Canon DSLR upgrades

Is your camera starting to feel a bit basic, or long in the tooth? Matthew Richards picks the best Canon DSLR upgrade models to suit your wide-ranging needs and budgets

Many of us got into Canon DSLR photography with an entry-level camera like the Canon EOS 1100D or 100D. They’re fairly inexpensive to buy, simple to use, and deliver good image quality. But they’re also quite basic. As your skills grow and your technique improves, it’s only natural to want something more sophisticated, that gives you more creative freedom and greater potential. Canon obliges with many models to choose from. That’s just as well, because the same camera certainly won’t suit everyone.

Size matters to some, or rather the lack of it. If you’re the sort of photographer who likes to have a camera handy whenever you’re out and about, it’s good to have something that won’t weigh you down. It’s equally important if travel photography is your thing. Others might specialise in action sports or wildlife photography, and need a ‘fast’ camera in terms of maximum shutter speed and continuous drive rate, along with an eagleeyed autofocus system and a cavernous memory buffer.

Landscape photographers might prefer a massive megapixel count for capturing nature in the finest detail. On the other hand, night owls like to shoot after dark and will prefer a more modest megapixel count that enables ultra-low image noise at very high ISO settings. There are pros and cons to choosing an APS-C format or full-frame camera as well, as we’ll see over the next few pages. Let’s get to it and find the upgrade camera that suits you best.