Can anyone with a good camera take good pictures?

No, not everyone with a good camera can take good pics but you also have to remember photography is very subjective. I would also expect someone with a good camera to take good pics. The analogy thing with the surgeon doesn't even compare. No offense but it doesn't take a highly skilled and very educated person to take a good picture. Photography is very easy to learn. You have to be very creative and think outside the box which is difficult for some people. I think that might be the hardest part of photography.

zacker wrote in post #5181620
yes they can... thats why im saving for a MKIII.. i want to take good shots !
Iguess i will need "L" lenses too.....

lol

Not what THAT crappy tripod your using you wont take any good photos!

I wouldn't hire "anybody" to build my house, repair my car, or photograph my wedding, no matter how expensive and high-tech their tools are.

On the other hand, if I were building a house or repairing a car or planning a photo shoot (only one task for which I have any experience to speak of) I'd want the best equipment that I could get for the task.

So, what is the point of the question? If it's an implied criticism of those who desire the best gear possible for the art/craft of photography, then I'd say that criticism is misplaced! If you are asking "how can I be a better photographer using the gear I have, and avoiding 'gear envy'", then, well, that's a perfectly legitimate question with no implied criticism!

I just get somewhat peeved when people use platitudes to criticize others for how they personally strive for their own standards and ideals of excellence!

I think pretty much anyone with almost any type of camera can take a good picture. But the key is can they do it consistently.

If you take enough pictures one of them is bound to be "good" (assuming you are using the camera properly and not just shooting the ground or something), but to be a good photographer you need to be able to get good shots and to be a pro you need to get good shots every shoot.

Its still a pretty bad analogy whether you like it or not. The camera does most of the work for the photographer. Any 3rd grader could determine which shutter speed or aperture level is necessary at the time or for the look they are after. Give anyone a great camera and within a year they will be taking pretty good shots. Everybody knows every occupation and hobby takes skill but those 2 are so far apart its unreal.

Most non photographers mean nothing more than a complement by such a comment.
Some complement me in the same way and ask what camera I use. I generally say "thank you,I use a Canon dslr, but it's not the camera." Then they get the point and go oh, ok.

To quote What the Duck.
Duck A: Your camera takes nice pictures.
Duck B: Your mouth gives nice complements.

Quit arguing the nuances of surgeons and photographers, Dave, and admit that someone with good equipment is NOT necessarily going to produce great product with that equipment. If I gave you a $10k PC and Microsoft Excel, that does not make you a great certified public accountant; maybe a passable spreadsheet that calculates the value of money an rate i% for n periods. If I gave you a $200 Cuisinart that does not make you instantly able to prepare an exceptional mousse; an edible one (maybe, if we are lucky). If I gave you an expensive dough rolling machine, you won't necessarily learn how to make a great apple strudel dough or a flakey buttered pastry dough.

A great camera makes a technically good photo but the posing of the subject, the lighting, the composition, the balancing of DOF to focus the viewer's attention...all those require acquisition of skills along with some degree of an artistic eye. Photography is more than pushing the shutter button.

Yep, and a person with a set of oil paints and a canvas can produce a masterpiece. Some people will produce snapshots, some will graduate to photos.

Mike

Samanax wrote in post #5179915
"Golf sticks"?

Samanax

Sorry,,,an Aussie term for golf clubs..

They may get lucky a time or two, but overall I'd have to say no. Just look at some of the posts in the lens forum...people buying the latest technology body, $1500 lenses, and then complaining that the lens is 'soft' because they can't get a clear shot of their active child while trying to use focus and recompose methods. Some of those same folks have not even looked through the user's manual. I'd say that many of these type of posts are due to people not being familiar with their equipment and not understanding the most basic photographic principles. There are more 'soft' lens threads than you can shake a stick at, 90% of which are most likely due to user error of some sort. Just having a 'good camera' does not make a good photographer, much like giving me a set of top-notch chisels will not make me a master woodcrafter.

argyle wrote in post #5186252
They may get lucky a time or two, but overall I'd have to say no. Just look at some of the posts in the lens forum...people buying the latest technology body, $1500 lenses, and then complaining that the lens is 'soft' because they can't get a clear shot of their active child while trying to use focus and recompose methods. Some of those same folks have not even looked through the user's manual. I'd say that many of these type of posts are due to people not being familiar with their equipment and not understanding the most basic photographic principles. There are more 'soft' lens threads than you can shake a stick at, 90% of which are most likely due to user error of some sort. Just having a 'good camera' does not make a good photographer, much like giving me a set of top-notch chisels will not make me a master woodcrafter.

I completely agree with that statement. If just having the right equipment made me a better photographer, then I would probably not be here in this forum reading and trying to learn how to "take" a better photo. It would come naturally. But at leat in photography, having good equipment does at least (for me) remove the excuse that its "the piss-poor equipment im using" when the photo does not come out right..then I know its me (as usual) and I need to work more on getting it right. Practice, Practice, Practice, and Practice some more.

NO, very simple

to some extent it does help though, try taking some sports shots in a dimly lit arena with a kit lens... try using a low grade P&S to do those nice Artsy type shots.. so, good equipment might not make you a pro but it certainly helps. just as you wouldnt see any pro chefs using a set of Ginsu's or a pro mechanic with a $10.00 kmart socket set and Dollar store pliers, you will not see a pro photog using a P&S to take portraits or to shoot a wedding!

CyberDyneSystems wrote in post #5181781
Not what THAT crappy tripod your using you wont take any good photos!

Hey, you leave my crappy tripod out of this... Sheesh!
lol

Anyhow, its from Walmart and cost me $18.00 Yes, another "Hidden Gem" from the boys in the blue vests!
lol

It is not weather you have good or bad gear, or good or bad piccys, but can you still sell them to Grandma and get her to cough up the dough in advance!!