I aware that same question appear every week at here asking either should I upgrade lens or body or which lens I should choose? I decided to create short tip on this however if any mislead on the info, please feel free to let me know and I will amend it. This tips might not yet completed because I write this meanwhile I working is at office. I will add in more information when i free.

Should I upgrade my Lens or Body first?
As a rule of thumb, upgrade lenses before the body. I much prefer shoot a good lens on a entry level body than an kit lens on a high end body(Example 18-55mm DX on D800 body). Camera body come and go like 1-3 year cycle time but a good lens will stick with you for very long time.
Maybe you feel your body is holding you back somehow? Or maybe you will think you get a more expensive camera then your photo will be better? First try fully utilize on your camera, is great if you can afford a expensive camera but you hardly survive (like eating Maggie every day for rest of 5 years for D800/5Dmk3) then you better forgot it.

Upgrade your camera body when the camera really stop your development or your work. Example you required a high ISO for your work, a good Video recorder for your work, etc then you maybe can consider upgrading your camera body. I know your feeling to wish to change camera because I used to be the same(D5000>D90>450D>40D>7D>EPL-1>5D(I had tons on film camera)).

What brand lens I should buy for my camera? Buy a compatible lens for your camera.
Nikon user, not all lenses is compatible on your camera. Some of your camera does not have build in motor and you won’t able autofocus on certain lens. Example D5100 won’t autofocus on 50mm F1.8D but you can still manual focus it. Canon brand won’t fit on Nikon and Nikon won’t fit on canon too(okay okay I know some of you will said there is adapter.. I know). So you can pickup your own brand lenses and 3rd party lens like Tamron, Sigma, Tokina, Samyang, etc but always remember to get your brand mount. Please don’t buy canon mount and wish to use on Nikon kay?


Prime or zoom lenses?
Zoom lenses normally preferable by most photographer because the function and versatile on focal length. However zoom lenses normally will have higher F-stop compared primes lense(F/2. 8 vs F1.2) and this mean zoom lenses will have less light into a sensor. Primes on the another hand idoesnt allow you to zoom or change the focal length by turning the barrel(Mean you stuck same focal length lo) but you might think it’s kinda useless right? However primes lens usually come with big aperture like f1.8 or below, that mean that a lot of light can enter into sensor and this is really useful for low light situation and don’t forgot about the BOKEHLICIOUS!! YUM YUM!! Also most of primes lense is sharper on compare zoom and less distortion.

Should I buy bigger aperture lenses or fast lens?
The speed of a lens and how ‘fast’ it is refers to the maximum aperture of the lens. The larger the maximum aperture the faster the lens is.
Fast lenses maybe will be more advantages over slower lenses in certain condition like low light situation, required a fast shutter speed to capture the moment like wedding or sport.

Remember that you’re using bigger aperture lens and this will affected the depth of field on your shot. Larger aperture will lead to shallower dept of field which be good thing if you wish to make your subject really pop out/stand out from it’s background.
A lot photographer will give a reason to upgrade lens because they afraid of handshake or blur photo, they are forgotten that some lenses is come with IS/VR/OS/VC aka images stabilizer. I will cover this later on so keep reading before you purchase lenses.

Getting f1.2 lenses does not make your photo go sky rocket. LYN forummer love to ask either should I buy F2.8 lens over my kit lens? Buy lens based on purpose, not just because having bigger aperture lenses will turn you to godly photographer (not MMORPG, godly weapon=godly player). You use a lens to understand the FOV and the perspective and decide what lens suits your purpose, not just buy f2.8 lens and go wide aperture all the way to admire bokeh. (From goldfries) .

What is lenses focal length?
Focal length equals image distance for a far subject. Most lenses is categorized by it focal length. Choose the lenses that you required.
Focal length is most important thing when you purchase a lens. It defines the coverage of your new lens and how much you can fit into your frame. Focal length is measured in mm and the number which closest with human eye is around 50MM(mine 55m). Human eye have a bigger field of view buy of you look on something and you look through a 50mm lens on FF/35mm on crop. The actual magnification will be very much similar(go try and see). That why 50mm lenses are know as standard lenses by a lot photographer.

