What Camera Should I Buy?

So I don’t know how many times I’ve seen either articles or videos on this topic. I can’t lie, I’ve looked into those videos and articles when I was looking for a new camera myself. I can understand why these articles exist because with the amount of new cameras that are consistently rolling out it can definitely get a little overwhelming, and finding people that makes things a little easier to understand that looking at spec sheets is fantastic. 

While I’ve definitely fallen into the trap of being caught up about in what gear I’m using and what everyone else has, I strongly urge everyone to completely disregard that. With the technology that all the cameras have in them now it really doesn’t matter all that much which brand you go with. Everyone makes amazing cameras that produce quality images and now video as well, and you can pretty much find options from each company in different price points as well. The only area where things start to get a little tricky is video. If you do hybrid shooting and do stills and video for different clients than you will need to pay a little closer attention to specs like frame rates, 4k and autofocus systems. Just FYI if you are video heavy, than Nikon may be a company to stray away from, I love Nikon cameras and have used them since I started taking photos but they just aren’t on the same level as some other brands and I’ve seen interviews that Nikon admitted that. While their new Z line of mirrorless cameras and the D850 are definitely better at video I couldn’t justify the price tag that the D850 and the Z7 have and when I looked at the Z6 and the adapter I’d have to use for the older Nikon lenses, it became bigger than my old set up which in my mind defeated the purpose of going to a mirrorless system. 

In my opinion, there are a couple things that really dictate what camera you should purchase. Obviously the first thing is your budget, knowing how much you can spend on a camera set up is key unless you have an unlimited budget which if that’s the case than I envy you a little bit.  Other than budget, you will need to narrow down what you plan to use the camera for, which will dictate what features you really need. Once you have figured out those two pieces, I’d highly suggest finding a camera store (I know they are few and far between now) and go in to talk with the staff and really try out a few different cameras. To me, the way a camera feels in your hands is just as important as the features it has. If something doesn’t look or feel right to you while you are using it that you aren’t going to want to use it. Which brings us to the saying that the best camera is the one you have with you. This was a huge issue for me personally when I had my Nikons in the past and even though I was comfortable with how the camera worked I didn’t really like carrying it around so I usually didn't. Because of that I’ve missed countless moments that could have been amazing images because I didn’t have my camera with me.

I know this isn’t a really long blog post or anything but I hope some of the thoughts were helpful to you if you are in the market for a new camera. It seems like this happens in any aspect of life now but don’t worry about the gear other people are using and think that just because they are using X camera does not mean that you have to use that as well. And don’t think that because you want to be taken more seriously as a photographer that you need a certain piece of gear, to a certain point it really doens’t matter what you are using and you can make a great image with any camera. If people criticize you for having the camera you do or for not having the gear they have then that should just be fuel to your fire to make the absolute best work that you can.

I appreciate you all taking the time to read though this. Let me know what your thoughts are on this topic and if you have a topic you’d like some input on shoot it my way and I’ll try to make a post about it.

Hope you all have a great day and get out and create something.

-Tyler