I have decided to add a new category of posts about camera gear. This may be something of a learning curve for me as well, since I don’t really have that much experience with buying cameras and lenses etc. But I figured that if I share what I learn it might be useful. Please also feel free to comment on gear I have mentioned, I would love to try out other people’s recommendations.
Does Gear Matter?
I read an article this week in Outdoor Photography about whether the kit you have matters. After initially being irritated that the article seemed to be suggesting that having the best kit is vital, especially since I don’t have the most sophisticated camera, I thought about it some more and realised that it did indeed have a very good point. The kit you have is one of several limits on what you can achieve, if you don’t have a macro lens then you obviously can’t shoot close up, no wide angle and you may find landscape difficult. Low quality optics then you may not produce images as clear as they can be, but you should look at the difference and decide what works for you. ISO performance can be important if you want to shoot in low light, poor quality can mean grainy images, which is fine if that’s the artistic effect you want, but not so great if not.
In general you should consider what you are shooting and how that related to the gear you need, buy as good as you can afford, and focus your money where it will make a difference to the type of photography you take. Don’t go for ISO performance if you never shoot low light, don’t go for state-of-the-art high speed auto focus if you don’t shoot action. You don’t need the most MegaPixels if you never print you images to wall sized.
And most importantly don’t get me wrong you still need photographic talent, if you can’t see a good image then having the best (and most expensive) camera in the world won’t help. Spend some time practicing, get out and look around and take pictures with whatever you have (be that a phone camera or the latest dSLR), look at others’ work for inspiration, when you realise that your kit is holding you back, then is the time for a new camera.
Canon 60D
I also thought I would mention the Canon 60D (and Canon range in general), since several people I know are looking at buying this camera, I have done a lot of reading about it.
In summary it seems to be a very good camera, suitable for someone who has owned a DSLR before and wants to upgrade while not wanting to splash out on a semi pro camera like the Canon 7D. Those looking for an introductory model should look at the 550D.
I really like the vari-angle screen that the 60D comes with, apparently it’s the first time the Canon range has used it and it seems like a really good idea. The only criticisms that reviewers seem to have is that it’s less sturdy than the 7D and the auto focus system isn’t as good. Having held the camera those seem to be true, but it still feels like a well made piece of kit. And while the auto focus is definitely slower it strikes me that it would only be worth the extra money if speed was important to you, for example you use it for sports or wildlife photography.
For someone who is a landscape photographer one of the disadvantages is it is not a full frame camera. Admittedly, full frame cameras are really expensive and generally for professional photographers, however for a landscape photographer, where being able to take in a large or panoramic view is important it may be something that would come in handy.