Lenses with focal length smaller than 50mm/35mm can be a wide angle lenses. Example you stand at same place with a 25mm lens, it will have double of diagonal field of view of a 50mm lenses. It’s most use on landscape, building, architecture shot but if you go lower than 20mm, it will normally know as UWA(Ultra Wide Angle) lens.

Wide angle or UWA inevitably suffer from some distortion especially around the corner and this can use as a special effect. A special Wide angle lenses use distortion deliver a highly curve photo is know as fisheye. Fisheye angle can wide 180* degree point of view. Lenses with shorter focal lengths also inherently have a larger depth-of-field, which means it’s easier to get lots in focus from near to far.

Lenses with focal length longer than 50mm are normally know as standard telephoto lenses. Those lenses zoom in and close up with a distant subject or picking out more details. Those lenses will give more flattering effect whenever you use on people. Telezoom lenses is having longer focal length and it will have smaller depth of field, which mean you will get more BOKEHLICIOUS or blurred background effect. This is good for portraits, sport, etc . Normally photographer will choose 85mm and 135mm as their portraits lens.

FullFrame
- Walkaround lens (24mm to 85mm ) : useful for portrait or if you love street photography
- Wide lens ( 28mm or lower ) : if you love shooting landscapes
- Ultra Wide – 12mm-20mm : Landscape
- Telephoto lens ( 70mm to 300mm ) : for portrait and sports / action
- Super-Telephoto ( beyond 300mm) : sports and wildlife(maybe stalk your neighbor daughter)
- Macro lenses ( 60mm – 200mm ) : special lens designed and optimized for macro photography
- Tilt shift and Fisheye lens – Special effect or building(TS lens)
Crop body
- Walkaround lens (18mm to 55mm ) : useful for portrait or if you love street photography
- Wide lens ( 18mm or lower ) : if you love shooting landscapes
- Ultra Wide – 8mm-18mm : Landscape
- Telephoto lens ( 70mm to 300mm ) : for portrait and sports / action
- Super-Telephoto ( beyond 300mm) : sports and wildlife(maybe stalk your neighbor daughter)
- Macro lenses ( 60mm – 200mm ) : special lens designed and optimized for macro photography
- Tilt shift and Fisheye lens – Special effect or building(TS lens)


Should I get Image stabilizer lenses? VR/IS/OS/VC
Images stabilizer is reducing our handshake when taking photo up 2-3 stops. It’s actually contain small gyro sensors and servo actuated optical elements which correct for camera shake and thus stabilize the image and give higher sharpness then you'd otherwise get. While not as good as a tripod, they allow a lens to be handheld at 2-3 stops slower shutter speed than minimum required to get sharp photo with non IS lenses.

Getting IS lens might be a better choice if you wish reducing handshake problem however please remember IS will not solved fast moving subject. If shoot fast moving subject, you may consider pump your ISO, use flash or use faster lenses.
More information can read at
Goldfries.com

Budget
First check your wallet and bank to create affordable budget for your new lens.The sharpest lens with extra options can be significantly more expensive. You may consider third party lens like tamron if you had tight budget example Tamron 17-50 2.8 VC(1.3k-17k) vs Canon EFS 17-55 f2.8IS ( 2.3k-3.3k). If you can't afford a new lens then you can consider used lens. LYN garage got a lot used lens to grab.

Read before you buy
Before decide purchase your lens, do some reading on review on the lens first. Don't buy in rush. Read and read until you satisfied.

Try Before You Buy
Please try out the lens before your buy. You might dislike the lens after your brought. Photo from internet and reality might be different. If you buy with someone online, you can go local shop to try and hold it first then you can proceed purchasing. Don't buy and regret.

I am rich and I willing to spend.
Please splash all your cash on every single camera and buy whole line up of lenses so you no need worry upgrading lens, once new model launch. Please be the first one to buy. This tips is for those worry upgrading lens and they got budget on their mind.

To be continues

This post has been edited by C.P.U: Mar 27 2013, 02:10 PM

Added information by Goldfriens

This post has been edited by C.P.U: Apr 8 2013, 09:22 AM

Great guide

it all depends on your wallet

Can you do one about flashes? I'm quite clueless about flash specs.

