Looking for advice...again.

My Nikon D3400 ended up dying on me and I had to return it just before I left on my last 2 cruises. Long story short because I bought it thru Costco online I could return it but not exchange it. I returned it as it was completely dead and I did not want to have to deal with Nikon on it. Now it's time to replace it and I think I am switching to Canon because I can get the camera pretty much free because my husband has Office Depot reward $ and they sell Canon products.

I can get the T6, T6I or the T6S. I plan to get the body only and like get either the Sigma 18-300 F3.5-6.3 or Tamron 16-300 F3.5-6.3. I think either of those lenses would be a lot better for cruising than the kit lenses I could get. If I am wrong here or there are better lenses please let me know.

I automatically think the T6S is the best choice for camera because it's the newest but I don't have enough experience to know if that is correct. I pretty much plan to use this on auto. I want to get the camera that is best for me but also don;t want to waste $ even if it's only gift card $. Any help as always is greatly appreciated.

You should be happy with the T6s or "i". Both are decent cameras. If there is a significant difference in price, take into consideration that Canon tends to make small changes between models in their entry-level DSLRs. The T6s and T6i have very similar functional specs. If you don't need the top screen and additional dials on the "s", the $150-ish difference may be worth considering.

Up to you on the Sigma/Tamron as both of their lenses are quite good. I tend to like Sigma, but that it a personal preference.

Too bad they don't carry the Sony A6000/6300 cameras. ;)

Dave

T6s/T6i are in a category above the T6. T6s and T6i were announced together (they're variations of the same thing) in February 2015. T6 was announced in January 2016. Autofocus capability is definitely far better in the T6s/T6i, so I'd definitely go that direction if I was picking between these two.

Lens choice is always hotly debated on pretty much any forum. I'm a big believer in the notion that the broader the zoom range (3x, 4x, 5x, 10x, 15x), the lesser the optical quality of the lens unless the price tag goes way up to compensate. As such, I'd probably gravitate towards an 18-200 as my main lens (about 10x zoom range, reasonable compromise of optical quality, aperture performance, and price), and maybe rent a 100-400 or 150-600 for Alaska.

I'm a huge Canon fan, so I think you're going the right direction there. I would perhaps say that if you're planning to buy this camera and one lens, and "never" buy another lens for it, then you may instead want to look at mirrorless or bridge cameras instead. To me, the value of a camera with interchangeable lenses is that you can interchange the lenses. Because my wife and I are both somewhat serious about photography, we own 16 lenses, so for any given "thing" I'm going through our lens cabinet deciding what's the right choice for the thing to be photographed. Again though, to each their own. :)

Just so you know, the latest Canon Rebel cameras are the T7i and the T77. Better video performance supposedly in these models. I agree with the above post. If you don't plan on changing lenses a good fixed lens mirror less camera such as Panasonic or Canon or Sony make will be much smaller, lighter and possibly more convenient to use. You may find the quality of the newest 1 inch fixed lens cameras is plenty good enough for your needs.

It's not that I never plan to buy another lens. It's that I want to try a good starter and really see how much I use it and go from there. I am fairly certain I will buy another lens or possibly quite a few more lenses. Just trying to set up a good starter to see how much I really get into photography with a real camera as a whole.

The type of telephoto lens that you are looking are often criticized by better (than me) photographers but I tend to like lens with a long zoom range. I think they are a good multi-purpose lens, and it's what I take when I'm going to photograph somewhere I'm not sure what I'm going to be shooting. Maybe I could get a better picture with a shorter range zoom, but chances are I wouldn't really see a difference. This is the lens I usually keep on my camera, and I change to other lenses as the occasion arises. When I'm thinking about getting a lens, I will go to flickr and search by that lens and my camera to see pictures others have taken. I look to see that there are pictures that are sharp, that are similar to the type of pictures I like to take, and that I like the color tones. I figure if others can get good pictures from that lens, I can too. Now, I don't have Canon, so I can't say in particular that those lenses are great, but I had an a-mount Tamron and now have a m43 Tamron of equivalent lengths.

It's not that I never plan to buy another lens. It's that I want to try a good starter and really see how much I use it and go from there. I am fairly certain I will buy another lens or possibly quite a few more lenses. Just trying to set up a good starter to see how much I really get into photography with a real camera as a whole.

Problem is, when you have a poor lens, it discourages you from using a "real camera."

Example -- I teach an adult photography class. On my suggestion one of my students stopped using a 18-300, and instead tried the 50/1.8. The next week, her exact words -- "it felt like a veil was lifted... i immediately loved the difference"

18-300 does give you a huge convenience. Unfortunately, it's a slow aperture lens, with mediocre image quality. When combined with shooting auto -- the results are worse than today's best smart phones. So with a lens like that, you get sub-iPhone quality but with telephoto zoom capabilities.

Truthfully, as of this year, I stopped recommending dSLR's to "auto - kit" shooters.

Too bad they don't carry the Sony A6000/6300 cameras. ;)

Dave

Well, it's not a Sony but I did decide to go mirrorless. I plan to order the Olympus *****-D E-M10 Mark II Mirrorless Micro 4/3 Digital Camera with 14-42mm lens plus a 40-150mm F 4.0 - 5.6 lens. I can get all that for under $200 and feel it's a good starter at a great price to see if I want to go up from there. That said I am not ordering anything until I see what all the experts here think.

Well, it's not a Sony but I did decide to go mirrorless. I plan to order the Olympus *****-D E-M10 Mark II Mirrorless Micro 4/3 Digital Camera with 14-42mm lens plus a 40-150mm F 4.0 - 5.6 lens. I can get all that for under $200 and feel it's a good starter at a great price to see if I want to go up from there. That said I am not ordering anything until I see what all the experts here think.

https://m.dpreview.com/reviews/bang-for-the-buck-olympus-*****-d-e-m10-ii-review/9

Well, it's not a Sony but I did decide to go mirrorless. I plan to order the Olympus *****-D E-M10 Mark II Mirrorless Micro 4/3 Digital Camera with 14-42mm lens plus a 40-150mm F 4.0 - 5.6 lens. I can get all that for under $200 and feel it's a good starter at a great price to see if I want to go up from there. That said I am not ordering anything until I see what all the experts here think.

This is the camera I use. I like it a lot: the size, the weight, the variety of lenses available and pictures I can take with it. Instead of getting the 40-150, I ordered the Tamron 14-150mm, 3.5-5.8 lens. My friend, who has the 14-42 and 40-150, is annoyed by how often she needs to change back and forth, but your price would go up quite a bit. You're getting the camera and 2 lenses for under $200? That's a great deal.

This is the camera I use. I like it a lot: the size, the weight, the variety of lenses available and pictures I can take with it. Instead of getting the 40-150, I ordered the Tamron 14-150mm, 3.5-5.8 lens. My friend, who has the 14-42 and 40-150, is annoyed by how often she needs to change back and forth, but your price would go up quite a bit. You're getting the camera and 2 lenses for under $200? That's a great deal.

Karen, could you possibly drop me a line to mommykim at yahoo dot com? I have a couple of questions I would love to ask you.