newbie here.... Help...

[Daniel Browning]

I would like to know the difference ofa fullframe body vs.not full frame body cameras.

Check out this thread:


Advantages of Full frame

what full frame really means

It means the sensor is 36x24mm.

is there a big differencebetweenthem.

Yes.

Im planning to upgrade and my reason isI can not have a good picturein low light conditions / indoors. is it because of my equipment ?

Yes. Low light photographs indoors without flash requires thinner DOF than what your current equipment can do.

or do I need to learn more about my equipment.

That would probably help too, but there's only so much you can do with the 17-85 and a 350D.

What is my best solution upgrade my skill? or my equipment new set? or just buy a good lens for low light conditions?

If you have time, upgrade your skills. If you have money, upgrade your gear. If you have both time and money, then you can do both.

Please advise as I dont want to spend money and encounter the same issues.

As far as gear (not skill) is concerned, there are only two things that will help with low light:

1. Image stabilization.
2. More light.

Furthermore, the only way to get more light is to have thinner DOF. You can get thinner DOF by getting a lens with a faster maximum f-number, such as f/2.8, f/2, or f/1.4. But thinner DOF may be difficult to get accurate focus, which may be assisted by having more skills, and many times those lenses do not have image stabilization (the 17-55 f/2.8 being a notable exception).


Another way to get thinner DOF is to keep the same f-number, but upgrade to full frame. For example, if you switched from 350D+17-85 to 5D2+28-135, you would keep f-number the same, and you would still have the same angle of view, and f-number is the same, but depth of field would be thinner (and it would gather more light in total). The 24-70 f/2.8 would gather even more light still (similar to a 15-45mm f/1.8 on APS-C), but lacks image stabilization.


In short: I suggest the 17-55 f/2.8 IS.