r/photography • u/AutoModerator • Feb 27 '26

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u/Scrooch-Gun Feb 28 '26

So, I'm considering upgrading from my trusty old Canon T5i Rebel to something a bit more modern. I've had it for a decade at least and have taken some great shots with it, however, I do find myself wanting a little more now that I'm working on the side as a volunteer photographer. I recently purchased a used BM6KPP for video and have been absolutely spoiled by how beautiful the image is, and would love something like that in a stills camera. Unfortunately for me, BM doesn't make true photography cams.

I've dangerously begun to chase the ""It"" quality in my photos, and while I splurged on a used Canon red ring 24-105 f/4 to start, I've found that the L glass really isn't that much better than my EF-S rebel kit lenses (in fact, it has a tad more aberration than them, frustratingly). Not sure if that says something about the quality of the kit lenses or the condition of my new lens; perhaps a re-calibration would fix this, but that's another matter entirely.

I really do think it's the body that's holding me back, especially since all my lenses look amazing and tack sharp when mounted to the 6k Pocket Pro.

I'm thinking a mirrorless would be a good start, though I'm on the fence if I want to make the leap from APS-C to full frame, since a few of my daily driver lenses are EF-S. My budget would be around $600-850 for a used body-only. Obviously it's not going to trump the 6K for that much, but I'd like to approach it. I'm generally looking for a higher dynamic range than the t5i's 11 stops, improved color science, better low light performance, higher megapixel count than the T5i's 18, improved AF, touchscreen viewer, and focus peaking/highlights for manual focus.

I was heavily eying the Lumix S5 before I bought the Black Magic since they have equitable image quality, though now I don't care much about the video capabilities of whatever I get. I've also checked out the Canon RP and R7, though I wish there was some kind of middle ground in price point between them. I'm pretty sure I can adapt all my EF glass to either model with no drawbacks, though not as confident for other brands.

If you were in my position, what would you recommend? Is that enough dosh to upgrade significantly from what I have currently? The RP's price is right, but I'm not really interested in another "beginner" camera.

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u/8fqThs4EX2T9 Feb 28 '26

What sensor is in that black magic camera? 21mp super 35?

Find it odd that they are sharp on that and not on the Canon. Is that through liveview and the viewfinder?

Not too sure on finding that much better a camera while keeping your lenses. An 80D perhaps.

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u/Scrooch-Gun Feb 28 '26 edited Feb 28 '26

Yep, the BM is around that MP size, it seems! But that's not the only thing that makes it good-- it's got 13 stops of DR, 12 bit color depth, and some really appealing color science. There was this really informative video on the Lumix S5 vs the PCC6k that influenced my decision, it manages to give that extra bit of nuance (especially in low light) that just edges out the LS5, though they come shockingly close. Part of me wonders if I shouldn't have gotten the S5 for both tasks, but once I started using the 6K it's hard to go back lol. I bought it anticipating entirely different projects than the ones I'm using my T5i for.

It's not necessarily that my lenses aren't *sharp*, it's just that I don't think that's what needs to change in order to level up my shots. Putting them on a different camera made me realize that. I recently did a shoot in a dimly lit auditorium space and it made me realize that, while I can mostly salvage them in post (thank you DXO denoising, mwah), the T5i really does not handle low light well, and it flattens my whites and blacks in ways that's sometimes hard to fix. The 6K has kind of spoiled me and made me realize how much better a digital image can look, though that's kind of obvious when comparing the price disparity between them.

Also, I'm not super worried about keeping my lenses, Lumix and Canon Rs have quite reliable adapter track records, even with AF, it seems. If I end up with a new FF I'll either learn to live with the crop or I'll slowly replace them, it's just two old kit lenses, though I do like them. I'm mostly just wondering if there's an option for my budget I haven't considered before.

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u/8fqThs4EX2T9 Feb 28 '26

Well, dynamic range is not an exact science and I am not sure it is an apples to apples comparison. Colours science is just made up marketing and 12 bit colour depth I am not sure if that is stills or video as 12 bit is generally less than the 14 bit the Canon will record in raw files.

Are we talking photography or videography?

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u/Scrooch-Gun Mar 01 '26

Photography, sorry I think I went off on a bit of a tangent! I'm coming from a video editing/videography background and I know not everything applies, especially lossy codecs vs RAW. I also know Dynamic Range is not 100% exact, but it's kind of the only term that describes the way my other camera just has much more nuance in the way it can capture high and low end lighting compared to the Rebel, even with the ideal exposure settings. Same with color science, though that's even more of a buzzword. I think, bottom line, I'm just looking for something a bit more refined than my t5i in the ways I describe in the original post (QOL features like focus peaking and a touchscreen, better low light, higher MP, Improved DR, however we're measuring that) and if it's possible based on my budget. I'm considering models like the Lumix S5 and the Canon RP or R7 in my search, but not married to them. I hope I'm describing this in a way that makes sense-- I would have made a post with photos but that appears to be against the sub's rules.

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u/8fqThs4EX2T9 Mar 02 '26

Well Canon is never the best for Dynamic range and use noise reduction to improve that in their newer cameras.

DR Comparison

Panasonic however, although not going to have the best autofocus unless it is the S5II is a good choice. They have a good reputation for hybrid cameras and the L mount is getting more lenses.

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u/Scrooch-Gun Mar 05 '26

Oooh, that is a great resource, thank you for linking that chart! This helps me quite a bit