I got a cheap YN flash with TTL (Automatic), quite satisfactory as its so much better than the pop up flash. And it got laser guided focus assist to quickly focus in low light places! Yeah I know its just a light and not a laser but it sounded cooler. I never knew how useful that AF assist beam is, without it my camera would have flip up its pop up flash and do a flickering flash (which looks like can irritate people or give seizures) to assist the focus in low light. Or maybe no pop up flash and just take forever to hunt that focus point.

But when the time comes where I want to take flash seriously I would want to know what specs I should be looking at. I know I could just buy a Canon 600EX and be done with it, who cares about specs when you have the best right? but damn that flash is expensive where I could buy a new lens instead.

This post has been edited by Rice_Owl84: Mar 27 2013, 01:47 PM

I don't know a lot about the technical specs of flashes but I do know this : You need to learn about flash if you are serious in learning photography.

Here's a little about flashes that you might find useful:

1. GN or Guide Number. The rule of thumb is the higher the GN of flashes, the more powerful the flash is. So it's best that you get the flash with the highest GN you can afford. Why? If you have too much power, you can always tone it down but if you don't have enough power, you're basically stuck.

2. Why you need a flash?
Photography is all about light. If you have a flash it means that there is a source of light that you can control and that's good.

3. What is the worst way you can use your flash?
The absolute worst way to use a flash is to have it on your camera and pointed straight forward at your subject. This creates flat lighting and harsh shadows that does not flatter your subjects. Well, that's usually the case but there are exceptions.

4. What's a better way to use your flash?
Diffuse your light. You can do this by adding some sort of diffusers or bounce cards. Or it can be as simple as bouncing your flash off a low ceiling or wall. Alternately you could move your flash off your camera and trigger it wirelessly. Then you could use umbrellas or softboxes to diffuse the light and make your picture better in terms of lighting.

5. So if I don't have enough light I use a flash to 'add' light or make it brighter?
Do not think about flash in terms of 'adding' or throwing more light at your subject under dim light conditions. Flash should be thought about as an additional source of light that you have total control over. Think about how to balance the lighting in your picture with the flash. Now if you are shooting outdoors under the sun at midday, the flash will help. You may say 'are you crazy? there's already more than enough light from the sun!'. Well, that's true but more does not necessarily mean good. The sun at midday is harsh and is coming straight from above. Thus it will cast dark, unsightly shadows usually under the nose, the eyes and the neck area of your friend who is the subject. Worse if he/she is wearing a hat.

When you don't have a flash under those conditions, there's nothing much you can do. If you have a flash then you can get a better picture by having the flash as a fill flash. This will help to lighten the shadows on the face and to balance the lighting of your overall picture and no, people looking at your picture need not know that you've used a flash.

Rice_Owl84 Myself is not really good in flash tip or information however below is some info i read before at http://photonotes.org/articles/eos-flash/

1) My camera already has a built-in flash. Do I need an external one? If so, what kind?

This question crops up all the time on discussion forums, much to the irritation of oldtimers. And their irritation usually arises for two simple reasons. First, they’re grumpy cantankerous curmudgeons and second, the question is sort of meaningless without knowing what your photographic requirements and interests are.

It’s very much like asking, “Which car should I buy?” The answer depends on your needs and budget. But here’s a brief overview of what you should consider.

If you just want something to take snapshots with, a built-in popup flash is probably sufficient. It can’t produce much light and so doesn’t have a lot of range, but then friends in restaurants aren’t going to be very far from you. It has a harsh quality, but for snapshots most people don’t seem to mind much. And internal flash units are convenient - you can’t lose them unless you lose the whole camera, and they don’t add any additional weight or bulk.

However, if you want to get into more advanced photography you’ll probably want either to buy a good external flash unit or else eschew flash as often as possible and rely more on available light. As noted above, the light from an internal flash unit is very harsh, whereas external units let you soften the light by bouncing it off of walls or ceilings, or attaching light-softening diffusers. Most importantly, an external flash unit can be taken off the camera - either with an extension cord or wireless. This is important since on-camera flash provides unnatural head-on lighting.

At this point it’s largely a matter of how much you want to spend and how much weight you want to carry around. Please consult the “which flash?” section of this document for more details.

