Camera or Photographer

Amateur Photographer Magazine’s question of the week ‘Does your current camera help you take better pictures than the one you had five years ago?’. Interesting question.

My answer would be difficult because five years ago I possessed 5 cameras, since then I’ve added three more. Five years ago I had a Sony 3MP digital compact camera and the rest were film. The camera I most use today is a Canon 40D. The 40D undoubtedly helps me take better pictures than the Sony, but I’m not convinced it helps me take better pictures than my old, trusty and loved, Canon T90. It certainly helps me take loads more pictures at much lower cost than the T90, but I use Av & Tv and occasionally M today just like I used to do with the T90. Digital has the huge advantage in that I can change sensitivity (ISO) from shot to shot rather than having to wait until I’ve finished the roll of film. My EF 70-200 f2.8L is undoubtedly a far superior optic to the FD 70-210 I used, but I think my trusty old Tamron 90mm macro, is superior to my current Canon EF 100mm macro.

Photographers make pictures.

Photographers see something in their mind’s eye and set about creating an image that matches that. The camera is a tool – a very sophisticated tool – but a tool nonetheless.

I see people with very expensive kit producing very mediocre photographs. I see people with much less, extracting every ounce of performance from what they have.

It’s not the camera.

It’s how you make use of it.

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