confusion...wht shud be upgraded first ..lens or body

[deepakaa]

hi..
i have been using Nikon D3100 with kit lens 18-55 and prime 50mm/1.8g lens.....
as posted question in my previous post i was considering to upgrade myself with a new lens .....after some research i was thinking to go for 24-120/f4....but learnt that this lens is not compatible with D3100..

this made me thinking ...shud i replace the body first or kit lens first.....d3100 being just most basic DSLR ....should i upgrade to something like D7100 in priority and letter upgrade the lens or .....shud i continue with d3100 and get the lens like 16-85 nikon...?
wht are your thoughts, suggestions....
many thanks
(i am an amateur taking phots of my kids, travel etc for hobby taking snaps of my kids....nothing professional....)

 

[paigew]

I think it depends on your needs and wants. I personally chose to upgrade my body before glass because I wanted/needed both higher ISO capabilities and the larger sensor size. Why are you wanting to change things up? What is lacking with your current set up?

 

[shefjr]

To answer your title, for me personally I have always upgraded my lenses first. My thinking is that light passes through the lens and hits the sensor of the camera and I want that light to be as perfect as I can get it. I don't see a point in buying a great camera and having the light that hits the sensor be of a lesser quality. That is again what worked for me. I started out with a D7000, so a fairly newer camera. I also knew that I was going to buy the "best lenses" out there.

 

[tirediron]

As Paige alluded to, it's a matter of figuring out what is lacking in your current set-up. Do you find problems with, for instance, sensor noise because you're always shooting at higher ISO, or with CA because you frequently shoot into the sun Analyze your requirements so that you don't fall into the trap of buying for the sake of buying. It's entirely possible that your current lens and body are entirely adequate to your needs and if you do want to spend a little money, then a hot-shoe flash or tripod might be a good way to go.

 

[dennybeall]

It helps to have a good idea of where you want to end up with photography, unless money is no object. You don't want to get some really good crop-sensor type "S" lenses when your plan is to end up with full-frame cameras
I find that at the present time for me I've got enough camera for anything I'm likely to ever do so lenses are on my wish-list.

 

[mcap1972]

Lenses hold value a lot longer so I would invest in some prime lenses. Using fixed focal lenses will help you grow as a photographer.