Most cameras are BETTER than MOST photographers! 

What do you think about this obsession with gear and lack of actual photography? When do you know that a gear obsession is too much? What do you do to stay photographically active? Share your thoughts!

I shot over 40 assignments from 1980 on for National Geographic and National Geographic Traveler magazines and you are speaking the truth (and you will probably be skewered for it:-). When we started with digital in 2003, most of us were shooting with 6mp Nikon D70's and that was fine, and the last I looked in their spec sheet for digital camera requirements, it was still 6 or 8 mp. Great admirer of your work. Keep speaking truth to RU-vid power!

This was great! Reading most photography blogs is a riot. It seems most people discuss, rather argue over numbers and brands, and never about actual photography. I sometimes play a fun game and read comments from bottom to top, to see if I can figure out what the original post is .

I saw the post ripping on Sony crop sensor cameras. I expect that from gearheads and pixel-peepers. Real-world image quality has been fantastic. I've taken many wonderful photos with my A6500 and Sony/Zeiss 16-70mm f4 lens during my travels and assignments and made large prints. I'm currently using the A6600 and Sony 18-135mm for travel. Both combos are great for travel. It's like the old saying goes: It's not the camera in one's hands but the person behind it that determines the quality of the photograph.

No, it's not the algorithm Mitch. You are correct when you say that it's probably what people are interested in the most (gear reviews), or think they need to become a better photographer. I've said before that many photographers are gear fiddlers or camera polishers. They really are not interested in putting in the time to become a better photographer or learn how to improve. As you said, you put time into sharing free videos that have priceless information on how to became successful and it has decades of experience in there, and most people are not interested. When I post a blog on my website (I've just about given up), and it's on how to take better images or how I started getting paid work as an events photographer, I get barely any interest. If I put on a gear blog about lenses or cameras (it was mainly Fuji gear, before I changed over to Nikon), I would literally get ten times more hits than the other blogs. However, I'm not interested in reviewing gear or pushing other manufacturers equipment. I want to make blogs on taking better images, but there is little motivation to do so when people are not interested in viewing them.

My theory is that most photographers get stuck at the peak of the Dunning-Kruger-effect, at which they learned about the "creative" capabilities of a lens and a sensor. At the peak of the effect, one thinks that he/she knows everything about a topic when in fact they don't at all. Also, accumulating physical objects is (money aspect excluded) easier than reflecting on yourself and your own flaws. Please keep doing your important videos about actual photography, it's what makes your channel stand out. We appreciate your work a lot!

I have purchased the course because I love your work and the way you teach. I have been stuck in the rat race of purchasing all the latest gear and it really doesn't do much for you if you don't have a good foundation of photography . Thank you so much for offering this information.

I've heard many times before that gear money is better spent on tickets 🙂. Spend money to go to cool places or events, once you have a camera of course! Maybe someone could start a series on places you could go and what that place offers for shooting experiences. Something like "i paid $25 to get into a rodeo with my camera" or "how a $500 trip to Utah helped me get 3 new portfolio level images".

99% of video are about camera and just a few about photography as a tool to comunicate something. Your video are very different and this is the reason because i like them a lot!! Keep doing it even if they maybe don't have the view that they deserve.

Such a important point of view. There is such a thing as "unecessary technology". You don't need 40mpx if you are gonna ad a film imulation preset with lot clarity and lots of grain.

I really like photography, but I'm not an expert. These tips are very important. There are so many techniques for good photography. I'm starting to get interested in understanding more about the subject.

Great video. I love these kinds of discussions. What exactly motivates people to trash talk various brands/cameras? I think it’s that people refer to their perceived reference groups in their own minds and make statements based on what they think others might think…..(this is all unconscious of course) The same goes for critiquing photos. They do not directly communicate their own thoughts and feelings on a subject… rather they give a recycled talk track of comments that tend to lack depth and emotion. This problem has grown exponentially over the past few years in part, due to social media.

