Although most of my friends have now learnt not to ask, I still get a regular stream of requests about ‘which is the best camera’?
The best answer to that questions is ‘the one that is in your hand’ and I am normally a bit dismissive about the whole thing – ‘it’s just a hammer!’ In fact some of the professional Dslrs like the Canon 1dx and the Nikon D4 can be used quite effectively for banging in nails.
Part of the excitement of photography and videography for a lot of photo fans, especially amateur males, is the joy of selecting the correct kit for the job, the best bang for the buck. The remarkably large number of glossy camera magazines featuring a fruity youth on the cover seductively clutching the latest mirror-less cam is testament to this.
It is quite fun, the buying of new stuff 🙂 BUT it is only a small part of the story. As a pro I want a camera that is reliable, always delivers, is quick and comfortable, reliable and above all, reliable. To be honest, dynamic range, megapixels, and most of the on-board gadgets that make an impressive spec list in the shop are largely irrelevant in day to day use.
My personal choice is Canon, currently 5d3 and 7d (a very old mark 1) and other than twice failing in a monsoon style downpour there have been no issues.
I also often get asked why I stick black tape over the makers logos and the model numbers on my cameras. This is for several reasons.
It scares away the camera geeks (‘Oh, is that a x45 mark 3 d with the let handed gromble filter?’ ‘No. Go away.’ – for some reason such regular encounters seem to have almost stopped since taping up.)
I am not being paid to advertise.
When shooting people, there is no white flash of a logo when the camera is lifted for a shot – ninja photography! That really does work – you become invisible.