New body, is it worth it?

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Dannyhack

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Daniel
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Hi Guys,

I've not been on here in ages! I'm looking to upgrade my camera body and was just wondering if it was actually worth doing or not?

I currently have a 500d with the standard 18-55 lens, 55-250 lens and a 50 prime. Would I be better off upgrading my lenses than spending money on a new body. I am currently interested in animal photography and hopefully moving into weddings once I gain some experience.

Thanks
Dan
 
Dannyhack said:
Hi Guys,

I've not been on here in ages! I'm looking to upgrade my camera body and was just wondering if it was actually worth doing or not?

I currently have a 500d with the standard 18-55 lens, 55-250 lens and a 50 prime. Would I be better off upgrading my lenses than spending money on a new body. I am currently interested in animal photography and hopefully moving into weddings once I gain some experience.

Thanks
Dan
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Normally I would suggest lenses first then body, but I'm not familiar with the Canon line up and so don't really know what the capabilities of the 500d are in terms of sensor performance to know whether a body upgrade would give more of a substantial upgrade.

Also you need to consider what your long term goal is and whether you will move to FF to help with low light situations for weddings as this will dictate your lens choices.
 
If I was considering wedding photography I would be moving to full frame. Keep the 50mm and sell the rest.
 
Lenses before cameras if you want to grow as a photographer.

Walk before you try to run. ;)

Commercially (weddings are pretty gear dependant) it gets expensive. By that I mean cheap compared with most small businesses :D, but ludicrous compared to hobby photography (unless you're a rich wildlife shooter).

The slowest lens in my bag is a variable aperture 2.8-4.
Shooting alone I'd take to a wedding:
3 zooms 16-35, 24-70 and 70-200
4 primes (35 f1.4, 50 and 85 f1.8 and 135 f2)
3 flashguns (so there's a spare)
3 bodies (I carry 2 and need a spare)
I can live without any one single piece of equipment because the others offer redundancy.

I've just gone full frame because the noise on Canon crop bodies marked down the IQ compared to my peers. But if the 80d had come out a couple of years earlier I'd not have bothered.

Out of pure personal choice, add to the above kit list enough cameras and lenses for 2 shooters :eek:, portable flash gear, triggers, stands, modifiers etc. :oops: :$

But all that gear would be useless without business acumen and people skills. The taking pictures is the not just the easy part, it has to be 2nd nature*

*You know those days you drive to work, and when you get there you can't remember half the journey - but you are confident you were driving safely. That's the same level your photography needs to be at to deal with all the other stuff that's going on whilst still shooting.
 
rjbell said:
If I was considering wedding photography I would be moving to full frame. Keep the 50mm and sell the rest.
Click to expand...

What full frame camera would you recommend? I'm not looking to break the bank with a new body?
 
Dannyhack said:
What full frame camera would you recommend? I'm not looking to break the bank with a new body?
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The 5dII is about the cheapest of the usable Canon FF's
The 6d isn't much more and IMHO worth every penny. But you'd need to swap 2 of those lenses.

If I were you, and I couldn't afford the 80d, I'd buy a 7d and upgrade the lenses. The 7d is an absolute bargain atm, probably the best bang for buck body from any manufacturer (we bought our first for over £1200 and they're available at less than £300 now)
 
Phil V said:
The 5dII is about the cheapest of the usable Canon FF's
The 6d isn't much more and IMHO worth every penny. But you'd need to swap 2 of those lenses.

If I were you, and I couldn't afford the 80d, I'd buy a 7d and upgrade the lenses. The 7d is an absolute bargain atm, probably the best bang for buck body from any manufacturer (we bought our first for over £1200 and they're available at less than £300 now)
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Thanks for the advice Phil. So you would say that the 7D is a much better camera than my current one? Then sell the 18-55 and the 55-250? What lens do you feel i would benefit from?
 
Dannyhack said:
Thanks for the advice Phil. So you would say that the 7D is a much better camera than my current one? Then sell the 18-55 and the 55-250? What lens do you feel i would benefit from?
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17-55 2.8 IS
70-200 (any of the L's, depending on your budget)
I'd also recommend a couple more fast primes, but again, this will be as you can afford them.
 
Phil V said:
But all that gear would be useless without business acumen and people skills. The taking pictures is the not just the easy part, it has to be 2nd nature*

*You know those days you drive to work, and when you get there you can't remember half the journey - but you are confident you were driving safely. That's the same level your photography needs to be at to deal with all the other stuff that's going on whilst still shooting.
Click to expand...

Since I turned professional 17 years ago, I have never seen this fundamental truth expressed more succinctly than that.
 
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