I appreciate your efforts. There are very few individuals engaging in discussions about photography beyond tutorials on equipment usage. In today's age, photography isn't the primary pursuit; people are more focused on acquiring new gadgets. Owning and showcasing these high-tech devices has become a separate hobby. Their goal isn't necessarily to become skilled photographers; instead, they want to flaunt their equipment. To attract more viewers, consider incorporating discussions on equipment. To bolster your credibility as a serious photography expert, you should continue in the same direction. Your videos are of professional quality, and your editing and color work are truly impressive. You are a dedicated artist. May God bless you. I'm confident you're earning a sufficient livelihood from your work.

I will never push my R6 to its limit. But I do appreciate that much more accurate AF and tracking than my DSLR, and having extra card slot just in case.

You got me! So so true words. I instantly bought your course 👌. Seeing your photographs is so inspiring. Thank you for taking us with you at your journey.

Fully agree, I have the same feeling even if I'm not a professional. I'm a "poor" m43 shooter :)

Seems like the only group of photogs (other than some specialty areas) that really have to be careful about the type of camera they buy is the group that needs to shoot fast action and especially fast action in low light (tracking a subject) AND to be able to get an acceptable hit rate in those conditions when the scene can't be reproduced. That would normally be people like sports photographers and sometimes wedding photogs. If there's no need for the very best high ISO quality and superb fast action tracking, tons of cameras already exist that meet most people's needs. Of course there are even some lower cost APS-C cameras that could meet those needs to some extent. I switched around a lot in the last several years looking for the all-in-one camera since Nikon was taking too long, but then along came the Z8 and I have that now. But...this is only a hobby for me, so it wasn't a big issue. However, in that time of using different cameras, I realized I could have most of my needs met even by a m4/3 camera such as a GH5 or G9. Even as a hobby though, I wanted something that would meet any possible need I could have and most wants, so that led me back to Nikon and the Z8 because now I have superb AF-C/tracking, excellent low light/high ISO, high dynamic range in a single raw file, outstanding video specs, pro body build, all in a single body. If I had my wish, I'd have all these specs in the form of a m4/3 camera body (with a m4/3 sensor). Some day tech will get there, but for now I couldn't ask for more (and yes, it's often way more than I need since many of my photos are with no or slow moving subjects in good light, as you're talking about). When people are critical of gear here on RU-vid, I think they expect (unrealistically) ever camera to spit out pristine images with zero noise that's accepted by the toughest of stock photography photo inspectors.

I actually started shooting a Leica digital rangefinder which pretty much limits what adjustments I can make, simple camera for a simple person

It happens so there is a simple explanation: Although I agree with you to a certain level, not everyone enjoys photography on the same level. For you it is all about the end result in the most practical cost effective way. For many others the EXPERIENCE of making photos is equally important. Their profession is not (always) being a photographer. It's a hobby. Like driving cars. With your approach on the matter most people would drive a boring cost effective car. Who cares what you drive. As long as you get there. Where would Top Gear be with that approach 😅

I like your channel very much, as I place a higher value on technique and creative concepts at this point. I want to get better with the gear I have before ever considering an upgrade. Thank you and keep up the great content and work. Cheers

This reality check was long overdue. Thank you so much😊

Hi Mitch! Great point, as usual and expected. It was something you said maybe last year or the year before about "being able to fully use the gear you have" (something like that, I'm paraphrasing probably here) that stopped me on the constant gear quest. The one thing I think you could address that would be neat (and I haven't seen a ton of info on this out there) is where to submit travel photos when you are starting out. I feel that sort of real world feedback (read: rejection) is super valuable potentially. It has been for me with writing anyhow!!!! And a total gear side note: I did have the Sony RX100 mark 3. I played with the Mark 7 and having that 200mm reach in your pocket with that AF is sort of unbeatable to me. Fiddly as hell to work with and not the most fun shooting experience... but for travel? Pretty awesome.

