wdross Loc: Castle Rock, Colorado

You are absolutely right. It is the person behind the camera that is the most important thing for a photograph. But what is the second? Equipment. We don't know the OP's skills, so we are required to assume they know how to operate a camera. The OP's question is about equipment, the second most important thing. It is obvious to me from the majority of answers we UHHs want to start with the best glass possible so no matter how much we increase the IQ of the camera body the lense still surpasses the sensor's ability and is still able to produce the image we, the important part of the picture, want to produce. If one does not have a tool to produce the image they want or need, it doesn't matter how good a photographer they are. A good photographer can do things with inferior tools that most of can't. But at some point how good the tool is becomes important to producing anything at all.

Notorious T.O.D. Loc: Harrisburg, North Carolina

[quote=Steverhyde]Like many of you, I have limited $$$, but I want to upgrade the technical quality of photos I take. I am not a professional but I love taking pix of landscapes and family, and I have +/- $1,000 to spend. Am I better off to upgrade the glass (I have an out-of the-box Canon 18 - 55 lens and an inexpensive 75 - 300 Canon) or to buy a full frame camera body (I have an acceptable Canon T5i).

Thanks for any feedback.[/

Look at the Canon EF 85mm F1.8 lens, a great lens for the money. I paid under $400 for my copy new. There are lots of things that are nice about full frame cameras but you would be committing to spending more money, much more most likely, over the longer term. If that is your plan fine. If not you can still do lots of great photography with crop camera and the best glass you can afford.

Best,
Todd Ferguson

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

It is pointless to discuss this without hearing anything further from the OP. In general, upgrading glass may make sense, but this was not necessarily a general question - any answers should depend on what particular "need" has motivated this desire to upgrade. For example, I currently use a Pentax K-30 with a bunch of appropriate lenses; the next thing I purchase most likely will be a Pentax K-70 - yes, I could use additional or replacement lenses, but my greatest need right now is better performance in darkish situations, and the K-70 has been shown to perform very well at seriously high ISO values.

chevman Loc: Matthews, North Carolina

I haven't read all the posts so I hope this one isn't to redundant. I'm retired and on a fixed income I've always liked photography but always took lousy pictures. While on a visit vacation to my mother in law's my wifes sister and niece
Were also their. My niece had a Canon crop camera kit. I was impressed with the clearity and quality of the photos that came from this camera. Well to make a long story short my wife got me a Canon t3i kit from Costco and the fun began! At first I shot in auto mode and jepg and began to research all I could find on photography and Post Processing. So I swiched my camera settings to RAW & Jpeg. Got a stand alone of Adobe Lightroom 6. Got some more books on Lightroom and photography. I'm just a hobbiest so therefore decided I would not be buying expensive full frame cameras as the crop sensor does just fine, for all the picture taking I will ever do as a amateur photographer. Although I am a perfectionist so like you I started looking for lenses that would do a little better job in low light situations and maintain a good level of clearity and sharpness. I started with a Canon EF 50mm f 1.4 this lens is a real tricky lens to learn. I highly recomend it. It's not real expensive but it will produce real sharp images. This is what I did, I put the camera on manual everything, put the lens on manual, and set youe camera on the back button focus in the the custom functions section of the menu. Then go and practice and practice shooting this way untill you feel confident that you know your camera and it's settings and functions. Don't get discouraged if all your pictures don't turn out because nobody has 100% on all their pictures. I know you will soon find that your pictures are getting better and better, then think about what kind of lens and camera body combination would best suit your interest and needs. There are many Camera bodies with different capabilities and and there are no one size fits all. So depending on what kind of pictures you feel you will be taking most of the time is what you want to base your purchases on. Having a good time is the most important thing so happy shooting!

Notorious T.O.D. Loc: Harrisburg, North Carolina

Or maybe you need to look into a good flash or tripod depending on what you shoot that you feel needs higher ISO. That is the beauty of this whole hobby there are so many ways to get good results in todays digital photography world...

Best,
Todd Ferguson

Reinaldokool Loc: San Rafael, CA

Most of us need a 35mm ( "full frame" ) camera like a fish needs a bicycle. Save your pocket book and your back. Buy some good aps-c glass. (There are some fish with legs and a bicycle makes sense for them.)

NickPJr Loc: Forney, TX

Just a thought, post an image your not happy with. Also, a T5i and the kit lens are very capable paired together but remember, those EF-S kit lenses will not work with a full frame sensor as memory serves me.

Pkfish Loc: Wilson Wy

Just a thought. Sell your gear or trade it in. Buy a used 6d(full frame) and get a used 24-105 L version1. Should be lots of used ones coming out with the 6d2 just about out and the 24-105version 2 being out for a little while. I did notice a difference in my photos when I switched from a 60d and a kit lens. It also made me work more at my photography as I was starting to look at how and why I was taking photos. I also started shooting raw and working in Lightroom and PS. Everyone says glass. I say both if you can pull it off. Most of all , HAVE FUN!!!

Delderby Loc: Derby UK

"IMHO. Many replies above are subjective. Cameras and what's inside them can make for better pics - and so can glass. Much depends on the conditions in which you shoot. If you can basically take advantage of good light etc, then you are not going to see much in noticeable improvement. If your present equipment is not faulty, then I think you may need to try harder at getting the best out of it. Don't get caught in the GAS trap".

This I wrote on page 2 - are there any Hogs who would actually disagree with it- if so why? OP has said he likes to shoot landscapes and family.

dsmeltz Loc: Philadelphia

Right. DXO is a useful starting point, but it is not a complete picture. For instance, if you shoot sports or BIF, how fast the lens acquires focus is more important that anything DXO measures. I can always play with color or slight distortions in post, but if the picture is out of focus it just does not matter.


Still, until we have more from the OP, answering the post is difficult.