What do I shoot with? Well, back in the mid-1980’s I received my first camera as a gift: a Pentax SLR. I don’t remember the model, but it looked something like this:
I remember taking a good number of pictures with it, although buying and developing film was pretty expensive for a teenager. But I brought my camera everywhere. Here’s a shot of me at the Black Canyon of the Gunnison– the camera is on my back and you can only see the cool strap over my shoulder. (Also, what’s with the yellow striped shirt? Whoa.)
Here I’m sporting it while looking pensive on a park bench in Washington DC. (I absolutely loved that white pimp hat. Also, hot pink shorts.)
When digital cameras first came out, they were clunky and awkward and so, so cool. I bought a Sony Mavica, which used 3.5″ floppy disks as “film”.
At the highest resolution– 1024×768 pixels, or roughly 0.7 megapixels– you could fit maybe a dozen shots on one disk before you had to swap it out. So I’d carry a box of floppies in a small camera bag while I took pictures like this:
It didn’t matter how clunky it was; the pictures were free and I could play around with them on my computer. That’s when I started getting into photo editing, which I learned was an entirely different craft.
Over the years I went through a long series of cameras, upgrading to newer models with more features and of course more megapixels. I loved the little point-and-shoot gizmos, and the Canon line in particular served me well. At some point I discovered the raw image format (just “raw”, not “RAW”) and started messing with that too. As I grew more serious about this hobby, I found myself wondering if my kit was holding me back somehow.
The answer, it turns out, is “sort of”. Even with the best gear, a mediocre photographer is going to take mediocre photos. Yet not surprisingly, a good camera can make a difference in the quality of the photos. And more importantly, it provides a greater degree of flexibility and creativity in the shots themselves. I learned that from my brother Thom, who is a very talented semi-professional photographer. After giving up on point-and-shoot models, I bit the bullet and went for a Nikon DSLR. It opened up a whole world to me, and I loved shooting with it. But I’d bought it used from a friend, and the camera was at least a decade old, so after a while I felt like I should get a new DSLR with some bells and whistles.
I had my eye on a Canon 7D, with its fancy pivoting touchscreen and gobs of megapixels. But before clicking the “buy” button, I consulted with Thom, and he told me the only way to really “up my game” would be to get a full-frame sensor. That meant another step up the cost ladder, to at least a Canon 5D (the 1D is a dream but it’s incredibly expensive). After some thought, I decided to trust him, and I bought a brand-new 5D4.
After using it, all I can say is yep, Thom was right. A full-frame sensor makes a world of difference. I love this camera and what it lets me do. Now it’s just a matter of honing my skills.
And that, for good or ill, will take a lifetime.