Photography: Why upgrade your camera?

We all want new equipment. The newest, most expensive, latest, state of the art technology. Who wouldn’t? Why not have the best equipment in order to maximize your artistic capabilities? I wouldn’t mind. Is it really necessary? Why would we want to upgrade in the first place? Do we really know why? If you’re looking for an upgrade, have the money and dont know if you should please read the following in order to make your decision of doing it or not easier.

Camera companies are constanty bringing new products out for sale. They’re in the business of making money so they’ll be luring you in getting their latest. The thing is that most of the equipment out there is already as good as you need. Sometimes the latest upgrade isnt any better than the last version. Take the D40x vs the D40, it was actually worse than the original according to many reviews! So you better make good research about what the new version will have against the one you already have. There are strong rumors that Nikon will bring out a mini full frame camera next week. Is it really something you should buy? Do you leave all your DX lenses behind? Those are questions to consider.

Consider this…

Don’t ever upgrade your equipment if you think more megapixels are better than what you already have. Most cameras out there have suficient mp to fulfill your needs. Consider the already mentioned D40, it has 6.1 mp and has been enough for me to take some of the best picture I could never imagine taking. Now with my D7000 I have more than double and sometimes am looking to reduce the mp count because of the file sizes it generates. Not very helpful with my hardrive when I dont need those files to be as big as they are! You only need more of these if you need to print billboards.

An updated model would also be a no go if you think of upgrading. As I told you before, the new version of your camera won’t be a considerable upgrade to shell out your hard earned cash. The D40 to D40x or the D300 to the D300x, those upgrades weren’t enough to leave out your older equipment. These are upgrades the market suggests in the way of reviewers and customer feedback. Designing a new product requires a lot of money, so putting little extras that aren’t that costly won’t be as good a deal for you than for the new time buyer.

If you don’t know why you need to upgrade don’t do it. That means you haven’t gotten everything out of your equipment just yet. Some of the best advice I’ve received about upgrading my camera was to only do it when I know why; when I know the limitations of my current equipment. Trust me, this will make you get the juice out of your already expensive piece of technology. Push your camera to the fullest before buying something else.

Now, the real reasons you should upgrade are more simple:

When you know what kind of pictures you can’t take with your current camera and lenses you need to upgrade. When you understand the limitations of what you have and is putting at risk what you want to express, you should seriously considser a new upgrade. You want to take pictures of your daughter in her track and field competitions and your camera can’t keep up? Buy one with a better fps spec.

New equipment out on the market should be a considerable upgrade from what you already have. Don’t go for the immediate model that follows the one you have. Say, if you have a D3100 don’t go for the D5000. Try jumping all the way to the D7000 or to the D300. Those cameras will make a real difference in your picture taking. (they won’t improve the quality of your pictures though, that depends on your skills). Now, I currently have a D7000, should I buy the new full frame entry level camera p, the D600 next week? Or should I wait and get the money for a D800? Good question! Both should be considerable upgrades as they are full frame instead of the regular DX that I’ve been working with for a while. The question is, Do I really need full frame?

Lets make a quick comparison of my recent upgraded camera the D7000 vs The one i previously owned, the D40. These are the real advantages that made my decision towards this camera.

As you can see, its a considerable upgrade. I waited 3 years until I actually knew the limitations of my incredibly good D40. I took my best picture ever with this camera in Japan last year and that’s when I knew that I’ve finally gotten to the limit of this equipment. Now with my new D7000 I can feel all the differences that an amateur (me 3 years ago) wouldn’t identify. For me, the main quality of the D40 is its size, it is way more easy to carry this camera than my newer larger, heavier D7000. But hey, if I’m not serious of what I’m going to shoot, i’ll gladly take pictures with my iPhone which has a pretty darn good point and shoot camera integreated with it, with lots of free easy to use software on the go.

I took this one with the excellent iPhone 4s no need for more.

Think long and hard when going for an upgrade. Do your research, read opinions, reviews or ask around more experienced photographers. Buying this kind of equipment isnt cheap and must be thought out deeply before going out to your local Target and listening to the sales pitch of an unexperienced electronics salesmen. Dont go for that!