Some Thoughts for Today by Joe Farace
“A learning experience is one of those things that says, ‘You know that thing you just did? Don’t do that.” ―
A day does not go by without me receiving a e-mail or a comment from the blog’s Contact page from a reader asking what camera they should buy? That’s a tough question for me to answer because for openers there’s the whole cost aspect that’s part of any purchasing decision and I struggle with question this because my philosophy has always been that I don’t like to spend other people’s money. Next and just as important—and may the most important— question “what kind of pictures do you want to make?” And finally, I have found that, over the years, any camera buying advice that I’ve typically given is never taken anyway. But let me tell you a story…
A few years ago an acquaintance of mine e-mailed asking which of two Nikon DSLR models he should buy. Knowing the kind of photography he did, I suggested the more expensive model of the two cameras. Based on all of my other experiences answering these kinds of questions, I was not surprised that he purchased the less expensive model instead. But.. a few weeks later he sent me another e-mail saying that I was right; the camera he bought would not do the kind of things he wanted/needed to accomplish. So he returned the cheaper camera and exchanged/upgraded to the one I originally recommended. Or to quote Douglas Adams in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, “this never happens.” But in this case it did.
Asking about what camera to buy is similar to asking what kind of automobile that someone should buy? I get that question on my Car Photography website/blog all the time too. For some the answer might be a Audio Q5 SUV or maybe some kind of Corvette—for me its a 1996 Corvette Collector’s Edition (a boy can dream)—and for others it’s a MINI Cooper but my friend Paul is 6’-6” tall so maybe that’s not a good choice for him.
My Pulitzer Prize-wining photographer friend, Barry Staver, says that the choice of cameras is simple—“It’s the camera you have with you.” I think that if you’re really serious about photography, I believe that you should keep some kind of camera (not a smartphone) handy at all times. Right now, for some reason my wife’s Nikon Zfc with kit lens is sitting on my deck but for some reason this “desk accessory” varies form week to week.
Case in point: The above image. When I looked out my office window one summer’s day I saw this mule deer buck and doe lying down (digesting their lunch, really) in my neighbor’s yard. I had just finished a portrait session in my home studio and grabbed my Panasonic Lumix GH4 and affordable ($129.99) Olympus 40-150mm f/4.0-5.6 (at 150mm) lens and made a few shots though the window. Then I opened the door, stepping out onto my porch and shot a few more frames. When I walked down my front steps and shot a few more images they both took off, interrupting the digesting going on their stomach’s four compartments. Sorry, Mr. & Mrs. Deer.
So what’s the best camera? On that particular day and time it was a Panasonic Lumix GH4, tomorrow it might be something else.
Along with photographer Barry Staver, I’m co-author of Better Available Light Digital Photography that’s available from Amazon for $21.87 prices with used copies starting at giveaway prices—around five bucks, as I write this, which may be cheaper than your morning Starbucks coffee.