New body or new gear?

[jamie_pyrite]

So I'm trying to decide what to blow my money on.. My current gear is:

Canon 400D
Sigma 10-20mm
Sigma EX DG 24-70 2.8
Canon 50mm 1.8
Opteka external flash


So my flash sucks and lets me down now and then and has a rubbish recharge speed.. So thinking I could upgrade that to a Canon Speedlite? 240 EXII maybe? I'd also really like to add a 70-200mm f4 Canon lens (fancy white one!) which is a very nice spec for about £400 as the highest focal length I have is only 70mm!

Alternatively, I could upgrade to a beautiful Canon 7D body for about £1200ish, maybe a bit less. Fantastic spec and does HD video very well too. This would mean better quality images, less noise at higher ISO (my main gripe with the 400D) and just a better all round camera to get the most out of my current lenses.


Which would be your choice? Is there point having loads of fancy lenses if my body is still an amatuer model? Or would it be better to go for the lenses to increase me choices for photos?

Let me know what you think!

[shepgti]

go for the body upgrade  (although i'd go nikon)

[the_stink]

i was going to go 7D but i was just dribbling over the HD video function, i went instead for the 50D which is so much better than the 400D, still ahve the 400D as a back up body but the feel and well just everything on the 50D is great. Picked my body up for about £700 which would leave you enough for a decent flash gun like a 430 exii or if you got the budget you could get the 530

[MrBounce]

I would buy the best glass you can afford and a decent flash. Remember, it's not how flash your equipment is, it's how well the person behind the camera can use it.

These days you buy decent glass and upgrade your body due to the speed technology is advancing, not the other way around as was the case 20 years ago. 

[Mortimer Hill]

rather than asking what kit to buy, ask yourself this question

what photos do I want to take that my current kit won't allow?

When you've answered that, you will have a much better idea of what to buy next.

[jamie_pyrite]

Thanks for the input so far I already have some great glass, but I'm really missing something with more of a zoom and could really do with that hole filled tbh! A 7D would be 1200.. I just can't justify going for a cheaper body as I'd always be wishing I'd saved up a bit extra for the better spec model.

Stink, any chance you could give me some info on how the 50D performs compared to the 7D? I'm guessing you did a lot of research into it

[jamie_pyrite]

rather than asking what kit to buy, ask yourself this question

what photos do I want to take that my current kit won't allow?

When you've answered that, you will have a much better idea of what to buy next.

Good question! Well, not having anything over 70mm limits me quite a lot. 70mm isn't very far!

I've been getting more people wanting paid portrait work from me lately so I could do with the better quality images from the better lens.. Compared to higher end canon cameras I've seen, the 400D is pretty shoddy in anything but perfect lighting conditions.

But £400 for the 70-200 lens + £200 for a speedlite flash is half the price of a £1200 body! I think the lens and flash would make the biggest impact to my photography I reckon. I'm just a sucker for gear!

[Ridg]

7D is a pointless buy from the 400D and given the glass you've got is cheap it's really going to show how hungry the 7D sensor is.
This will be be apparent on your high ISO shots as canon have crammed a lot onto the APS-C size sensor, if you want good low light performance then you need a Nikon, on the other hand if you want HD video buy a Canon or a video camera 

If you're going to get a new body then, like stink says, get the 50D or go full frame.

I'd say the D300s over the 7D any day, but would require you to replace your glass.

So IMO get some quality glass, also I'd recommend buying full frame compatible glass, otherwise when you do want to go full fat you could be stuff with incompatible glass.

[the_stink]

Thanks for the input so far I already have some great glass, but I'm really missing something with more of a zoom and could really do with that hole filled tbh! A 7D would be 1200.. I just can't justify going for a cheaper body as I'd always be wishing I'd saved up a bit extra for the better spec model.

Stink, any chance you could give me some info on how the 50D performs compared to the 7D? I'm guessing you did a lot of research into it

i just did some searching on reviews and asked on the photography forum and it all came down to the fact that for what i needed the 50D was perfect where as i think the 7D although it had a higher mega pixel and HD video its was just alot of stuff that wasnt needed and that the 50D was more than capable of doing and save me a good £700 so overall i would say 50D all the way its a great camera alot heaver and chunkier that the 400D and trust me you wont be disappointed at all

As already said if you want HD video you can pick up a HD camcorder for 2-300 a nice feature to have but im a photographer not really a videographer so was just surplus to me requirements

[jamie_pyrite]

Yeah, that's true.. I think the video recording would be a gimmick to me. I'd probably have a shot at  being a wagenwerks wannabe, find I don't like it compared to photography and never use the feature again!

Something that really disappointed me that I just found out a couple of days ago was while recording, it won't use servo AF. You either have to use manual focus or half press the shutter every time you want to focus on something new (One Shot AF).


I'll do some research into the 50D then

Ridg: Thanks for the advice. I can't justify going to Nikon though.. Got too much Canon gear that I'd lose a fortune on! Oh, and my Sigma stuff is quality glass! :p The 24-70 2.8 is a brilliant lens