Some people cannot understand the difference between image quality and a quality image. Image quality is about pixels and corner sharpness, dynamic range etc. However, what makes a photo great or a quality image is not how technically advanced a camera is, it's about emotions, a compelling subject, capturing the moment and a creative eye. Blowing up an image to an unrealistic size to look at corner sharpness and blathering on about DXO scores is just not helpful.

I'd like a camera with different wheels to adjust the aperture, ss and iso. I'd like a full frame camera with a tilt/touch screen. I'd like to go below 100 iso and above 4000 shutter speed. Some drawbacks of my current Rebel t6.

Thanks! I learned so much from this short video and it helped put things into a clear snapshot of what is truly important for me as an aspiring photographer to know.

I must admit I too sometimes let my inner tech geek get the better of me and start obsessing over technical specs and details that noone will ever notice in the final picture. And sure, theoretically things like resolution, dynamic range, high ISO performance, OIS, fast AF help to actually capture the picture I intended to take, but overall I think you're absolutely right. You can take great photos with low tech gear, but the best camera in the world will not take a good picture if you don't know how to take them. I don't remember the channel name right now but there is a youtube series where great photographers are handed terrible cameras (literal childrens toys and such) and they still take great pictures. In the end, a good picture doesn't turn bad because it has too few pixels or a tiny amount of chromatic abberation. People most likely won't even notice.

Looking forward to the third video. On the topic of gear, gear is important to the extent that it meets your needs. I do agree that a great image can be made with any camera made in the last 10-15 years. I know great photographers with a large following that still use the Nikon D700, which came out in 2008. I myself went through a period of looking for the "right" camera. I will say that having a full frame camera, while not necessary, has tangible benefits (better low-light performance, ability to get a thin dof with a variety of focal lengths). I used a Nikon D610 since it came out but recently got a Sony A7IV. The improvements in autofocus are insane and I have to say free me up to be more creative. I can take portraits with a shallow dof and be confident that the eye is in focus. Tracking subjects has become easier. And, the fact that I can see the end result in my viewfinder leads to less under and overexposed images.

"Most cameras are BETTER than MOST photographers!" -- the perfect explanation of GAS (Gear acquisition syndrome). Can a better camera, lens, etc. produce a better photo? Yes, but will it produce a better photo with your current techniques, or just be a waste of money?

Glad to see such kind of video, congrats Mitchell 👏🏻 A few years ago, I realized that my gear was quite more than good enough (G9 2017 / E-PL8 2016 / GF3 2011 + lenses&bags). Plenty satisfied 🙌🏻 Then, I started attending to many workshops and going on trips, even graduating in Photography Course to consolidate the knowledge. See ya, blue skies 🤙🏻🍀📸

this was an amazing video very helpful indeed.

Hi Mitchell, You're making so many true points and they very much apply to me as well. Being an engineer in trade In my early days of phonography (I am just a serious amateur, but started about 60 years ago)) I use to pay attention to the technical detail as oppose to the act of taking pictures. I use to take picture and then analyze it, not on the actual picture, but by analyze it from a technical perspective, such as, the picture is too dark, I probably have to change the lens, not realizing that my settings maybe were not correct, and I would go and buy a new lens thinking that the old one is not a good lens. I use to do that with cameras also. I used to read about a new camera that just come out, and all the newer features that camera has, and I was thinking, ah this is a camera that will help me create better pictures as oppose to first exhaust the capabilities of my current camera and than decide that I need a new camera. Since then, I become smarter, but it came with a long learning curve, had to de-program my thinking so that it will concentrate on the photo and and on using the capabilities of my current camera, and just in case I exhausted all the capabilities i would move to a newer one. My camera, use to be the Nikon 800, and then switch to Fujifilm X4, and H2S, because of size and ease of carrying the gears. I believe that I will have those cameras for a long long time. Thank you for your video.

