camera vs lens

[tikal]

which is more important the expensive camera with all the bells and whistles with average lens or entry level camera with high end lens??

i am currently using a canon xs with a 28-135 lens. i want to upgrade the lens to the 70-200

or is it which came first the chicken or the egg??

[gturner]

They are both important. The step up in high ISO at low noise in the latest batch of cameras has made a big difference in my mind.
It does all depend on what you are shooting, but at a point, old tech camera body does the top end lens no justice (and vice versa)

[dlambert]

You really want to try to match both to the types of photos you're trying to take. It's absolutely true that you'd be wasting your money to buy a super high-end camera and pair it with an entry-level lens. It's less of a problem to use a really good lens with an entry-level camera, as you can improve the performance of almost any body with a high-quality lens. In fact, you'll see a lot of people recommend buying top-quality lenses regardless of the camera body you're using, with the thought that you'll keep your lenses even as you upgrade your camera body over time.

Can you tell us what aspect of your setup's performance you're trying to improve? Your best upgrade path might be different depending on what problem you're trying to solve.

[SusanH1970]

Originally Posted by dlambert

You really want to try to match both to the types of photos you're trying to take. It's absolutely true that you'd be wasting your money to buy a super high-end camera and pair it with an entry-level lens. It's less of a problem to use a really good lens with an entry-level camera, as you can improve the performance of almost any body with a high-quality lens. In fact, you'll see a lot of people recommend buying top-quality lenses regardless of the camera body you're using, with the thought that you'll keep your lenses even as you upgrade your camera body over time.

Can you tell us what aspect of your setup's performance you're trying to improve? Your best upgrade path might be different depending on what problem you're trying to solve.

Agreed. A funny way of looking at it is that you wouldn't put crappy tires on a Ferrari, but most people would agree that getting really good tires for their Toyota will help improve performance.

[Dajuan]

I'm in the camp of buying the best possible glass, then buy your camera with whatever cash you have left.

You can get better ISO performance going from a consumer camera to a pro camera, true. But that's only one way to get the exposure you need for lower light situations. The difference from f/5.6 to f/2.8 is two stops, which in exposure is equivalent to the difference from ISO 800 and ISO 3200.

As David asked, what are you trying to improve?