Upgrading your DSLR

You hold a DSLR camera and a new version of that is introduced in the market. You are tempted to upgrade. A photographer friend of yours advise you to get a good lens instead.

You are unable to make a decision.

People say "Invest in a lens rather than a camera because only the lens can make a change in the quality of your photos". Is that true?

Well, it could be true or false depending on the camera you have and the kind of photographer that you are.

It is very true if you hold a Film camera. The two major components that determines the quality of your photos are the film and the lens. The camera body has less importance in the film world (unless you are a photographer who depends heavily on some features of the camera,like continuous shooting speed)

In DSLR, the film is replaced by the sensor which is part of the camera body. The sensor plays a major role in the quality images as much as the lens does.

So in the digital world the camera body has an important role in deciding the image quality.

Below are some of the things that you should consider before you decide to upgrade your DSLR.

1. Upgrade your camera if the sensor in the new camera is really much better than the one you have.
2. A higher Megapixel camera will give you lot of scope for cropping the image. This helps to rescue a lot of poorly composed images.
3. Do not upgrade just for the Megapixel, look at other aspects like the dynamic range, color accuracy, highlight clipping, shadow details etc
4. Good ISO performance will really be helpful in low light situations. A wider aperture lens also can help in such a situation but at the cost of "Depth of field".
5. Upgrade only if you can justify the cost and the purpose.
6. If you are just a hobbyist, any of the currently available entry level DSLRs coupled with a good lens still does a great job.
7. The real challenge in photography is getting the best from whatever you have at hand.
8. A long term investment in photography will be a lens than a camera body by far. Many are still using more than 20 year old lenses with their DSLRs. They are almost as good as any new lens

Confused.. aren't you ?.. toss a coin...even if that doesn't fall in favor of the upgrade I know you will still upgrade....