Camera Labs

Hi - I shoot recipe books and also cafe shots but having difficulty with low light getting lots of noise. My Strobe light shots are fine doing food with 60mm macro - but anything else is just not quite as sharp.

Usually using EFS 15-85 lens with 550d (T2i).

Will upgrading to the 7D improve my shot quality significantly? Both appear to have similar image sensor. Or should I just suck it up and improve my skills with lighting.

Any help appreciated.

They have near enough the same sensor so it isn't going to change the output. Best look elsewhere to make a difference.

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Canon DSLRs: 7D, 5D2, 1D, 600D, 450D full spectrum, 300D IR mod
Lenses: EF 35/2, 50/1.8, 85/1.8, 135/2+SF, 28-80 V, 70-300L, 100-400L, TS-E 24/3.5L, MP-E 65, EF-S 15-85 IS
3rd party: Zeiss 2/50 makro, Samyang 8mm fisheye, Sigma 150 macro, 120-300 f/2.8 OS, Celestron 1325/13
Tinies: Sony HX9V.

I do have the 500D / T1i and thought of upgrading to the 7D but decided not to do so as the difference is close to not existing. I bought some nice lenses instead (especially Canon EF 100mm 2.8L Macro IS USM and Canon EF 100-400mm 4.5-5.6L IS USM) which actually DID improve the image quality and they can be used on later cameras as well. I only buy full frame lenses as I'm going to get the 5D3 in the future, which also does improve image quality.

Again: The 7D has much better ergonomics than the T2i, and it's faster, has a bigger viewfinder etc. - but as the image quality isn't really better, I decided to skip it.

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Canon EOS 500D + Canon EOS 5D Mark III
Canon EF 24-105mm 4L IS USM + EF 100-400mm 4.5-5.6L IS USM + EF 100mm 2.8L Macro IS USM + Sigma 12-24mm 4.5-5.6 EX DG HSM + Canon Speedlite 580 EX II + Nissin Speedlite Di 466

Like the other guys have said, the cost/benefit will arguably not be worth it if low light performance is your main motivation for upgrading to the 7D. An upgrade to your lens will make a more apparent difference - a constant f/2.8 or faster lens will let in significantly more light at a given shutter speed while you can keep the ISO down as well, reducing the likelihood of noisy images.

Full-frame is also an option but it will rule you out of using the 15-85mm lens.

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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

I recently played around taking food shots and used the 7D, we had made sushi and it looked terrific on the plate. I used the 15-85 at wide angle, when at 3.5 and f4 aperture and with IS made more than sufficient difference that its a better choice than a prime without IS. Not like the food was running away.

When I used the 85 1.8 and 50 1.8 with aperture of around 2 to 2.8 (handheld), to keep up shutterspeed, the shallow depth of field was definitely tricky. Wide open the 50 is soft.

When taking photos in a cave recently I started with the 15-85 and changed to the 50 prime, but in hindsight would have had more consistent results with the 15-85 and its IS

I guess in low light it really requires a tripod, live focus and carefully placing your subject and framing it carefully.
As I don`t have a tripod and was getting hungry, priorities took over.

I don`t think its the 550D or the 15-85 that is the limit, its plenty sharp, there maybe small incremental improvements in upgrading lenses and body, but may I suggest that most of your improvements will come from improving your lighting. For artistic value the 85 1.8 would be a good addition if you don`t already have it.

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Canon Powershot S95, Canon 7D, 15-85, Canon 85 1.8 USM, Sigma 30 1.4, 50mm 1.8, Canon 100 2.8L IS Macro, Canon 70-300L IS USM+Kenko 1.4 Pro 300DGX, Canon 430EX II and RS 4 Classic