I Have To Know

airfrogusmc wrote in post #5681616
I shoot only manual and have for YEARS. I own 2 5Ds and 3 lenses.
24L
35L
85L
I've learned over the years these are the F/L I shoot with most of the time.

I make my living with photography and have for more than 20 years full time and another 9 or so part time before that..

The longer you do it the more you seem to narrow what you do and your equipment will usually reflect that.

yes true. i laugh when people choose to buy a lens and worry about leaving a gap in the focal range. cracks me up.
the only lenses i need are 17-40 and 100mm macro. my lens buying is officially done!!

hortonsl62 wrote in post #5678649
I suspect that the gear helps amateurs more than professionals in photography.

Glenn NK wrote in post #5679087
I wonder if it's not the other way around.

I strongly suspect that rank amateurs don't know enough to know that it isn't the camera that makes the difference.

Look at sites that feature photography (rather than gear), you wll see excellent work being done with Canon 10D's - I can direct you to one image that was taken with a Canon S3.

The question of importance of gear will never be answered as there are many answers. For a knowledgeable and skilled photographer, the best gear will definitely be an advantage - for the beginner, it's simply a waste of money, and may even be a hindrance because of the complexity of the camera which over-taxes his/her abilities.

Ah, when I wrote that, I was thinking new gear = latest technology so, for example, IS, better metering, better AF, over the years....... closed the gap a bit.

true story- I resisted the urge to go digital for so long I became adverse to upgrading any of my equipment beyond the fd level for fifteen years. When I finally did go digital and started shooting regularly again, I also started upgrading through lenses and cameras fairly quickly too. I finally decided to get good enough tools to enable me to do the job correctly, and I have not been sorry yet. I would never tow my boat to the water, fill it with gear, toss my bait in the water and then hope to catch fish with a dull hook. Upgrade if you have even the slightest incling that you will be sorry someday that you didn't!

hortonsl62 wrote in post #5685387
Ah, when I wrote that, I was thinking new gear = latest technology so, for example, IS, better metering, better AF, over the years....... closed the gap a bit.

You know, Sam, the camera previous to my current 30D was a Canon A-1 which came out in 1978 and I bought in 1980. I used it regularly until mid 2006.

I could take as good a picture with that manual focus camera than I can with the 30D.

The latest technology won't replace knowledge, skill and creativity.


PS Edit:

Sam, I had a look at your site; some nice stuff there. I particularly like the sailboats, the digital art (No.18) and the wolf shots.

Thx for the compliments.

I bought my 40d with the expectation that I would keep it for a long time. But unless they come up with a fix for the soft/blurry lcd screen, I will probably upgrade.

Stefan

It depends. For sports and action your keeper rate and your total keepers will rise dramatically with better equipment. For landscapes and street photography - not so much if any.

I am quite sure that for many photographers the greatest increase in skill occurred in the first few months after purchasing their initial camera without picture mode icons.

I think camera gear is like computers, but maybe a little less so. A two thousand dollar computer a few years ago wouldn't be worth much now. DSLRs have peaked a little right now, so it might be a little while before I upgrade.

If it does the job today who is to say that it can't do the same job tomorrow? I think most upgrades have just as much to do with commercials and magazine adds as anything else.

great point, stocky........good photos have been made since the beginning of photography, with the equipment available at the time. I remember seeing the magazine photos when the 300D first hit the scene....I suspect I would be a much better photographer now had I just stuck with the 300D and learned better skills......thanks for the responses to my question. I think I'll simply try harder & smarter.