What's better, a better Camera body or Lens?

Should you invest in a better camera body or lens?

The lens is the most important part of your camera. It has to be properly ground, tinted and aligned. Of course with digital you need good hardware but in the long run the lens makes all the difference.

The lens.

Using a poor lens on a good camera
is like using GPX speakers with a McIntosh stereo system.

The lens.

The camera body for the most part does not make a good picture. Some of the higher end bodies will have slightly more megapixels (but not always) or better low light performance (which still results in poor photographs) but that is pretty much it. Most of the price of a high end body is for features that make taking photos much faster and more robust materials which make the camera more durable.

Buy a brand-new cheap body that has the same sensor performance as a two year old professional body, anticipate your shots and choose good light, and throw on a more expensive and faster lens. And you will get better results, guaranteed.

Best of all, you can take that lens to add to your next camera… Rather than using it as a paperweight like the Nikon D1 and Canon 1D Mk 1 are now.

Always upgrade lenses first, before upgrading a body. The cost-benefit of a lens is much more significant than a body.

For example; you could replace the kit 18-55mm f/3.5~5.6 lens on an entry level DSLR with a Sigma 17-50mm f/2.8, and be rewarded with a 2 full stop improvement at 50mm. Since the Sigma is just under $600, this is a cost-effective solution.

You could spend $5,000 on a body upgrade and not achieve a 2 stop improvement (more likely only 1 stop).