Nonetheless, remember that flash is no panacea for photographic lighting problems. It’s obviously a valuable tool, but often the best way to wreck a shot is to flood the scene with light from a flash unit. Available light photography forces you to slow down and consider the light around you, which ultimately can help you become a better photographer.

2) I have an old flash unit. Will it work on my new Canon digital EOS camera?

Maybe. That depends on what type of flash unit you have.

Canon digital cameras can only communicate with Canon Speedlite flash models with names ending in EX. If your Canon flash unit has a model name which ends with E or EZ or anything else then its automated features will not work with a Canon digital EOS camera.

As for flash units manufactured by other makers, check its specifications to see if it supports “E-TTL flash metering.” If it does not, or only lists “Canon TTL flash metering” then it most likely will not work. For details see the section on flash metering with digital cameras.

3) I’m not happy with my flash photos. The lighting always looks harsh and unflattering.

Flash can be like that. Basically, soft lighting is light which originates from a large area. Portable camera flashes, by contrast, have very small light-producing areas and, therefore, produce very hard-edged light with pronounced shadows. Flash units also tend to be mounted right next to the camera lens, producing an unnatural look. How often do you see the world illuminated by light emanating from your head? You probably don’t - unless you’re wearing a caving helmet or a head-mounted camping light. Light tends to come from overhead sources - the sun, ceiling lamps, etc.

The easiest way to soften the lighting in your flash photos is to bounce the light from the flash unit off a large white surface. Walls and ceilings work for this, as do portable folding reflectors. You can also buy diffusers that attach to your flash that help a little bit as well. For more information have a look at the section on quality of light.

4) Are my friends and family possessed by demonic powers? Their eyes are glowing an evil red!

This is the “redeye” effect; a common problem with the internal flash units built into cameras. It’s caused by the white light from the flash unit reflecting off the red blood vessels lining the interior of the eye. The light shines back into the camera, resulting in the famous red glow.

The easiest way to minimize the risk of redeye is to use an external flash unit rather than a built-in flash. The problem is fully explained in the redeye section of this document, as is the related problem of greeneye in cats and dogs.

If, however, your friends’ and family’s eyes glow an evil red in real life and not just in your flash photos of them then you should probably consider arranging an exorcism. Contact a tabloid first if you want to exploit the situation to your financial advantage.

5) I took two flash photos in rapid succession and the second one is totally dark. Why?

All flash units take a number of seconds to charge up between flash bursts. Some flash units have “rapid-fire” abilities which let them fire the flash even if the internal capacitor is not yet fully charged - but others don’t.

So if your second photo is dark it probably means that your flash unit lacks rapid-fire capabilities. You have to wait for the unit to charge up fully (and the pilot light on the back of the unit goes on) before taking the second photo. However, if your flash does have rapid-fire capabilities then you probably took the second photo too quickly and the flash unit hadn’t enough time to recharge to an adequate power level.

Note that different types of batteries charge up the flash at different speeds, so if this is a consistent problem you should look into your battery options.

6) I’ve put a diffuser or reflector on my flash. Do I have to compensate for this somehow?

Diffusers of any kind obviously reduce the amount of light that your flash unit produces. You’ll find a similar effect if you bounce the light from your flash unit off a wall or into a photographic umbrella.

However, so long as you’re using automated (TTL, A-TTL or E-TTL) metering then the camera will compensate automatically. There is no need to adjust anything.

You’ll have decreased range, but you shouldn’t have any exposure problems unless you’re too far away from the subject and the decreased range now means you’re out of range. Diffusers can easily cost you at least half your flash range, depending on the type.

7) I tried to take a flash photo and the camera wanted a really slow shutter speed. Why?

This occurred because you are trying to take a flash photo in low-light conditions and the camera is in Av (aperture priority) mode or the night PIC (icon) mode if your camera has it.

In Av, night and Tv (shutter speed priority) modes the camera meters for ambient (existing) light and fills in the foreground subject using the flash. It does not assume that the primary light source is the flash, and therefore the shutter speed it sets is the same as it would set if you weren’t using flash at all.

In low light this results in slow shutter photography. If the shutter speed is very long you will, therefore, need a tripod to avoid motion blur during the exposure.

