upgrading from a canon 10d?

[jamyupsuhsuh]

Hi guys, I've been using a canon 10d with an old 28-80mm f/3.5-5.6 USM. They're all hand me downs and recently I've been slightly unsatisfied with the lack of clarity in my photos when I zoomed in. I was wondering whether this was simply a problem with the low amount of megapixels in my camera (6.3 MP), poor noise control from my camera body, halation from my old lens, or simply because I was lacking some photographic knowledge in making my photos crystal clear. Is it time to upgrade my lens and body? Just a lens? Just a new body? Here's an example shot I took of the boat houses in philly. The settings were 30s, f/10, iso 100. Zoomed in, there seems to be a significant amount of noise and blurriness... On a side note, sorry if I posted in the wrong section of the forum, I'm a complete newbie to this site!

 

[Bulb]

Even at 100%, I don't see all that much noise, but I do see compression artifacts.

I'm not familiar with the 10D. It probably has some sort of Jpeg quality setting. If it does, change it to the highest quality or shoot in raw. If that doesn't help then it's likely that one of the programs you run it through in post is drastically reducing the quality.

 

[Big Mike]

Welcome to the forum.

It doesn't look all that bad to me, maybe a bit noisy...but that will tend to happen with dark, long exposure shots...especially on a older camera like that.
Normally, I like to discourage people when they ask about improving their image quality by simply upgrading their gear. The best (and usually cheapest) way to improve anyone's photos...is to improve the photographer's skills & technique etc. But in this case, I would think that a newer camera and a higher quality lens, would probably show up in the quality of the photos.

The 10D was OK, but it's replacement, the 20D was a much better camera. I've still got a couple of them and use them on occasion. You could probably find a used 20D, 30D, 40D or even 50D for a couple hundred bucks. The 10D was pretty much the same technology as the original 'Digital Rebel' but the Rebel line has come a long way since then, so any of the models since the original, would be an improvement on the 10D.
The only real difference between the Rebel Line, and the higher XXD line, is the size and layout of the body. If you're comfortable with the 10D, you would probably prefer to stick with the XXD line....but if it doesn't matter to you, the Rebels are cheaper and probably easier to find on the used market.

As for a lens...that is a wide open issue....and we would need more info from you, before recommending anything useful.

 

[iolair]

A 10D? Wow ... although I only recently upgraded from my 20D. I found the 20D a great camera, but needed a few more megapixels for the largest prints and cropping potential, the 20D's LCD left a LOT to be desired (mostly size) and I wanted an improvement in my higher ISO abilities. But, the 20D was still a great camera and I'm sure the 10D is too.

Personally, I love the chunky feel of the 20D, 30D, 40D, 50D, 7D and 5D cameras and having handled them, wouldn't want to go to the 60D or rebel/XXXD/XXXXD range - the feel is a big part of using the camera for me.

The 28-80mm is not a great lens (according to review sites).

I'd upgrade the lens with a greater priority than the body - but it depends on your needs. I'd also find 28mm at widest on crop rather limiting - although on the 10D you have few options to improve that as your body won't take EF-S lenses.

What kinds of photography do you like to do? What is your budget for any upgrades?