Time To Upgrade?

[creative_one]

Hi Everyone,
How do u know when its time to upgrade to a more advanced DSLR?
How long should a person wait intill they buy a new DSLR (upgrade)?
Any good advice?

Thanks in advance!

 

[robertwsimpson]

1. when the upgrade alarm goes off
2. exactly 17 hours from the purchase of the previous DSLR
3. these are silly questions. Besides, you should be more worried about what lenses you have and polishing your technique than upgrading to a different body.

 

[icassell]

It's time to upgrade when the body you are using is limiting you in your photography. If you're not sure, you're probably not ready ...

For me, I've been very happy with my 8mp 30D since I got it 3 years ago. This summer, I was shooting grizzly in Alaska and, for the first time, the 8mp was limiting. My bear images were taken at about 300 yards or more, so I had to blow them up and crop them considerably. They are very noisy (even with noiseware). I'm finally thinking of an upgrade.

For most of us mortals, it's the lenses that really count.

 

[robertwsimpson]

I am upgrading my body because I want my girlfriend to be able to shoot with me, so rather than buying her something, I'm going to do the gentlemanly thing and buy myself something nice and give her my old rags.

icassell, I'll bet you would benefit more from a better zoom lens.

 

[icassell]

icassell, I'll bet you would benefit more from a better zoom lens.

No , in this case I would have to disagree with you. I have a good 300mm f4 and a 1.4X TC . A bit less noise and this would have worked fine. The next zoom lens I could get would break the bank and wouldn't be used that often. In this setting, I'd get better service and good results from more megapixels. It's a cost-benefit thing. I'm not usually a proponent of feeding the megapixel war, but this is one setting where it makes some sense.

 

[robertwsimpson]

ah, now that I know your equipment, I agree. What ISO levels were you shooting at? Anything above 400 on my camera had better be framed perfectly and perfectly exposed. If I have to crop or brighten, they look horrid.

 

[creative_one]

3. these are silly questions.

First off - that question just came to mind & was just wondering & stop telling me these are silly questions cause they AREN'T!!!
It never hurts to ask! Plus how is one to know if one doesn't ask!!!

Besides, you should be more worried about what lenses you have and polishing your technique than upgrading to a different body.

U are right about that part. Which i am doing but like i said above the question just came to mind & was a little curious how one would know its time to upgrade to a more advanced DSLR.

Thanks for ur post!

 

[icassell]

ah, now that I know your equipment, I agree. What ISO levels were you shooting at? Anything above 400 on my camera had better be framed perfectly and perfectly exposed. If I have to crop or brighten, they look horrid.

Yes, and I was shooting at about ISO 560 or so, if I remember correctly. Now a sigma 500mm f4.5 is only 5 grand lol

 

[icassell]

First off - that question just came to mind & was just wondering & stop telling me these are silly questions cause they AREN'T!!!
It never hurts to ask! Plus how is one to know if one doesn't ask!!!

I agree -- no silly questions here.

 

[robertwsimpson]

ah, now that I know your equipment, I agree. What ISO levels were you shooting at? Anything above 400 on my camera had better be framed perfectly and perfectly exposed. If I have to crop or brighten, they look horrid.

Yes, and I was shooting at about ISO 560 or so, if I remember correctly. Now a sigma 500mm f4.5 is only 5 grand lol

BALLS!

Questions are silly when the answers are readily available. This is why God gave us Google and Youtube.

 

[inTempus]

Hi Everyone,
How do u know when its time to upgrade to a more advanced DSLR?
How long should a person wait intill they buy a new DSLR (upgrade)?
Any good advice?

Thanks in advance!

Honestly, if you have the money it's time to upgrade. That's how I roll.

 

[PhotoXopher]

When there's enough room on your credit card
(And you can pay it off without interest.)

 

[creative_one]

ah, now that I know your equipment, I agree. What ISO levels were you shooting at? Anything above 400 on my camera had better be framed perfectly and perfectly exposed. If I have to crop or brighten, they look horrid.

Yes, and I was shooting at about ISO 560 or so, if I remember correctly. Now a sigma 500mm f4.5 is only 5 grand lol

BALLS!

Questions are silly when the answers are readily available. This is why God gave us Google and Youtube.

:scratch: What ? :scratch:

 

[Foques]

1. when the upgrade alarm goes off
2. exactly 17 hours from the purchase of the previous DSLR
3. these are silly questions. Besides, you should be more worried about what lenses you have and polishing your technique than upgrading to a different body.

hahaha.. love this answer.

 

[Derrel]

When is it time to upgrade? It depends. Nikon for example, comes out with new, generational milestone camera bodies every 4 years now. At two-year intervals, Nikon does intermediate or "s" updates. Best scenario with Nikon is to buy a new model of any particular price class as SOON as it comes out,and enjoy using a more or less state of the art camera for about 3.5 years, then sell it off as soon as the next model is announced.

Canon has been iterating its pro and its semi-pro models more rapidly--less of a "generational" or "milestone" iteration each time, but more like Nikon's minor or inter-generational updates. For example, the 40D to 50D was not much of a significant update--it was a few more sensor MP and a couple of minor tweaks, not really worthy of a new name or a new "class" of names.

Canon's 7D for example, is an attempt to create a very sophisticated camera to compete with Nikon's D300s. SO, if you want a better-than-middling AF system in a crop-body Canon, NOW would be a worthwhile time to upgrade from a 30D or 40D or 50D,right at the start of the Canon 7D introduction; you'll enjoy a state of the art body for 18 months, until the next new thing comes along. AND you'll gain an entirely new set of features and capabilities,since the 7D is a generational leap ahead, like the D200 and D300 Nikons were over the D100.

Sony's new 25 megapixel a850 Full Frame at under $2k....it might be time to consider that as a significant milestone upgrade if you're an a700 shooter

OTOH, if you buy something at the top of the heap in terms of features, like say a Nikon D700 or a D3 or a Canon 1D Mark III, the body and feature set itself will have tremendous capabilities,and newer models are unlikely to really significantly advance the class of images that can be made,compared with the prior model. The beginner and intermediate cameras are where the frequent model updates and brand war competition causes most people to see significant advantages in the newer models that each maker introduces as sales figures on models start to slow down. So,when to upgrade-- it depends on what you're shooting and what you want and what the new kid on the block brings to the game.