"Is your glass half empty or half full?" It's an aphorism we commonly use to describe one's outlook as optimistic or pessimistic. Call me extremely pessimistic, but I don't think the glass is enough, be it half-empty or half-full. But in this case, it has nothing to do with outlook - it's all about perspective!

In photography, it's generally accepted that one should spend their pennies on better glass (lenses) rather than on a better body (we're talking about cameras now...), as glass affects the quality of the final image more than the camera. Dare I say, I disagree? Okay, not really. If I had to choose one or the other, I'd go with quality glass over an expensive body (still speaking of cameras here). But why choose one over the other? Why not have your cake and eat it too? (a platitude I've never understood - after all, if the cake is yours, aren't you supposed to eat it?)

A little over a week ago, I got to play around with a 5D. It's a $2000 Canon camera body. What makes it special is that, instead of the standard APS-C sensor that most D-SLRs have, this baby has a full-frame CMOS sensor! APS-C sensors are cheaper and smaller so they're used more frequently, but they ...blah blah blah... Basically that means that you can get really great-looking wide-angle pictures from a 5D - and I love wide-angle!

I put Yamil's 17-40mm f/4 L lens on the 5D and fell in love. Just looking through the viewfinder gets my heart racing! You can get everything in a room in one shot! Here's some pics:

Glass will only get you so far. There comes a time when you just gotta get a full-frame camera. Fortunately, at $2K, the 5D is the cheapest full-frame on the market - I should be able to afford one in about 3 or 4 years!

In the mean time, I'll just have to keep stitching multiple photos - not quite the same, but still cool: