What Camera Do You Use? It’s Not the Camera!

Mono Lake moon rise

Every week someone asks me what camera I use. When I cook a good meal, why doesn’t anyone ask what pan I use? Everyone knows that you don’t just throw things in a pan and the food magically makes itself. Similarly, good images do not result from simply throwing light into a lens and camera. Selecting an interesting subject, composing the scene in an interesting way, and knowing how to get a good exposure are all useful, but the best photographic results typically require post-processing in a program like Adobe Lightroom. And just about any camera can take most photos you might take. The difference between you and a particularly talented professional is skill and experience. Not the camera. You can get a short cut on skill by taking a class or workshop from a knowledgeable and experienced instructor. The experience part takes time and repetition… post-processing thousands of images, likely tens to hundreds of thousands of images.

Millions of photographers buy the latest hot camera model, hoping that all of those improved specifications will make their photography results better. There are extreme cases light night photography where newer sensors can show modest improvements, but for most photographers in most situations, with a newer camera you’ll usually produce the same results but in higher resolution, filling your cards faster, you’ll have higher storage cost, and your computer may seem slower and you might feel pressure to upgrade that.

Moon Rise by Half Dome

To illustrate this point, I’ve created this set on Flickr containing over 100 photos taken with “point and shoot”, cell phone, or old DSLR cameras (10 years old or more) with 8 megapixels or less. If I can produce those photos on old, low resolution gear, will you really notice a huge difference between any of the major brands and models today?

Cameras represented in the album include a 2 megapixel Olympus D490-Z purchased in 2001, 5 megapixel Canon Powershot G5 from 2004, a Canon Digital Rebel XT from 2005, a GoPro 3+ Black, and an iPhone 5S. Sure, newer cameras and higher-end lenses can offer some benefits in specific circumstances, but basics like composition and light are often more important, as many of these images demonstrate.

I’m not going to give up my newer DSLRs any time soon, but there is a lot of truth to the adage “the best camera is the one that’s in your hand”!