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| Winter graze. Colorado in January. (click to enlarge) |
Being retired and loving photography and photography gear, I spend a lot of my free time not only photographing, but reading and watching photography content, whether on YouTube, the Internet or in books. There are two main reasons, I think, as to why I spend my time engaging in these activities. First, like anything in which any of us have a keen interest, we like to educate ourselves, understand others’ opinions about the topic in which we have interest and keep up with the latest technology, products, features and industry news. I consider myself very well versed about all things photographic. I'm certainly not the most informed, but more so than the vast majority of people.
Second, in my instance, I routinely have people contact me and ask my opinion about something involved with photography, provide clarity, educate and problem solve. Finally, I use the information I find to provide me with fresh ideas to write this blog. I don’t think my time is wasted as basically, in the end, I use my knowledge to help (or sometimes, entertain) others.
Let me be clear, I’m not bragging, but I working up to make a certain point.
I write this because I have the knowledge, understanding and wherewithal to buy and use just about any camera I choose. I’m very fortunate and very thankful for being able to do so. Truly. I know which cameras are the best at the types of photography I practice and which ones are the best for the types of photography others may practice. I know which lenses will give me the best image quality. I could buy the best if I chose to do so. But those cameras aren’t the ones I choose to buy.
Why wouldn’t I choose the best performing camera I can find? Don’t I want to potentially make the technically absolute best images? I buy the ones I do because I choose the gear my gear mainly because of personal preference. My personal preference is usually not the best, latest and greatest cameras or lenses. My personal preference for cameras is largely based on adequacy and user experience.
Personal preference is a funny kind of concept. Personal preference has to do with our point of view, touch, feel, brand, color, experience, perspective, look, environmental impact, background, results, materials, size, shape, build quality, features, others' opinions, reputation, value, cost, cultural norms and available information to name some of the reasons I could think of for why and how people make choices. Need plays a role but frequently not. Personal preference is a fickle concept sometimes defying logic. But when has everyone always acted logically?
When it comes to cameras I primarily choose Fujifilm and Nikon. Why? The Fujifilm cameras I have owned are not the best cameras out there, don’t provide the best image quality, don’t have the best AF, aren’t the fastest, don’t have the highest resolution and don’t have the biggest sensors. My Nikon cameras, on the other hand, have more resolution and larger sensors than I probably need and the lenses are much larger than I would like to carry.
I buy Nikons because I have a 49 year history of continuously owning Nikons and I just like them. Not love them, but like them. My Z7II is really more camera than I need, but...everything about it is familiar and I illogically have some loyalty to the brand.
I buy the Fujifilm cameras because I like using them more than any other cameras I’ve ever owned. I like the way they look (XT series), the knobs, dials and feel of the camera. The menus easily meld with how my brain seems to work. Using the camera is intuitive to me. In the end, I just like the way they work and I’m willing to sacrifice a bit of image quality, speed and versatility in order to more completely enjoy the experience of photographing with them. Illogical? Maybe. Again, personal preference.
Neither my Fujifilm cameras nor my Nikon cameras are or have been the best at anything but very competent at everything. That’s fine with me as long as I can create the images I want to create. I found I don’t need the fastest AF of the Sony A1, Nikon Z9 or Canon R5. I don’t need the resolution of the Sony A7IV or Fujifilm GFX 100S. I am willing to give up carrying the smaller and lighter lenses of the micro4/3 systems I’ve previously owned. The experience has become a bit more important than creating the finest technical image quality obtainable. Again, personal preference.
Why did you choose the spouse or partner you did? Did some psychologist or physician or personnel director (or your mother! lol) tell you that ‘this one’ is the best for you? Is he or she the richest, best looking, most intelligent, funniest or most educated? You chose your spouse or partner because he or she is the best ‘fit’ with who you are and in what you believe. Personal choice sometimes for illogical reasons, it seems! Lol.
Why would a carpenter choose a hammer he or she would use every day just because it got the best ratings as being the fastest to sink a nail but made his or her shoulder hurt at the end of every day due to the handle’s ergonomics were terrible?
Why would you choose a Ford, Chevrolet, BMW, Toyota, Honda or Mercedes? Some of those seem to be much better than others, yet people choose a particular brand because of personal preference.
How about a computer? PC, Apple, Linux? Again, everyone’s personal preference is based upon all those things, and more, that I wrote above.
When it comes to cameras, my advice is to not worry about reviews, prognostications, proclamations, claims of superiority or what others’ think is best. Dig deep, figure out what is best for you and consider the photographic experience as much as the end result. A great camera that will do everything won't bring much joy if you hate using it. The idea is to choose the gear that does what you need but also makes you want to pick it up every time you go out. I say your photographic enjoyment is as or more important as any other aspect of photography. Make that your personal preference..
Join me over at my website, https://www.dennismook.com.
Thanks for looking. Enjoy!
Dennis A. Mook
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I think the camera has to be fun to use. Of course, the image quality has to be competent, but as stated in this post, you have to want to pick the camera/lens up and use it.
ReplyDeleteI make pictures about every day with my Olympus. Sometimes it is with a Z7, but that is when it is the best tool for a particular image I have in mind.
A shooting buddy just came back from a week in Nevada. He took an Olympus+12100 lens rather than his usual backpack full of Canon dslr+serious lenses. His photos are excellent and he said "This camera was fun to use".