Old camera + new lenses, or new camera + old lenses?

[mariamaria]

I hava a camera which is quite old by now (Canon eos 350D) and I've outgrown it by far. Where I live it's pretty dark half of the year, and I get the best pictures during the summer months. I often shoot on location or outside. Already at iso 400 it's too much noise in the pictures. (I often shoot children but want to shoot weddings too next year.) I've decided to upgrade my camera and have thought of a 5d mk ii. But two professional/semi pro's said to me that if I buy better lenses I don't need a new camera. I realise professional lenses will make a big difference (the ones I have are not the cheapest, but definetely not professional either), but will it make enough a difference? I mean I can only go up to iso 1200 on my camera and then the quality is terrible. If new lenses would make the pictures so much better that I don't need a new camera, then why do not all photographers use cheaper cameras but with the best lenses? I don't totally agree with those two men, but I'm unsure so I wanted to ask you.

 

[Infinite_Day]

ISO 1200 is pretty high. Have you ever considered adding a flash instead? New glass is always a better long-term investment than a new body. That being said, I don't know anything at all about Canon bodies or what the 350d is capable of.

 

[Kerbouchard]

Well, since you mentioned weddings, at a typical indoor reception, I start at ISO 1600, with flash, and with a 1.8 or 2.8 lens. Most ceremonies I'm at ISO 1600 or higher, plus a tripod if I can get away with it, and still at shutter speeds less than 1/60th of a second.

Shooting children on location is similar. Most houses are pretty dark, but that can usually be overcome with proper lighting.

The thing is, if you want to specialize in portraits, or kids, or outdoor portraits, or something like that, you can get by with limited gear. You can fine tune the gear and your funds for where it is really needed. When you get into weddings, you have to be able to take shots in every condition...everything from bright overhead sun to the darkest reception hall.

In any case, I'm a Nikon guy, so I can't really give you a lot of Canon specific advice, but ISO 400 for clean shots would be incredibly limiting to me. Depending on what lenses you already have, I think I would recommend a better camera body and a decent flash and go from there.

 

[Overread19]

Juza Nature Photography - Birds: Miscellaneous

Scroll down and check out the camera used - 350D appears a good few times and shows that, with the right light and a good lens the 350D can produce some great photos!

Myself I would suggest considering the following upgrade paths:

1) 5D original - second hand or reconditioned. Cheaper than the 5DMII, but still pro quality and able to take your ISO higher. It also gets you the fullframe sensor and that makes a big difference to your angle of view and for studio and indoor work as well as general portrait shooting the fullframe (35mm) sensor is the generally more popular tool over the crop sensor. This is because the wider angle of view at each focal length means that you can use a longer focal length when working closer; this is important as if you start using 35mm type lenses or wider you start to get distortion (ie things closer to the lens enlarge more than normal) - there is some software which can correct for this, but in an ideal world you don't want it to start with.

2) Lenses; look at getting some good fast prime lenses; the 50mm f1.8 is very affordable; though a Sigma 50mm f1.4 would be the better - there are also 85mm primes which are not too budget breaking. These will give you the image quality boost far more so than a new body will; the faster apertures also make focusing, composition and light gathering for exposures easier when your more limited.

3) Lighting; critical for portrait and studio work is good lighting control; this ranges from very simple reflectors to direct light all the way up to speedlite flashes and then even onto the bigger studio units. I can't give much specific advice here as its an area where I've little to no direct experience; but I'd make space in your budget for at least one good flash unit.

 

[TiCoyote]

If you want to shoot professionally, you probably need a professional body and professional lenses. The 5D mkii will be a sturdier camera with a larger, higher resolution sensor. Because of the sensor, the quality of lenses becomes more critical.

The 350D should be able to shoot at ISO 400 with little noise. However, if the image is dark, you will see noise. That's just how a digital sensor works. You might find less noise at ISO 800, because you'll have a brighter image. Or you can use a slower shutter speed or a wider aperture. But a wider aperture, again, may require a better lens.

 

[mariamaria]

Thank you so very much for all your answers. I already have some good lenses, like the 50mm 1.8. I live north of Stockholm/Sweden so I don't have a lot of good natural light during the winter (except for when there's snow). As I often go home to people to shoot their kids and babies I feel very dependent on the weather. A dark, cloudy and rainy day we are inside - and my problem starts ;-) I have a reflector and I also have a flash (Speedlite 430 xe). I prefer natural light + reflector though.

 

[BJF]

In you case, better camera will be the solution.

DXO camera sensor rating

 

[mariamaria]

A photographer I know will let me borrow one of his 1Ds mkii. He says I can find them (used) for a really good price (half the price of a new 5d mk ii). So I'll try his camera and see it I like it. It seems a bit heavy though ;-)

 

[KmH]

I already have some good lenses, like the 50mm 1.8.

Sorry, but the 50 mm f/1.8 isn't all that good a lens, particularly if it's the 50 mm f/1.8 II.

It has some decent optics, but the build quality and cheap internal parts, like the aperture blades keep it from being a good lens.

 

[jaomul]

50 mm 1.8 is highly rated by a lot of people who take photographs but don't worry about mechanical specifics.