What’s the Best Camera to Buy? – Q&A #103

What’s the Best Camera to Buy? Multiple people have asked this question, but photographers miss an even bigger point…

The most common question I get is, “what’s the BEST camera to buy?” The problem these photographers have is being inundated with options and models from multiple camera manufacturers, as well as everyone they see shooting different camera bodies and brands. Deep down, they are looking for some help in narrowing down the options.

But the question on the surface may seem a bit absurd. For instance, asking a famous musician for the best guitar to buy to write a hit song, would be ridiculous because we all know it’s not the guitar that makes the song a hit. Or asking a famous writer what computer to buy to write a top-selling book would be equally absurd, because the computer is irrelevant to the book being great. In all cases, it’s the artist and their creative and technical ability to make great work regardless of the tool.

Nevertheless, we all want better gear because it makes life easier. But what is “better?” For cameras, there are great options for under $1000, great options in the $2000 range, the $3,000 range, and great options in every range going up, even spending $30,000 or more. So which is “best?”

It all has more to do with you, your knowledge, your ability to run any camera, and the specific need/purpose. And that means getting training on running your camera completely manual, knowing exactly how to get the results you want.

Most people don’t using the camera they have to its fullest capacity. But if you’re hitting a wall based on your gear or can afford better gear it might be time to move up. But at any price point, you should be able to rock your equipment. If you can’t, moving up won’t help you make better photographs.

Therefore the real answer to the best camera is (1) the camera you have on you, (2) that you can afford, (3) that you can rock.

A better camera that’s left at home an therefore not on you, doesn’t do you any good because it doesn’t take any pictures sitting alone there. And gear you can’t afford may be better, but not for you at this time. It’s best to rock what you’ve got until you get get better gear. And finally, if you can’t rock it and control all aspects of your manual settings and know what they do and how they’ll affect the final image, then it means you need more training.

In video #105, I talk about things to know when buying a camera.

If you’d like more photographic training, check out my entire courses right here on this site in the member section.