?

Thanks for your thoughts thus far.

[Levas]

I have been drooling over ML for as long as it's existed

Better be sure to buy a camera that has ML support 

Magic lantern support (and future support) seem to be best for the 5d series cameras (5d2 and 5d3), apparently biggest user base.

But 700D seems like a good choice too.
650D has probably about the same functionality, so could opt for that one too.

If you want to experiment with video, don't go lower/older then the canon 650D, the 600D has slower card writing speeds, also the 60D has slow writing speeds.

[Greg]

But 700D seems like a good choice too.

Hybrid LV AF make this camera useless.

[Walter Schulz]

As far as I could interpret/judge OP's scope I tend to recommend a decent mirrorless cam *without* interchangeable lens mount and a different approach to photography.

I'm not exactly a big fan of the "with better gear I might get more into" idea ...
Your mileage may vary.

Did you have CHDK installed on your 350D?

[teatotalTED]

I'd look to used from a reputable online camera store, so much of it is low usage, once new gear bought on a whim, sold off to get next best thing.

I picked up a 50D for £190 with 6000 shutter and 25 LV actuation's, well according to ML that is, near mint and 12 month warranty. Seen far worse go on ebay for higher prices and no warranty, hilarious.

Maybe a used 700D body? Has 40mb/s card slot, articulated screen. Save the rest of the money for other essential gear like stabilisation, loupe, audio recorder, mic whatever.
 

[Levas]

Hybrid LV AF make this camera useless.

@Greg
You mean useless for raw video because of the focus pixels ?
I thought these could be removed with the right tools, or can't they ?

[Greg]

No, hybrid LV AF lacks precision. It works randomly.

EOS M :
Only 10 of the 40 pictures is sharp (correct focusing).
http://www.optyczne.pl/199.3-Test_aparatu-Canon_EOS_M_U%C5%BCytkowanie_i_ergonomia.html

[teatotalTED]

That'll be why my 12 year old hasn't complained then, only uses manual lenses, learning how to focus, expose and importantly preempt whats in and passing through the frame, useful for anyone who prioritises video over stills, relevant to stills as well and when wanting to pull focus. Not knocking the desire for proper working features and embracing new tech but calling a 700D useless seems a bit over the top.

[moppy]

I tend to recommend a decent mirrorless cam *without* interchangeable lens...  I'm not exactly a big fan of the "with better gear I might get more into" idea ...

Did you have CHDK installed on your 350D?

I'm working on a couple different LED based light painting rigs, some laser light painting and some stop motion stuff.  I'm more of a hardware guy.   Yes, I'm doing it in the wrong order.  Should have the camera gear first then build the other things second.  Didn't do that.  My best friend is a working photographer.  His rig will do anything I/we would ever need.  His schedule and mine very seldom match up.  It's awesome when it does, though... hence the "with better gear" comment.  If I had a sports car, I promise I would drive it differently than my pick-up truck.   If the capability is there, chances on me using, or branching out to try, new things is vastly greater than not having the capability at all.

Never heard of CHDK before now, but going to try it asap.  Looks quite interesting.

The majority of things I want to accomplish is low/no light with the shutter open.  Yeah, I take my current camera on vacation, pics of the kids, normal stuff stuff like that, but what originally caught my eye with ML was the dual iso and the added range.  Really, *anything* that's been discussed is "better" than what I have currently (which isn't bad by any means).