Out of curiosity, how does a rebel T3i stack up today's cameras? Has the rebel series improved vastly?

[asiancorruption]

So, I'm in high school and  learning how to shoot photos and im just curious, how much better are cameras like the new rebel t6i, sony ax6300 and the GH4 in comparison to my camera? I am in no way good enough to even think of upgrading to a better camera, as i'm still not comfortable with adjusting anything on my camera without a lot of tinkering, but if i was a pro, would the t3i get blown out of the water? this is just for photos. To give you an idea of what my camera could do in auto mode, heres this: ( if you're wondering about the bike, its my friend's yamaha r3 with a m4 slip-on 

 

For lenses  i use a 18-55 & 55-250mm 

[Electronics Wizardy]

not much better really. Slightly better low light, a few extra features, you wouldnt notice the image quality difference

[Clanscorpia]

I have the t3 and for pure photoshooting I dont notice a very big difference

[AbrahamoLincolni]

Every generation or every few generations of cameras shows improvement in technical performance to a certain degree.  But if you're still a student without your own income or aren't really making money with the camera, don't really consider buying a new camera unless either the one you own breaks or it can no longer provide you with the features you need.  Visually speaking, as in looking at the photos with your eyes, you will hardly be able to tell the difference between a photo taken in average conditions with a camera from a few years ago to a photo taken with a camera model that was released today.  The biggest difference for anything that is visible will likely be due to differences in lens used.  A photo taken with a 18-55 kit lens at 50mm can be very different from a photo taken with a 50mm f1.2 prime lens.  A lot goes into producing a published photo and most of it is in the imagination of the person using the camera and also likely in the time he or she spends editing the photo.  If you don't know how to take a photo, how to frame a scene, how to set the exposure, essentially if you don't know how to take a good photo then whether you own an old cheap camera or a brand new top of the line camera will not make a difference.

[AshleyAshes]

The cameras progressively get some improvements in low light/high ISO performance and dynamic range but it's hardly anything 'game chaging'.  By faaaaaaaaaaaaaaar the lenses used by the photographer is much more important towards the quality of a photo and the skill set of the photographer will count for vastly more than the lenses.

 

In short, if you want to take good photographs, learn the art and skill of taking photographs because dumping money into cameras won't make you much better.

[.spider.]

There was no change in image quality.

[cc143]

There's no point in looking at another camera until you get out of Auto and into Manual, Its not as hard as it sounds, you just have to understand how Aperture, Shutter Speed and ISO work together, there is more to learn, but those 3 and a little practice will allow you to get the right exposure from the first try. 

 

Where newer cameras improve on is features like a touchscreen, GPS/Wifi/NFC, maybe an improved focusing system etc. The sensors haven't changed that much in the lower range and you wouldn't notice a difference either way. 

[AkiraDaarkst]

1 hour ago, cc143 said:

There's no point in looking at another camera until you get out of Auto and into Manual, Its not as hard as it sounds, you just have to understand how Aperture, Shutter Speed and ISO work together, there is more to learn, but those 3 and a little practice will allow you to get the right exposure from the first try. 

There are three steps to improving one's photography.  What you described here is step 2.

Step 1: learn to look at the scene, think about how you want to frame it, how you want to compose it in order to capture the moment/story.

Step 2: preparing the camera, its settings, choosing the lens/focal length (essentially what you said about Aperture + Shutter + ISO, and a bit more)

Step 3: Editing, taking the file saved on the memory card and taking it to the final "look" that you envisioned in Step 1.

 

Basically, the path to becoming a better photographer is to become a better photographer, not buying new cameras.  Like if you want to become a better cook, you practice and experiment with cooking, not buy better pots and pans.