Thank you for articulating so clearly and convincingly this important message. As the camera market shrinks, hyping the benefits of the latest specs is becoming more desperate and disconnected from reality. And an annoying distraction from the essential. I have one small objection. I disagree with the assertion that "we edit most of our images." Maybe that's what most people do, but I would hope it's not the case for amateurs like me. To me, time spent in Lightroom is almost as wasteful as time spent searching for the newest gear. I would think differently if I was a professional or had to prepare exhibits of my work, but it's not my case. I have a permanent version of Lightroom, but hardly use it anymore, after switching to a system that gives me great satisfaction with straight out of camera JPEGs. The only software I absolutely need is one to view, rank, and organize my photos. For this purpose, something like Photo Mechanic is much more useful than than Lightroom. I prefer to store raw files (unconverted) as back-ups, in the remote case where I would need to make major edits to a photos. Everyone's mileage will vary, of course.

I'm using Denoise function in Photoshop to clean some of my old images and make them even better. Often you don't really need an expensive camera.

Great video! I generally agree with your opinion. However, to a lot of photographers (or photo takers), new gear is a way to renew their interests in photography. Camera and lens manufacturers are reinforcing that idea to continue selling more equipment. New and more powerful equipment does make some images that couldn’t be achieved with older equipment, but that doesn’t really matter for general photographers. This is no different than upgrading your cars, phones, and even houses. Life is not always about practicality or needs. What people want drives innovation and makes life more interesting and sometimes crazier. Enjoy your travel and I look forward to your next video on composition.

Nice thoughts. Cheers from Vitória, Brazil.

Excellent point! I tend to think I need new gear all the time, and I get major GAS!. But then I see my photos and how I like to use my old Fuji X-T2 It is very small, and the lenses are pretty compact. The lenses I have and the camera I have is good enough for me, and I can use my money on travelling around the world to meet other photographers and see fun things.

I used a Nikon d750, as soon as the Nikon d850 arrived I bought it and it was a big disappointment, more expensive and no better photos. Now I bought two more d750 used even though it is 2023. For video, I use a sony alpha 7III, I bought a video GH5 for a tripod used as a backup for the church ... it turned out that the GH is surprisingly good and I use it as a prime video camera, and as a backup I bought a GH4. Of course, lenses are important. I don't plan to buy the Nikon z series for another year or so because there is no need, nor do I plan to spend money on video (although I could buy a newer one, for example a Sony alpha 7V for video and photography, because eventually you have to buy new equipment. And to make it easier for myself when I'm going to buy, buy I'll use a hybrid that supports both high-quality photos and high-quality video. By the way, the best photos that even won awards ... were taken with a mobile phone ;) There are no rules

Completely true. My camera doesn’t shoot video. It doesn’t have autofocus. It has manual or aperture priority. That’s it.

Super well said !

Your thoughts make me thinking and re-thinking. I am from one off those "less lucky" countries, where buying a camera for 1,000 euros for hobby purposes is a significant investment. And I was really hesitant to buy A6400 because it is a 4 ys old model now. And you would not buy a 4ys old electronic device nowadays, right? After watching your video I raised the question if I would ever push that gear to its limit while photographing my kids and taking some travel photos in those few seconds when I am free on our holidays. Of course not :) BTW greeting from Budapest, Hungary and congratulations to your channel. I will watch all your older videos as time allows, because I really like your tutorial style and overall approach.

Thanks!

I think is also a matter of how easy the content is to consume and what do we mostly use YT for. For example when I'm on my lunch break most of the time I just watch a few silly/shallow videos to disconnect my brain. Whereas deep instructional videos I watch less often just when I have the time to sit and be focused. Then I watch that carefully applying what I'm learning or taking notes as if it were a class. So by the end of the week I'd have watched many more silly videos than deep ones, although that doesn't mean that I'm more interested in the silly ones, those are only consumed and forgotten. I don't think this is the best way to consume content but I guess is how most of people do

