Looking to step up.

[J-specCb4]

good move!

[zelseman]

And good price assuming it has low clicks!
Post some shots up!

[Ralphie]

the 60d and 7d also have the hd video.

Right but the video isn't as good on those two, as the T3i from what i can gather.

The picture side might be better(and for you guys, if you want strictly photo, then thats the ticket)

But for the price, i get amazing specs for photos and solid HD video.

I could spend more on used equipment but that doesn't make sense to me, even with low clicks.

[J-specCb4]

i always try to steer people away from feature shopping when buying an slr.. like the whole liveview thing a few years back... which has to be the most useless feature my 40d has. i actually turned it on the other day by accident and was confused because i forgot it had it.

all the core reasons to buy a camera still point at the PROSUMER camera being a stronger camera than the CONSUMER camera.

7d-

shoots faster 8fps vs 3.7
bigger better viewfinder (overlooked important variable)
more focus points
better noise control
more dynamic range(hugely important in image quality)
faster max shutter speed

all of the listed benefits of the t3i are based on size, weight and screen versatility... except for the manual audio, which im not even sure how much of a difference it makes in the real world(see first paragraph about feature shopping)

when u get into these arts, u will find more and more auto functions suck, and u will want to strip down how u operated to true exposure and focus. these cameras are meant to be used manually to really shine. the 7d the t3i and the 60d all have the same sensor, and processor. the one advantage i could find was manual audio controls on the t3i... in this case i would be using off camera audio in any serious situation anyway. just thought id throw in my .2 cents

believe me when i tell u that the 7d will shoot very solid HD video the same as a t3i... if u wanna go with a t3i by all means go for it... its looking to be a great camera, i just always mention this to people when they go to buy a rebel. the build and size will really play a part depending on how serious u get. not to mention the focus points, speed etc... if i wasnt getting a great deal on a 7d here in a few weeks, i planned on buying a t2i or t3i to hold me over till the 5dIII comes out, so dont think i disklike this camera or have some personal vendetta, just trying to help out.

[Tnwagn]

The only thing, Chris, is that not everyone has a need for some of those features. The larger view finder is really the only thing that every shooter will benefit from. The speed (FPS and Max Shutter) is great to have but if you aren't going to be shooting in those situations where it's needed, it's just extra baggage. Sure, it does open opportunities for future expansion of coverage but $500 for the upgrade, which is a pretty chunk of change that could be put toward better glass (which is always a better investment). The sensor and processor are the same so you are really paying for the extra "Umph" that the 7D brings in terms of speed and usability.

If it were me, I'd jump on the 7D in a heartbeat, but that's just because I shoot a lot of sports. If all I shot were friends, family, and cars then I would probably go with a T3i because the features of the 7D wouldn't be things I would necessarily consider important.

On a tangent, people are buying T3i's for video because they want a capable video camera that can occasionally shoot pictures and don't want to pay out the ass for a feature-set they aren't going to use (things Chris mentioned).

Also, anyone who thinks these cameras' audio processing capabilities are good enough for any serious work need to get their heads on straight. Under certain circumstances they are fine but for any real work you would do well to buy something like a Zoom H4.

[J-specCb4]

the only reason i mentioned the bigger bodies is because of the thread title and the fact that he said he wanted to do some semi pro work... the prosumer line cameras are designed directly for that.

[zelseman]

Build quality ALONE is the one reason that I will never buy another rebel. It was a great starter camera with a grip. But once I held a pro-sumer/pro body, I decided I would never go back.

[lsn92ex]

Build quality ALONE is the one reason that I will never buy another rebel. It was a great starter camera with a grip. But once I held a pro-sumer/pro body, I decided I would never go back.

the more and more I use this thing, the more I agree.
Hopefully tomorrow I will be able to take some comparison shots with the rebel and the 60D...

I haven't done anything too serious yet. I'm shooting a wedding on the 2nd but hopefully sometime next week I will have the chance to use some alienbee equipment... which will also be my first time using off-camera flash.

Here are some shots I've taken just messing around...

[lsn92ex]

Here you go!

Shot my friend's 08 Accord the other day...




For the flash, we used an alienbee B800 and B400