Where Should You Spend Your Money - Camera Body or Lenses?
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I was thrilled to hear about the stimulus checks the U.S. government is sending out this month because it means I’ll have a little bit of money to spend on some new photography gear.
But, that means that I’m going to have a little over $1,000 to spend on either a camera body or lens, and there’s essentially no question more difficult to answer for me. What’s more important: camera or lens?
Since I’m sure there are other people like me trying to figure out the pros and cons of a camera vs. lens upgrade, I decided to do an article about it.
Camera Bodies
Photo by Markus Lompa on Unsplash
While all of the attention is typically given to camera lenses, camera bodies are also an important part of the process. They control the amount of noise you’ll get during low light shooting, the frames-per-second, and video capabilities, just to name a few.
Camera bodies also vary a lot more than camera lenses because they come in just about every shape, size, and color imaginable.
Photo by Markus Lompa on Unsplash
There are a few reasons why you would want to upgrade your camera body over your camera lens. For instance, if your current camera body is uncomfortable for you to hold, that’s a red flag and a reason you might want to upgrade it.
Another reason you may need to upgrade your camera body is if you’ve outgrown your current model. For example, many camera bodies built for beginners don’t allow you to control as much of the shooting process as you may like once you’ve grown more proficient in photography.
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Lenses
Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash
While the camera body allows you to have a shooting experience, the lenses control what that shooting experience looks and feels like.
For instance, while most camera bodies will allow you to shoot most styles of photography, you need specific lenses for specific types of shoots. You’ll never be able to shoot an ultra-wide angle shot without an ultra-wide angle lens.
Photo by Braxton Apana on Unsplash
In this way, lenses are much more unique than camera bodies. You’ll know when to upgrade a lens when you’re trying to shoot a new type of photography and can’t without one.
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Which Last Longer?
Photo by James Sutton on Unsplash
If you’re thinking about upgrading your camera body or lens, then chances are you’ve outgrown one of them and chances are you’ll outgrow the other in the near future.
Such is the nature of photography. You’re supposed to grow with your equipment until you need to grow with new equipment.
However, if you only have so much money to upgrade either your camera body or lens, which one will last you longer?
Consider this scenario: would you rather shoot with an expensive body and cheap lens or cheap body and expensive lens? If you're 9 out of 10 photographers, you’d rather shoot with an expensive lens.
That’s because lenses just plain last longer. Invest in a good lens today, and you can shoot with it for decades.
So, Is a Camera Body or Lens the Better Option?
YCImagingYCImaging did an excellent video talking about this subject.
Overall, I think a great lens is a better investment because even the greatest of camera bodies will be outdated in less than 5 years. You may as well purchase a lens that you’ll be able to transition from camera body to camera body.
But, regardless of whether you’re looking to upgrade a camera body or lens, you can do so on Gear Focus.
Gear Focus is not your average used camera website because it is run by creatives for creatives, which means they’re keeping an eagle eye out for every listing, ensuring that listings are legit and not scams. That’s a big peace of mind for buyers!
Gear Focus also promises sellers the best prices for their equipment since the website runs on just 3.5% of each sale, which means 96.5% of the sale price is yours to keep. You simply won’t find seller fees that low anywhere else.
You can try places like Craigslist or eBay, but with the potential for scams on the former and huge fees with the latter, Gear Focus is the clear winner for me.
So, if you’re in the market for a new-to-you camera or lens (or both!), or if you want to unload some of your older gear, head over to Gear Focus!
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