Camera Labs

First time poster here.

I am looking to upgrade my XTI and have 2 options in my price range, a used 50d or a new T3i. My main concern is photo quality as I already have a SX40 for video. What would you choose and why, note my current lenses are Canon 70-200 f4L, Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM, and a Canon 40mm EF f/2.8 STM if that makes any difference.

Thanks in advance
Bill

Hey Bill, welcome to the forums

Before we can really nail down a solid choice for you, the question of "what do you shoot" has to be answered Your lens lineup looks to cover all bases which to me says you do a lot of everything... in which case the T3i isn't a bad choice at all. It's got a better, newer sensor and the flip screen might be a nice feature in some cases. I feel more comfortable pushing the ISO above 1600 with the T3i/60D/7D/T4i sensor than that found in the 50D, so if you're shooting in a lot of low light, then the T3i is the better bet.

If you're aiming to do sports/wildlife, the better AF system in the 50D coupled with it's higher frame rate will definitely help, and the ergonomics of the 50D are a huge step up from the Rebels. That alone would be worth the upgrade, as I went from the XSi to the 7D a couple years ago and it was like night and day.

Hope this is a start! And again, welcome

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Canon EOS 5D MkII | Canon EOS 7D | Canon Digital Rebel XSi | EF 35mm f/1.4L | EF 50mm f/1.8 II | EF 85mm f/1.8 | EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM | EF 135mm f/2L | EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS | 580EX II | LumoPro LP-120

My Flickr

Thanks,

My main shooting focuses on portraits and outdoor photography, with mot portraits being indoors so low light performance is must,

Then truthfully, the T3i is probably the better bet out of the two

Out of curiosity, which of the lenses do you use most often? How much of a workout does your 10-22 get?

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Canon EOS 5D MkII | Canon EOS 7D | Canon Digital Rebel XSi | EF 35mm f/1.4L | EF 50mm f/1.8 II | EF 85mm f/1.8 | EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM | EF 135mm f/2L | EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS | 580EX II | LumoPro LP-120

My Flickr

The main advantage of the 50D would be construction, faster fps, and tethered shooting with a laptop/computer.
While this was a great camera when it was released, it is not that much newer than your XTi.
Here is a timeline for when Canon released DSLRs.
As you can see, the XTi came out in late 2006, while the 50D came out in late 2008.

The T3i came out in 2011 and has a lot of reinements that older cameras do not have.
If you are wanting better low light performance then the T3i is a better choice.

I also plan to upgrade from a XTi/400D at some point in the future, however I am waiting for prices to decrease on the 5DIII.
...Though after a recent trip overseas, I can fully understand the temptation of going with a smaller DSLM.
(I blame Bob's posts for explaining these tiny cameras in such a way that actually is tempting me away from full frame. Gordon's trip is not helping either.)

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Canon Rebel XTi, BG-E3 Grip
Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II, 24-105mm f/4L, 50mm f/1.4, 70-300mm f/4-5.6 DO, 85mm f/1.8
Sigma 150mm F2.8 EX Macro
Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX, Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 II
Canon 430EX II
Opteka 13mm, 21mm, and 31mm extension tubes

Can you not do that with the 600D?

I can do tethered shooting with my 550D tethered to my PC.

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Bodies: Canon EOS 550D w/ Magic Lantern
Lenses: Tokina AT-X 116 Pro DX f/2.8, Canon EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM, Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS, Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II, Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM
Accessories: YongNuo Speedlite YN-468 Flash, Neewer Macro LED Ring Light, Meike Battery Grip, YongNuo RF-602 Wireless Flash Trigger & Receiver YongNuo WR-128 Wireless Remote Control

Well, I am not going to recommend the 50D because I have one, but it is really not that much worse than the 600D regarding noise. The in-camera noise reduction on JPEGs has become much better, but if you are shooting RAW you wont see that much differences (not even a stop).
Here you can see a comparison between the 7D and 50D (7D, 550D> have same sensor): http://www.cameralabs.com/reviews/Canon_EOS_7D/noise_RAW.shtml
Dont forget though the 50D has 9 cross AF points while the 600D has only one (which actually makes a difference in low light shooting) and a much better viewfinder.
You can also finetune your lenses if they are not correctly tuned in the factory (Micro AF-adjust). -and lots of other things. Of course the 600D is a bit better on pixel level, but hey, you wont really see differences until youre shooting 6400 ISO and looking at 100%.

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Ruben

Panasonic DMC-FZ18, Panasonic DMC-FZ28, Canon G5, Canon 350D, Canon 50D + BG-E2N
Tamron 17-50 2.8, Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L USM,
Canon 18-55 II plus lots of Minolta MD/M42 lenses and bodies

Rorschach,

I was unaware that Canon started to include tethered shooting in their entry level DSLRs.
Nice to know.

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Canon Rebel XTi, BG-E3 Grip
Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II, 24-105mm f/4L, 50mm f/1.4, 70-300mm f/4-5.6 DO, 85mm f/1.8
Sigma 150mm F2.8 EX Macro
Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX, Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 II
Canon 430EX II
Opteka 13mm, 21mm, and 31mm extension tubes

As far as I'm concerned, it's included in every Canon DSLR for free, that's one thing that differentiates them a little more from their Nikon counterparts.

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Gear: Canon SX20 IS, Canon Rebel T3i, Canon EF-S 18-55mm
Wishlist: Canon 50mm f/1.8 II, Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS II
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