Quote Originally Posted by neuroanatomist View Post
It really depends on your budget. If you buy a 7D and keep if for 5 years, great. If you buy a 7D and keep if for a year, then sell it and buy a 5DIII, maybe not so great. It's a bit different with good lenses, they hold value well (and sometimes gain value over time). Bodies lose value...fast. A used 7D can be had for $1K or less these days.
Yes. Conventional wisdom is to spend the money on glass, not on the body. A cheap lens cannot resolve what the expensive camera is trying to accomplish. A lens you don't own due to budget constraints cannot resolve anything.

And yes, bodies depreciate like a new car does. And worse, they become obsolete faster than they wear out unless you are a working-daily professional. Lenses hold value well, and they last much longer than a body. And if you buy a used lens, you can probably sell someday for what you paid for it, or even more.