when should one upgrade?

I sit here getting ready to order the 17-40 F4L and the 24-70 F2.8L. And I asked myself, when is the right time to upgrade bodies. For some reason I have this huge urge to try the 5D because of the FF. Any way, at what point did you all decied to upgrade?

You should upgrade when you feel limited by your current body.

murtaugh wrote in post #2373971
I sit here getting ready to order the 17-40 F4L and the 24-70 F2.8L. And I asked myself, when is the right time to upgrade bodies. For some reason I have this huge urge to try the 5D because of the FF. Any way, at what point did you all decied to upgrade?

Sounds like great glass. If I were you, I'd wait for the 40D or the 30D II. The 5D, seems like not a much of an upgrade from the 20D unless you need some of the stuff the 5D offers specifically. IMHO.

Ronald S. Jr. wrote in post #2373974
You should upgrade when you feel limited by your current body.

That's what my doctor said at my last physical.

joegolf68 wrote in post #2374016
Sounds like great glass. If I were you, I'd wait for the 40D or the 30D II. The 5D, seems like not a much of an upgrade from the 20D unless you need some of the stuff the 5D offers specifically. IMHO.

All due respect, it's a pretty f-ing big upgrade. Focus is far more accurate, bigger pixel count, huge viewfinder in comparison, ISO in the viewfinder, 1/3 stop increments of change, picture styles, FULL FRAME, bigger, more comfortable body, 2.5" screen, big jump in high ISO performance, longer shutter durability, and I forget what else.

Question is, do you need those things?

If the answer is no, then it's not going to feel like an upgrade..it's gonna feel like an empty wallet.

Ronald S. Jr. wrote in post #2373974
You should upgrade when you feel limited by your current body.

So, you're feeling limited every 3 to 4 weeks?

Now now...I got my first DSLR, the XT, April '05. I got the 20D in september, the 30D spring of this year, the 1DMkII end of June, 5D two weeks after that (despised the ridiculous noise on the 1DMKII) and I've had that up until now. So it's really only every 6 months or so, which isn't bad, considering the rate of technology.

I don't know that I'll love the 1DMkIIN, but ever since it came out, it's been the one I wanted, but couldn't afford. Well, now I can afford it, and I just have to give it a try, even if only to say that "I had it".

murtaugh wrote in post #2373971
I sit here getting ready to order the 17-40 F4L and the 24-70 F2.8L. And I asked myself, when is the right time to upgrade bodies. For some reason I have this huge urge to try the 5D because of the FF. Any way, at what point did you all decied to upgrade?

Get yourself the lenses first...give them a good workout....if you still feel the urge to upgrade bodies after all that...then it is probably time. The 17-40 and 24-70 are pretty sweet on a 20D....I think you might be impressed enough to go for another lens before you seriously decide it is time to upgrade bodies.

Might want to double check your math!

So do you actually have the 1DMkIIN as your signature suggests or is it still "on the way?"

No..the majority were 5-6 months. either way, it's no 3 weeks.

No, I don't actually have the MKIIN yet..DHL has it. It was supposed to be here by 4pm today, with 2nd day shipping. Well, they screwed up, and it's in Ohio. the guy that I dealt with called DHL, and barring any problems, they're gonna try and do a Saturday delivery. So, I should have it...but not yet.

When do you think the time will come that you (collectively) feel like you'll have a camera that will last your whole life? I have a friend who has been shooting Hasselblads with the same body and lenses for more than 30 years. Do you think that day will come with DSLRs? I mean many of us would dream of having a 1Ds Mark II for $1000 -- and yet I bet we'd still be craving the next upgrade. When have we 'gotten there', as it were, gotten the camera that will last us a lifetime?

I don't think I'd ever get a digital body that'd last my whole life...that's just not realistic. I plan on taking far more than 200k shots over the rest of my lifetime, and god knows by the time I've taken that many, something will have gone wrong with the electronics in it. I'd like to find one that durable and loveable, but I don't see it happening.

You upgrade when the itch becomes unbearable..

Ronald S. Jr. wrote in post #2374047
All due respect, it's a pretty f-ing big upgrade. Focus is far more accurate, bigger pixel count, huge viewfinder in comparison, ISO in the viewfinder, 1/3 stop increments of change, picture styles, FULL FRAME, bigger, more comfortable body, 2.5" screen, big jump in high ISO performance, longer shutter durability, and I forget what else.

Question is, do you need those things?

If the answer is no, then it's not going to feel like an upgrade..it's gonna feel like an empty wallet.

Get a grip on yourself man.

Focus is slightly more accurate, but there are lots of perfectly focused images from other cameras and if AF is really that important go for something in the 1D or 1Ds line, bigger pixel count gives slightly better resolution in very big enlargements, a slightly brighter viewfinder is nice in low light but lots of people get good shots with the dimmer viewfinder, ISO in the viewfinder is not very useful information because you check ISO before you start shooting, 1/3 stop ISO increments does not help get most shots, picture styles are meaningless if you shoot RAW, full frame is simply the size of image that enabled camera designers to use movie film and is no magic formula, the body is just an slightly enlarged and improved 20D shape, a 2.5" screen only lets you see your mistakes better and doesn't help take pictures, high ISO performance is marginally better, who knows how long the shutter will last in any camera but when it breaks might be a good time to upgrade, you forgot to mention the P&S like in-camera processing for JPEG images.

If the OP has to ask when is the time to upgrade, the obvious answer is he does not need these things. If he needed them he would know.

I think it is when your wallet and everybodys wallet around you can take the upgrade and when your gear cant do what you want it to do