How do I determine the best new equivalent model for my insurers to replace an older camera?

Question

my ~10 yrs old Canon EOS 500D was accidentally damaged and the insurance will get us a replacement. I wonder what's the current successor model? They are pushing for the cheapest EOS 3000D but if I'm not mistaken that's like 2 classes inferior? Would it be fair to say that 800D is a more direct replacement than 1500D/3000D? Or EOS 200D? But that's actually cheaper than EOS 800D.
Which one is the best one that I can reasonably argue is a replacement for the now discontinued EOS 500D?

Update: Thanks for all your invaluable input! With all the great info and tips provided by you guys we managed to argue the insurance company into buying us a brand new EOS 850D. So happy about that!!

inkista · Accepted Answer

The Wikipedia camera templates are a great place to research where a specific model sits in the lineup and timeline for a camera system.
If you look at the Canon EOS digital cameras template:

You'll see a direct line from the 500D to the current 800D/T7i and 850D/T8i.

They are pushing for the cheapest EOS 3000D but if I'm not mistaken that's like 2 classes inferior?

Yes, the 3000D/4000D/T100 is two tiers below the XXXD line of cameras. But, if your insurance policy doesn't have a "new for old" or replacement value clause, and your insurance company only has to replace for fair market value, then depreciation is a factor. A 500D/T1i on the used market these days in the US only goes for about $100-$200 (see MBP). So you may actually be doing well to get a new T100.

Romeo Ninov · Answer

Following the login (my understanding) of Canon replacement of 500D should be 800/850D.
xxxxD is lower class of cameras. About 200D - this is different serie (by own), small size, with most of the options of xxxD serie.
The definition of "the best" replacement is very long discussion, also based on personal opinion :)

Michael C · Answer

Honestly, on paper the current lower tier 2000D/Rebel T7 matches or exceeds just about every specification from the more than a decade old 500D/Rebel T1i.
It does have slightly lower burst rate and buffer: The 2000D can shoot at 3.0 fps for 150 JPEGs or 11 raw, while the 500D can go at 3.5 fps for 170 JPEGs or 9 raw.
One difference you might could have used to argue that the 2000D won't do what the 500D can do is use Magic Lantern. There is a stable version of Magic Lantern available for the 500D. There is no finished or even "beta" version of Magic Lantern available for the 2000D/Rebel T7 or 4000D.
You could have tried to convince the insurance company that using some of the functionality that Magic Lantern offers which isn't included in Canon's firmware was vital to the way you used your 500D/Rebel T1i, then they might budge and allow for a model that can currently run Magic Lantern.
Alas, none of Canon's current models have a stable version of ML available, so you'd be looking at what a used 700D/Rebel T7i would cost.
There is one glaring difference between the 500D/T1i and the 2000D/Rebel T7, though: A center pin in the hot shoe that allows using third party non-TTL third party flashes.
The 500D/Rebel T1i has one, the 2000D and 4000D do not. (At least the initial production runs did not. There have been reports that very recent 2000D bodies do now include a standard center pin hot shoe (though no one has yet confirmed that it actually is connected to anything internally), but you don't know that, right?) If you have third party flashes that worked with the 500D but won't work with camera lacking the center pin, that might be just the thing to convince them they need to provide a camera that can use your current flashes or, in addition to the camera, they need to also provide Canon flashes that will work with the "borked" hot shoe. It will be cheaper for them to buy you an 800D than to buy a 2000D AND couple of Canon flashes!

How do I determine the best new equivalent model for my insurers to replace an older camera?

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