Why And When Would I Consider Buying A New Camera?

A 50+ year old Pentax Spotmatic camera.  Is it okay to upgrade to a new or better camera?

I will tell you up front that the singular reason for which I would not buy a new camera is for better image quality.  That's right, every camera I own and use provides me with all the image quality I need.  I've reached sufficiency.  Yes, that includes my Micro4/3 and APS-C gear.  In fact, I believe there are no current digital interchangeable lens cameras on the market today that gives us image quality with which we cannot be happy.  In my opinion, most cameras give us better image quality than almost all of us need.  The exceptions to this may only lie at the extremes, at which most of us never photograph.

Of course, one caveat to the above is that image quality needs to be defined.  I'll leave that up to you to define it for yourself and your own photography.  I know how picky I am about my images and I'm fully satisfied with the image quality I get from my cameras.

Why then would I consider buying a new camera?  What would cause me to spend the money? Here are my thoughts.

1. The new camera will allow me to do something better than I can with the cameras I now have.  

For example, if I wanted to photograph birds-in-flight and my current cameras didn't have a sophisticated autofocus system and/or no subject recognition, then I would look for a camera that had those features and could accomplish that task well.  The key word here is well. Maybe not the absolute best but better than most.  For me, nothing is as frustrating as when my tools hold me back from doing something I really want to do.  Think tack hammer when wanting to build a house!  It is the wrong tool for the job.

Another example is if I regularly photographed indoors in very low light and a different camera had much better low light capabilities due to fewer but larger pixels or a larger sensor, which means less initial noise and the retention more intricate detail at very high ISOs.  

A third example is that if my camera manufacturer and the independent lens manufacturers who make lenses for my camera didn't have high quality and/or fast lenses or the focal lengths that I needed for the kind of work I wanted to do.  I may then look to another manufacturer who does provide them.

2. The new camera will allow me to do something I can't currently do with the cameras I now have.  

A couple of examples might be that I want to do extensive time lapse photographic projects and my camera does not have that capability or I wanted to do handheld focus stacking because the places I photograph (indoor botanical gardens, museums) won't allow tripods.  I then would look for a camera that allows me to do those kinds of photography.

Another example is that I want to be able to photograph bicycle or motorcycle acrobatics (What are they actually called?).  I would want to be able to capture a precise moment a participant is upside down high in the air and hanging down from his bike’s or motorcycle’s handlebars but my current camera can only photograph at 5fps, which is not nearly as quickly as needed to capture a precise peak moment of action..  A camera with 15-20fps may allow me to better achieve success.

A third example is that if I were to extensively travel and I wanted to mix high quality video (without the use of a tripod) with my still imagery.  I would look for a camera capable of allowing me to walk and video simultaneously without the resulting final product being jerky.  

3. A new camera and associated lens system is desirable due to specific needs such as a changing personable medical condition or as alternative to giving up photography because of having to carry large heavy gear at an older age.  

I've written about this several times in the past, most recently here after my appearance on The Image Doctors Podcast where we discussed getting older and, instead of giving up photography because you don't want to (or can’t) lug around large, heavy, bulky, expensive gear, there are viable alternatives that will allow you to continue your photography using smaller, lighter gear without sacrificing image quality.  That post and podcast are both interesting and I would encourage you to check them out.

Another example is to buy a camera that has a different shape and lighter in weight so it is  more comfortable to hold to mitigate potential hand pain or restrictions in hand or wrist movement.

A third example is taking a Micro4/3 camera system (or even a small fixed lens camera such as the Ricoh GRIII) with those tiny prime lenses while traveling to other continents and countries, keeping your kit very small and unobtrusive yet versatile.  A small unobtrusive kit is more likely to be with you everywhere you go rather than be left behind because carrying it is too much trouble.

4. Sometimes I just want a new camera.  

Don't we all?  In my opinion, it's perfectly fine to want a new camera.  It’s just like you sometimes want a new car or truck when the car or truck you now own still runs fine and gets you where your going or the television you have had for a few years and still works well but you think it needs upgraded to 4K in a larger size.  Also, at some point in time you want to move to a larger or smaller house when the house you now have still keeps you warm in the winter, cool in the summer and dry during storms.  There are all kinds of personal reasons to want a new camera.

There may be other reasons that arise but these are the four main reasons why and when I would consider buying a new camera.  What about you?  What could prompt you to buy a new camera?  I would be interested to know and I'm sure others would as well.

Join me over at my website, https://www.dennismook.com.  

Thanks for looking. Enjoy!  

Dennis A. Mook  

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