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The T5i is indeed a good starter camera. For me, a photographer for 20 years, compared to the 70D, 7D, or 5DIII series (not a fair comparison) the biggest issues I have with the T/Rebel series are: (1) much smaller and less informative viewfinder with dramatically fewer focal points, (2) far less control over settings (eg, ISO changes in full stops, not 1/3 stops (so 100, 200, 400, 800, not 100, 125, 160, 200, 250, 320, 400, etc.)), (3) lack of two dedicated "wheels" to control, say, both aperture and exposure compensation, and (4) lack of an LCD with info on the top of the camera. These may not sound like much now, but I assure you that if you get into photography, you'll notice all of the above.
But the big thing here are (or actually is) the lenses. The kit 18-55 is actually quite acceptable. But the 75-300 is horrible. Horrific. A truly terrible lens. I'm serious, you will not be pleased with a single image it produces. I'm surprised Canon still makes it. I've written about my disdain for this lens elsewhere here. I had one, and apologized to the person I gave it to.
Instead, get a kit with the 55-250 IS; the IS stands for image stabilization, which at this focal length YOU WILL NEED. It's a surprisingly good lens. I'll see if I have any photos available on my phone to demonstrate. Amazon currently has a similar kit for the same price but with the better lens from Focus Camera. You get all the same junk as MD's kit...but you get it in 3 days.
Alternatively, consider the Olympus OM-D EM-10 II, which for $80-$100 more gets you the same lens coverage in a much smaller form factor. I've taken OM-D's on my last few trips (Colombia, Iran, Turkey) and will never travel with a medium (5Ti) or full-sized (7D or 5DIII) DSLR again. Plus, you get image stabilization in the body as opposed to the lenses, so lenses are cheaper.
That's enough out of me. But feel free to respond with specific questions.