Since there is A7CII, price of A7C is going down and I compared RAWs from my A6000 and A7C, saw the dynamic range and nicer tones and transitions, considered large battery which would allow me to take more pics before it dies, full frame sensor with stabilisation, improved AF, flippy display, weather sealing... And I realized I could do like 10 % better pics with this cam. I went excited to my wife, explained all the benefits of the new camera, showed huge discount and told her about these extra +10 % I could get for just spending whole my salary on this new gear... Long story short, she did not share my exitement. Next day in the morning I bought 4 books about photography, for the price of average lunch each. These can give me like +200 % better pics... I dont regret and Im not sure if I would say the same after spending load of money for new camera which is not even best already. Im falling in this marketing trap too often when it comes to camera gear, thanks for videos like these (and thanks god for wifes, of course :)

‘ no photographer is as good as the simplest camera’. To quote a great photographer… cannot remember the name

Great thoughts! Good to know you're in Brazil. If you come to North, to Brazilian Amazon, let me know. I live in Belem (PA). Cheers, man!

You are correct. Most cameras have many more bells and whistles than any of us can understand, much less need.

You’re right it’s not about the money spend on camera, it’s about money spent on travelling to exotic locations.

From what i observe, camera tech stuck since 2013 that is dual pixel focus, and theres no more technological advancement ever since, and in my opinion, theres no need anyway.

I think the "gear doesnt matter" crowd needs to realize that you need some minimal baseline of gear to really do photography. And that point is often lost. Like you need some kind of light to do portraits inside, you need a microphone to do video, you need a lens to make a photo.

I have a 10 year old camera. Works good for me.

Every amateur thinks the secret to creating successful art is tools and gear. They’ll spend thousands of dollars on gear while avoiding learning technique. It’s far scarier opening oneself up to honest critiques than it is dumping piles of money into gear.

we are a world of consumers. we tie our hopes and dreams to those found in products. a can of coke can suddenly become a symbol for the perfect day at the beach. gear is a natural first point of inspiration before we need to do a deep dive, hard thinking, and confront the simple fact that we all have limitations. even the best photographer can't possibly produce award winning work with every photo. perhaps new gear might offer new insights without all the trials and tribulations. perhaps its a comfort for when times are tough because its fun to use. but the algorithm gods also play a big role on youtube, and they do update and change with time. they don't say how they change so you don't have a lot of control over it. but it works both ways so its probably best to ignore it. all your content is great. its very "more-ish" that is, i want more after every vid. i just hope you have a sustainable source of inspiration that doesn't require new gear to come out

First, upgrade your vision. Second, upgrade your vision even more and if you think you have a few "A picture is worth a thousand words" then, maybe then, you can think about upgrading your gear. Some people with millions of subs with the best gear never produced a stand-out image from the usual cliches. You rock Mitchell with your "shitty" gear and I wish I have a vision of yours for photography. A very few people are chosen by photography and the rest are chosen photography by themself and there is a huge difference. I think you belong to the "few chosen ones".

Misha what you're missing is consistency. You disappear for a while and then reappear again. As far selling courses, check out this guy. Serge Ramelli. He's a cityscape photographer. He does a good job selling his stuff. Doesn't over sell it. Poka poka

Cameras are just tools and all tools have their limitations. Get to know the limitations and strength of the tools and we can get the job done. I have few cameras and I used them for many years. They still works well.

What kind of microphone are you using? Your audio is solid

You should create a workshop to teach some of your lessons. "In theory, theory and practice are the same. In practice, they are not." --Albert Einstein

awesome

You talk far too much sense. It will never catch on😀.

You’re definitely correct when it comes to photography videos on RU-vid. Gear supersedes everything else. Its the Top Trumps syndrome… which is largely irrelevant in the real world.

when you don't know how to make images you fallback on complaining about the gear. You never hear pro talk about what camera and lens they use, cause they know that's not all that important. ANY camera you buy today is the best camera in the history of photography

I hate this video…but you’re so famn right! :$