Which is More Important: the Camera Body or the Lens?

A recent friendly conversation about nature photography focused on the subject of which would be more impactful to my photographs, a new camera body or a new lens? At first I thought the answer was easy, but the more I twisted it around in my head, the less certain I became. At the point of total uncertainty, I decided to throw the question out to several other photographer friends. Here are some of the collective thoughts on the subject.

The camera body is essentially the entire camera less the detachable lens. It is the mirrors, viewfinder, shutter, sensor and “computer.” Today’s digital technology is evolving so fast that if your camera is more than a couple of years old, you might be missing some very important features. Almost everyone knows that cameras have increased the image megapixels dramatically, and this is important, but not nearly as important as most of us think.

ISO technology, or the ability to adjust the camera’s sensitivity to light, has improved greatly over the past few years. The ability to take quality photos in low-light conditions is much better now than just a couple of years ago. Much less digital noise is created now with high ISO settings than in the past. This means less graininess and sharper images.

In-camera processing can help photo images be better and save the photographer valuable time editing the images later. You can now add creative filter effects to the image in-camera versus doing it later with computer software.

There is now a much greater range of shutter speeds also. This allows for much sharper images without image highlights being blown out due to intense lighting. More options mean a better match between your available light and shutter speed.

Additionally, camera bodies are now designed better; this means they are lighter, sturdier and more comfortable to use. More comfort means more enjoyment, which translates to more time spent taking photos, which adds to your experience level, which in the end means better images.

The lens is a series of glass pieces with a housing and gears for focusing and zooming. It’s purpose is to transfer light (which essentially is the image) to the camera sensor. It is an often overlooked component of the image equation. When people do focus on their lens, they tend to be concerned with how much zoom, or magnification, it has at the expense of all else.

Beyond magnification, another critical feature of the lens is whether or not it has image stabilization functionality. While this isn’t as important when using a tripod, shooting handheld creates a lot of motion that leads to blurry photos. Even the most steady photographer can not be perfectly still. The image stabilization feature reduces or eliminates some of this motion, creating a sharper image.

Weight is another factor. A lens that doesn’t balance well with the camera body makes it hard to hold still. If you can’t easily balance the camera, chances are you won’t spend much time practicing with it. This lack of practice leads to decreased image quality and overall enjoyment.

Quality lenses, often referred to as good glass, don’t create image quality issues like inexpensive or bad glass does. Good glass retains it sharpness out to the image edges rather than just in the center of the image. In addition, they are more durable and scratch-proof than other lenses.

Even after the debate with my friends, I couldn't come up with a clear cut answer. That is, until one particularly intelligent photographer summed it up perfectly. He said, "It isn't the camera body or the lens. It's what's behind the camera, dummy. It always has been, and always will be, the photographer."

Well said.