Can anyone with a good camera take good pictures?

That's what I've been told. In fact, people look at the shots I take and say " You must have a good camera!"

I think they forgot who pushed the button...

1000arms wrote in post #5177481
Can anyone with a good scalpel perform good surgery?

Brilliant. Going to remember that one.

Can anyone with a paintbrush and oils paint a beautiful picture?

Tell them that the camera has nothing to do with it. It's all in the lens.

I will most definitely remember that one.

The answer to this question is...

43!!!

Companies are trying to make it easier and easier for everyone to take good pictures with gizmos like face detection and IS, yet still some people:

1) Never prefocus.
2) Have no idea of what ISO is.
3) ...Just use a cameraphone

Technical stuff aside, even if they made a camera that could read your mind and get all the technical stuff absolutely perfect (exposure, focus, etc)...the camera can't be creativite or compose for you.

DDWD10 wrote in post #5178043
Companies are trying to make it easier and easier for everyone to take good pictures with gizmos like face detection and IS, yet still some people:

1) Never prefocus.
2) Have no idea of what ISO is.
3) ...Just use a cameraphone

Yeah...

1) I read about an artist who had her work displayed in a gallery that was entirely made up of pics shot with a cell phone -- how do you figure???

2) Some of my favorite shots, frames and hung on my walls, were taken with point-and-shoot cams -- how do you figure???

3) And yet, I've gotten prize shots with my DSLR gear -- shots that I could only dream of in the P&S days -- and I am now equipped to continue chasing those prize shots -- How do you figure???

don't look a gift horse in the mouth

RandyMN wrote in post #5177270
That's what I've been told. In fact, people look at the shots I take and say " You must have a good camera!"

I think they forgot who pushed the button...

I think they don't know that you find this insulting. Maybe just take the compliment as such.

nmh wrote in post #5178325
I think they don't know that you find this insulting. Maybe just take the compliment as such.

I agree, I once made a snide comeback to a 'your lens is amazing' comment, and the person was very, very apologetic. I felt kinda bad. They had no intention of insulting or suggesting that it was just the gear. It's just a poorly phrased compliment and is best taken as that.

I would think anyone with NEARLY any camera could take a good picture.
Whether they planned the shot or not is another thing.

depends on what u call a 'good picture'. if someone just happens to be at the wrong place at the right time and for example, snaps a picture of a lone protestor swinging a molotov cocktail in midair with a policeman cowering in the foreground, and its taken by a P&S or even a camera-handphone, you get the picture... but if you are talking about a high-contrast scene where you need to meter correctly for the subject (instead of just snapping away in auto mode) and you have no idea how to do that while holding a high-end DSLR, well u get the picture too...

I take bloody great photos! It's the camera that stuffs it up!!!

Can anyone with good golf sticks play golf??