Alternatively you can switch to full auto (green rectangle) or Program (P) mode, which automatically expose for the flash-illuminated subject and not the background. These modes try to ensure that the shutter speed is high enough to let you handhold the camera without a tripod. The drawback of P and basic modes is that photos taken in dimly lit areas usually end up with black or poorly lit backgrounds.

8) I tried taking a flash photo and the camera wouldn’t let me set a very high shutter speed. Why wouldn’t it?

Each camera model has a top shutter speed that can be used with flash. This is known as its flash sync or X-sync speed, and varies from 1/90 sec on low-end cameras to 1/250 on pro cameras. (1/500 sec on the digital 1D)

If you have a newer camera and an EX series flash you can use high speed sync to circumvent this limit - see the FP section for more details.

9) I took a flash photo and the background is pitch black or very dark. Why?

This is the flip side of question 7. In P (program) mode and all flash-using PIC (icon) modes except for night mode (if your camera has it) the camera uses the flash as the primary light source for the foreground subject.

If the ambient light levels are low, therefore, the background will turn out very dark. This is because the flash is not illuminating the background and the shutter speed is too short to expose adequately for background areas.

Remember that the light from any battery-powered flash is somewhat limited. You can’t expect a small flash unit to light up the Grand Canyon or Eiffel Tower. You can only reasonably expect it to light up people standing in the foreground or close backgrounds such as room interiors.

To avoid this problem of black backgrounds you will need to take a photo in Av, Tv or M modes, as mentioned in question 7. If the ambient lighting is very low you may need a tripod to avoid motion blur for the time required to expose the background adequately. Using fast film or higher ISO (eg: ISO 800) and wide lens apertures (the smaller the f stop you can get on your lens) will help bring up the background as well.

10) Why does my camera meter in P and Av modes very differently when I have a flash turned on?

That’s how Canon EOS cameras are designed to work. P, Av, Tv and M modes all meter for flash in different ways. See the section on “EOS flash confusion” for details. Here’s the short version, which repeats some of the points made in previous FAQ questions.

Keep in mind that the camera meters for ambient (existing) light conditions and flash illumination independently.

P (program) mode keeps the shutter speed between 1/60 sec and the maximum flash sync speed your camera can handle. It does this so that you shouldn’t need a tripod, even if light levels are low. It then tries to illuminate the foreground using flash.

Av (aperture priority) and Tv (shutter speed priority) modes set the shutter speed or aperture to expose for the existing light conditions correctly. They then fill in the foreground using flash. If light levels are low you will need a tripod to avoid blur.

M (manual exposure) mode lets you set both aperture and shutter speed to be whatever you want. The camera then automatically controls the illumination of the foreground subject using flash.

This post has been edited by C.P.U: Mar 17 2014, 10:22 PM

Thanks a lot. A lot of useful info.

Good read

C.P.U. - thanks for your info, but I think some people still need some sharing from others people opinion... Anyway, is it a correct place for me to ask about I thinking to buy a lens below:-

Canon 14mm f2.8 Mark 2

Using
Canon 5dM2
Canon 24-70 f2.8 M2
Canon 135 f2

I owned 16-35 m2 b4, finally I just sold it because I don't like the result of IQ - (after used it for 1yr+)

Cons - contrast, distortion & sharpness (corner)
Pro - ultra wide + zoom

the extra wide 2mm I know is not really important, but I believe will help. I read some review about this 14mm :

Cons - pricey, sharpness (corner)
Pro - widest lens (except fisheye lens), contrast, distortion

I need ultra wide lens for my trekking trip/leisure tour at least twice a year & in Malaysia normally ill using 24-70 & 135 only.

Please give some advice, I don't want to make another mistake again... Thank you!

Good stuff.

Should I upgrade my Lens or Body first?

A: more often than not, the first think you should upgrade is neither of those because there are other areas that you can consider spending your money on
1. flash
2. tripod
3. workshops
4. books
5. lens that covers a different range.

Some people just got a 18-55 and already wanted to upgrade. Is the upgrade necessary?

I want f2.8 is not a good reason to upgrade.

Look at chengkl8's post. He has a EF 16-35 Mk 2 and sold it off because of reasons like Cons - contrast, distortion & sharpness (corner).

My take is that some people are just too picky on the details, expecting perfection from lenses.

