Good glass on a cheap SLR?

I have been looking at getting into full frame, either a 5d mkii (maybe a mkiii if I get a better job soon) or a 6d. Anyone of these would be quite an upgrade from my t3. Now, most of us have heard "better glass over a better camera." Now here's my question, would I notice better photos with a L lens on my little camera? Or enough of a difference to get a lens or two before my upgrade? Or should I just be more patient and get the upgrade first as I might get a lens with it.

Any comments are much appreciated.

Lets set aside the L thing for à minute. Getting better lenses will improve any camera. Especially if you are getting specific lenses for specific jobs. However the best lenases in certain zoom ranges may not be L lenses. Particularly on the wide end the EF=s lenses may do better than the L lenses that cover that range. Third party makers also make some lenses that are competitive with L lenses.

Keep in mind if you are upgrading to full frame that any lens that you have that will work on full frame will be considerably different because of the change in field of view.

The problem is the focal length differences between FF and APS-C. The standard 24-105L is a useful walk around lens on a FF camera but the equivalent length on a crop would be 38-168mm. That would be quite a bit less useful for most people.

i think it really depends on what you're shooting

DreDaze wrote in post #17295456
i think it really depends on what you're shooting

Yes. There are certan things where advanced bodies shine, like the higher frsme rate for sports, or improved high iso performance for wedding or event work.

you should enumerate your lenses here, so these guys can give their opinions on which part of your setup "needs" to be upgraded first.

Davevw3 wrote in post #17295290
I have been looking at getting into full frame, either a 5d mkii (maybe a mkiii if I get a better job soon) or a 6d. Anyone of these would be quite an upgrade from my t3. Now, most of us have heard "better glass over a better camera." Now here's my question, would I notice better photos with a L lens on my little camera? Or enough of a difference to get a lens or two before my upgrade? Or should I just be more patient and get the upgrade first as I might get a lens with it.

Any comments are much appreciated.

Heya,

Depends on what you're shooting and your needs.

If you are shooting with kit-glass for example, then yes, getting better glass will make a huge difference compared to just getting a better bigger sensor behind it. If you already have great glass, then getting a bigger better sensor can make a lot more sense.

It would help a lot to know what glass you currently have and your goals in terms of photography.

Very best,

Davevw3 wrote in post #17295290
I have been looking at getting into full frame, either a 5d mkii (maybe a mkiii if I get a better job soon) or a 6d. Anyone of these would be quite an upgrade from my t3. Now, most of us have heard "better glass over a better camera." Now here's my question, would I notice better photos with a L lens on my little camera? Or enough of a difference to get a lens or two before my upgrade? Or should I just be more patient and get the upgrade first as I might get a lens with it.

Any comments are much appreciated.

Yes it's true !! the light pass always first by the glass before to hit the sensor, unless ... the laws of the physics change ...
L ... non L, i'll go for L, but they are not all "that" good, and third party lens can be even better, and yes you will see a real difference with an excellent lens.

But first at all, you should tell us which lenses you have, to go further

I have a 18-55mm, 70-250mm, 50mm 1.8, and a sigma 10-20mm. Other than the sigma, they are pretty much all the more in expensive glass. I don't have a type of photography I shoot. I'm still trying to improve all around. I do enjoy shooting in low light and using flashes more though.

Do you feel limited by your gear?

Davevw3 wrote in post #17295290
I have been looking at getting into full frame, either a 5d mkii (maybe a mkiii if I get a better job soon) or a 6d. Anyone of these would be quite an upgrade from my t3. Now, most of us have heard "better glass over a better camera." Now here's my question, would I notice better photos with a L lens on my little camera? Or enough of a difference to get a lens or two before my upgrade? Or should I just be more patient and get the upgrade first as I might get a lens with it.

Any comments are much appreciated.

What do you mean by 'better photos"? That's probably the key. In my experince, most of the recent affordable Canon lenses are not particularly bad performers optically. Sure, they might have weaker corners on a wide angle or somewhat less contrast, but in general you are not going to see a stunning black vs. white difference between a lens like the 18-55 or 18-135 and a better lens. Better? yes. Huge? No.

What I generally want from the expensive lenses (and why I buy them) is the feature set. That is, large maximum apertures (fast primes, f/2.8 zooms) or broad focal length ranges (24-105, 100-400) along with fast and accurate ring-USM focus motors. To me, those features make a big difference in how pictures look, and even what pictures I can practically make.

King of Canada wrote in post #17295853
Do you feel limited by your gear?

+1

One thing to keep in mind, OP, is that there is no such thing as "better" unless there's a goal in mind, and even then, "better" is a personal compromise among your priorities (various optical qualities, size, weight, cost, etc, etc). Lenses, bodies - they're just tools. With the tools that you already have at your disposal, a thoughtful photographer could create stunning work.

This isn't to say that your gear doesn't have limitations - it does, of course, but until you have a goal and can recognize how your gear is limiting your ability to reach your goal, buying new stuff is akin to new woodworker buying a drill press before they even know what they want to build and how they want to build it.

WhyFi wrote in post #17295922
One thing to keep in mind, OP, is that there is no such thing as "better" unless there's a goal in mind

But then again, sometimes trying a "better" tool will inspire us toward new goals.

Experimenting is good ! If unsure, rent lenses/cameras and then decide.

CheshireCat wrote in post #17296022
But then again, sometimes trying a "better" tool will inspire us toward new goals.

Experimenting is good ! If unsure, rent lenses/cameras and then decide.

Photography is tough though, because there are so many different types of photography and versions of lenses that one can get lost in the neverending upgrade game. Unless you have a large budget, the best advise is to not buy anything until you know what you want to take pictures of, and what the limitations are of your current gear with regard to taking those photos. So many photo hobbiests are more professional shoppers than actual photographers.

My own personal experience has been that cheaper lenses work better with crop cameras because it uses the best part of the lens. Once you go full frame then you will see the limitations of some, not all of the cheaper lenses especially in the corners. I have found that perspective was the ultimate deciding factor of my lens choices for full frame as well as crop.