would uprading to a newer DSLR really improve photo quality?

roderz88

roderz88

roderz88

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Ok, so I have only been in the DSLR world for only a few months now. My dad gave me his old Canon 350D with the 18-55mm kit lens and a sigma 55-200mm lens. The camera still works fine and still produces nice images.

Now the question is, would upgrading to a new camera, say if I bought a EOS 650D for example, really improve the quality of photographs interms of detail, sharpness and clarity?

I ask this because though I feel that my camera still produces nice images (see my flickr for proof http://www.flickr.com/photos/roderz88/) when I look at photos from other people that are using more modern DSLR cameras, the pictures just look so much more sharper and full of detail than mine.

Sorry if this seems a little self explanatory
 
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At this stage I wouldn't bother, your biggest limitation will be your technical, compositional and aesthetic skills. Wait another 6-12 months until you really know what you what to shoot and what you find limiting with your current body.

If you want to spend money buy some books or lenses, filters, tripod, flash etc. When you really hit some limits of your current camera you can upgrade and you will have nice lenses to use on your new camera. Maybe by then you will realize that you really need a Canon 60D or 7D, or maybe Canon has released newer bodies so there are better cameras out there, or you can pick up the older ones really cheap.


Your camera s not limiting your sharpness and clarity at smaller viewing sizes, e.g. for web use and print 6x4s etc you will see relatively little difference with newer cameras. More visible differences will be Noise and dynamic range.
 
I wouldn't for the sake of a leap to a 650D.

Any better camera, will actually improve sharpness, detail etc... But as has been mentioned, the chances are you won't actually really see much difference.

If you realise that you want to take shots where high ISO's are useful then you might want to upgrade, but again, it's probably not really necessary, and I'd probably be looking at a more significant upgrade than a 650D..

kd
 
One thing I do like about my 650d is the ability to crop in quite a lot before losing too much quality. All the more recent DSLRs will have higher resolutions that let you do this. In an ideal world you could always get into the ideal position for shots and you'd have the ideal lenses but since this is the real world, having plenty of megapixels to play with when when you edit later is definitely a plus. Better low-light performance and high FPS for continuous shooting etc are just some of the features which will be better on newer bodies.

That being said, as DP has said, a new camera won't take the pics for you so you can always learn on the 350d. You'd still be limited by the lenses you have if you just got a new body and were starting getting fussy about sharpness etc so newer/better lenses could be as good a way to spend cash if you like.

I went straight for a 650d instead of buying something older and I definitely don't regret it :) I know what I'm like and I would have been frustrated by something older but everyone is different.
 
Buy glass before the body :)

But I echo what the others have said, the 350D is a very capable camera.
 
Thank you for the responses. So to summarise, getting a newer camera would only allow for more features and resolution? rather than overall pictures?

I have thought about getting an image stabilised lens, would this be a good move?
 
Whilst IS is useful, I wouldn't say it's critical. Better to focus on image quality and then if it has IS too then it's a bonus.
 
Roderz let me ask you this, what do you like to take photos of?

An acceptable answer is not 'everything' :p
 
Phate said:
Roderz let me ask you this, what do you like to take photos of?

An acceptable answer is not 'everything' :p
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I dunno, I can't say I would be able to answer that question and I've had my camera for 3-4 or more months :/

I like to take pictures of whatever catches my eye! I'm sure I can't be the only person like that lol
 
I've had a good look at your Flickr page, some excellent shots there considering that you're at a fairly early stage in photography.
Your 350d seems to cope well with the high iso you demand of it on occasions.
Maybe your perceived lack of sharpness in some shots could be due to some low shutter speeds you use, do you have a tripod?

What post processing software do you use?
 
Phal said:
I dunno, I can't say I would be able to answer that question and I've had my camera for 3-4 or more months :/

I like to take pictures of whatever catches my eye! I'm sure I can't be the only person like that lol
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No you're not :)

Stick with what you have for the time being in my opinion, when you have a better idea of what you like to focus on, buy glass to meet that requirement :)
 
Phate said:
No you're not :)

Stick with what you have for the time being in my opinion, when you have a better idea of what you like to focus on, buy glass to meet that requirement :)
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Yeah my trouble is that I need glass for everything :P One of the main reason for my DSLR purchase was the ability to take decent macro pics so the first decent lens I bought was my 100mm 2.8L lens.

Now I'm saving for a 70-200mm 2.8L Mk2 but I keep looking at wide angle stuff too >.< where's my winning lottery ticket damnit!
 
Definately better glass. I had a 450D with a kit lens and a Tamron 28-200 3.8-5.6 and I was always a little disappointed with the quality of the images.

After a fair bit of reading I had considered getting either a 24-70 f/2.8L or the 24-104 f/4 IS so I hired both to try. It was light night and day differences!
I ended up buying a 24-70 f2.8L and later a 70-200 f/2.8L IS II.

Since then I have upgraded to a Canon 7D and the jump in image quality is not that noticeable. But I upgraded for the bigger buffer and faster burst rate.
 
all about dem glass to be honest.
3/4 months is nothing for a camera - are you shooting in manual? do you understand rule of thirds/compostition etc etc? are you shooting in raw and PP in LR? (dunno if the 350d even lets you do that to be honest but still) all stuff to really understand before thinking about upgrading the body.
 
footman said:
I've had a good look at your Flickr page, some excellent shots there considering that you're at a fairly early stage in photography.
Your 350d seems to cope well with the high iso you demand of it on occasions.
Maybe your perceived lack of sharpness in some shots could be due to some low shutter speeds you use, do you have a tripod?

What post processing software do you use?
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Thank you :)

I have a tripod yes, though its a metal one and its quite heavy. As for shutter speeds, are you referring to camera shake? if so well my dad taught me to always have the shutter speed higher than the focal length, so if my focal length is 200mm, then the shutter speed must be 1/200 or faster. I suppose you know this already lol ;)

I dont shoot in RAW, since I dont think I have any software that supports it. I do have GIMP though, which I have used to increase sharpness and contrast from time to time.
 
Would definitely recommend a copy of Adobe Lightroom so you can process your RAW shots :)
 
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