I'm using a 60D with EF-S 10-22. With this combo alone I manage to get 2 awards for the photo below, and there's another which I don't have an online copy to show (well actually it's at The Master Photographer Association website but too tedious to find link.)



My work using EOS 60D with EF-S 10-22 also was published in In Design, an Interior Design magazine. I got a good 9 pages worth of photos across the magazine. This was for Feb 2013 issue. April 2013 should also show another piece of my work. An earlier work of mine was published in November last year I think.



So now comes the question - is the EF 16-35 Mk II with Canon EOS 5D Mark II's image bad? or is it just the perception of the individual?

As you can see, to some people, the highest available gear is also not good enough.

I've not gotten into other details, like how I got my qualification and competition awards using EOS 550D (entry level) with Canon's non-L lenses.

Bottom line is this - even your most basic gear is already capable of taking good photos. The key is to understand your gear, and work within the limitations of it.

I wrote something about this before http://www.goldfries.com/photography/just-...grade-buy-next/

my take on flashes is that as a hobbyist - you need not buy 600EX-RT / SB900.

Sure, go ahead if you have deep pockets.

For me, I'll just get a YongNuo or Nissin flashes. They're cheap and decent to use. So far the people I come by that say inconsistent and all are the people who can't snap proper pictures to begin with. After spending RM 1k - 2k on a new top-of the line flashes, their photos are still as bad as ever.

Basically it's blaming the low-grade flash for one's incompetency.

You want to learn to lighting fast? Get yourself a few cheap manual flashes that can be triggered by on camera flash, I think Nissin Di622 II does that.

After that you can just practice on food or toys, or whatever you have. Get a friend to photograph yourself.

You can refer to my works.

http://www.shutterstock.com/g/goldfries
http://www.dreamstime.com/Goldfries_more-latest-adition_pg1

Can you tell which one I'm using single flash, 2 flash, 3 flash and no flash?
Can you tell which one I'm using 350D / 500D / 550D / 60D / Pentax K-30 / Powershot G1 X?

We're probably going really off topic by now but the key to good photography is to KNOW what you have, and KNOW the surrounding. Then work around with everything available to GET IT!

In this set http://www.shutterstock.com/g/goldfries/se...italian-food-k- I use the Pentax K-30 with PENTAX DA 35MM F2.4 AL. 3 flashes. Canon 2x 430EX II and 580EX II. Flashes were manually set power ratio and manually triggered using Yongnuo ST-E2.

Sorry for really going off topic but the key message to get across is to level-up your knowledge and skill. Know what is important and what is not.

In DCIM 2011, my talk was about how to use single flash to get the results as you saw on those links. DCIM 2013, well it'll be a different topic.

Very good write up by CPU, Shoot, and Goldfies, thumbs up and bump the thread.

I'll just pick on 1 thing:

If have money to spend and unsure what to upgrade, then likely its not the time yet to upgrade. Usually when u hit certain limitation (not blaming certain function for limiting you) to achieve certain goals, that is the time you might need specialize gear. Giving my own example, knowing that i want to focus on street photgraphy, i sold off my Nikon system and opt for a smaller camera in the form of X100 and recently X100s. I change because i can (afford), if i cant, then i will probably remain with my DSLR until i can.

In sum, if u dunno, dun upgrade, once u know, then go ahead. Dont buy if upgrade means improve your ego, only upgrade if the gear improve your output. Dont be sad even if no improvement even after gear upgrade. haha. Its time then for self reflection.

Bottom line, upgrade and invest in yourself, not gear. If you invest in gear, ensure the gear will upgrade yourself.

yeah if donno then don't upgrade. upgrade when you really know what you want.

to me it's a no brainer on what to buy. the only time I ask around is when I know what I want but I'm not familiar with the item, so ask around for user feedback.

goldfries advice really umph! can this thread be pin?

Zeiss Distagon T* 15mm f/2.8 ZE Lens

about USD 3,000 http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/8501...15mm_f_2_8.html

The common problem we facing when upgrading is the urge to buy something we might not needed at all..

Recently i got a problem , after owning 10-22mm for quite sometime , really rarely bring it out to shoot , feel wan to sell it off and fund for other lens. But i scare later sell of regret pulak argg...

Under utilize is bad lo... Sometimes we sayang it but it's much better to sell it off then keep fungus right..