Which Camera is Best for You?

www.dennismook.com

Which camera is best for you?  I don't know and I don't have any recommendations on which one you should buy.  End of story?  Not quite.  Think about this...

Think of your camera as a tool, not some prized object of affection.  Don't gaze upon it with awe.  Don't put it on some sort of pedestal.  Think of it as you would think a saw.  Which saw is best for you?  Depends upon what you need to cut and what you are building.

You know the kind of photographs you want to make.  If you are serious about photography, you know what kinds of cameras others who make the same kind of photographs use.  Don't go out and buy one of those just because someone you admire uses one.  The camera they use may or may not be the right camera for you.

Take the camera you have and go out and make the kind of photographs you want to make.  Don't have a camera?  Then rent one, or borrow one, that you think is the kind you need to use to make the kind of images you want to make.  If there is one nearby, go to a good camera shop and handle some that you believe will serve your purpose.  Hold them.  Feel them.  Ask questions.  Talk to others.  Ah.  The value of a good camera store nearby.  A rare commodity nowadays.

After using your camera (or the rented or borrowed camera) for a while, do a general assessment of your photographs, how the camera feels to you, if the menu system is intuitive to you, if it does what you need it to do?  Does the jig saw rip 3/4" plywood well?  No.  Does the table saw rip 3/4" plywood well?  Yes.  If you have a jig saw and you are ripping plywood, that is not the right camera.  Does the tool you are using have the ability to make the photographs you wish to make?  Is it small enough?  Is it big enough?  Is it light enough?  Is it substantial enough?  Is it stealthy enough?  I don't know.  I don't know what types of images you wish to make.  Make sure you first define what you want to produce and what you are trying to accomplish in the end.

Does the camera you have been using feel good in your hands with the controls where you want them?  Are the controls menu based or button based?  Which is more important to you?  Are the camera's menu system intuitive to your brain?  Does the camera feel right?  Does the camera have the features that allow you to make the photos you want to make?  Do you need 1/4000th second?  Do you need a built-in flash?  Do you need double-exposure capability?  Do you need fast focus?  Do you need huge files?  Do you need a touch screen LCD?  Do you need a large number of frames-per-second rate?  If what you have been using is like the table saw, then you have found the right tool.

Once you determine whether or not your current tool suffices, you are on your way.  Either it does or it doesn't, except when it sort of does but you lust for something better!  Buy what you need to make the photographs you want to make.  No one cares if you produced a great photographed but had to struggle with your camera to do it.  All they see is the photograph.  A carpenter doesn't build a house with a tack hammer.  If he did, he is foolish.  A newspaper photojournalist doesn't go out with an 8X10" view camera to capture a fast moving event.  If he does, he is foolish.  Buy the camera that will get the job done the best and most efficient way.

When you have this camera, spend a lot of time with it.  Sit with it.  Go through the menus.  Play with it.  Practice constantly with it.  Around your home, carry it around and practice shooting with it.  Try to find the right controls and menu items with your eyes closed.  Learn the feel and depth of this camera inside and out.  Then go out and use it a lot in the types of photographic endeavors you desire.

If you have found you need a new camera that better serves you purpose, go through the same evaluation process again after a time period.  Look at your images.  Are you missing some because of the limitations of the equipment?  How does the camera feel?  Etc., etc., etc.  If the camera you just bought still isn't the right instrument, sell it and go for the right one.  Eventually, you will find exactly the right camera that fits you mind, your hand, your style and your technique.  Now, you have that table saw to rip that plywood.

Eventually, you will become dissatisfied with this perfect camera or your photography will have changed and you will want another.  Go through the same process before going out and replacing your tried and true friend.

Gear is nice, but gear that does what you effortlessly need it to do is much better.

Thanks for looking.

Enjoy!
Dennis Mook