Upgrading from EOS 350D

[evaD retsiL]

I've decided to upgrade from my trusty EOS 350D and was toying with a 600D or the 60D, A very helpful assistant in our local Currys (of all places) explained the differences between the 550, 600, and 60, no pressure to buy, and as I'd done a bit of research and knew a little about them, he didn't talk to me like I was stupid :D

My wife was pointing me towards the 600, but I know I'll regret not spending the extra to get the 60, so I've pretty much made my mind up on the 60.

I'm not sure yet whether to go for a Body + 18-55 IS, Body + 17-85 IS, or Body and use my existing non IS 18-55, or look at a mid-range 18-?? 3rd party lens, any opinions?

I'll also be looking at a Sigma 10-20mm f3.5 EX DC HSM as they seem one of the best wide angle for the money, best part of £160 cheaper than the canon 10-22, that extra would give me money for spare battery, filters etc.

One thing I'm annoyed with is Canon have moved away from the CF to the SD type cards, which means that my wife will inherit my CF cards for her 450, and I'll have to be looking at a couple of SDHC or SDXC's

I've got a couple of questions though.

What are the main differences between the HC and XC, I gather that the XC can have a lot bigger capacity, but are their noticeable differences speed wise between similar quality cards?

Has anyone got any experience of the compatible BG-E9 battery grips as opposed to the genuine one, I rarely use the one for the 350, but I always take it with me on holidays just in case my mains charger dies, at least I can buy some AA batteries from just about anywhere and still use the camera, rather than having to search for a camera shop and buy a mains charger.

Are the IS mk ii's worth the extra money?

Thanks

evaD

[wave]

Hi and welcome first let me say that there are some differences between the 550d, 600d and 60d but they all have one thing in common and that is they share the same sensor. Baring that in mind do you need the extra features because buying a 550d will free up a lot more money for lenses and grips.
Canon advise a class 6 or higher SD card. I take about 300 plus pictures with my 550d on one charge using a 8gig card, I have a few of them. My last thought is lenses I am not sure about the 17-85 I would go with a 15 - 85 or even look at a sigma 17-70os

[evaD retsiL]

thanks wave, It would have to be a 600 at least, I want the moveable screen which is the main reason for upgrading.

I won't really need a 15-85, as the wide angle would be covered with the sigma 10-20 but I'll have a look at a sigma 17-70 as a mid range lens

[canismajor]

Hi there, and welcome. First allow me to explain about SDXC cards, these increase storage capacity from 32GB up to 2TB. The standards for increasing bus interface speeds up to 104MB per second for UHS-1, and up to 312MB per sec for UHS-11, as well as UHS speed class and are available for SDXC memory cards and devices. Before inserting an SDXC card, confirm that the device is SDXC compatible by locating an SDXC logo on the device, or refer to the user manual. About lenses, I use 3rd party and one of mine is the Sigma 10-20mm f3.5, it is simply great and is one of my best buys. Hope this helps, all the best, Mike.

[NRoberts]

The 15-85 is a very much better lens than the others mentioned - it's definitely the one I would recommend. The non-IS 18-55 really isn't up to any of the cameras mentioned.

If your wife has a 450D, then CF cards will be of no use to her - it takes SD. As to the battery holder, it's surely better to take a spare battery or two. I've just spent 3 weeks on holiday in the US - I didn't need to change my 600D battery at all, and I only changed my 5D II battery twice in that time - despite taking several thousand pics. Cheaper and easier.

[evaD retsiL]

My mistake, my wife has the 400 not the 450 (so many models) :o

I'll do some shopping around and see if I can get a good bundle with the 15-85, I'm off to Jacobs this week to have another look at a 60D as there are some things I want to check out after looking at the internet.

Yeah I'll probably leave the Battery Grip out of the equation, I've only used it as a proper grip a couple of times on the 350, I figure if you do a lot of Portrait orientation photos then it's more useful, but most of mine are landscape, besides which, I will probably need the space in the camera bag so a re-jig will be in order anyway.

Thanks for the input so far :)