Gear

The best camera is the one you have with you.

This statement is so true. Too much time in photography is spent obsessing over gear. Especially in the technical communities a conversation about photography quickly turns into a gear discussion. Gear does matter, but not to the minute details it is discussed.

Let me share a minimal set of aspects worth considering when discussing gear.

Purpose

The things you want out of your camera makes all the difference. Do you need video capabilities with an external microphone input? Do you need autofocus that can detect racing cars? Do you need a large sensor to shoot in low-light situations or get blurry backgrounds? Does it need to fit in the front pocket of your jacket?

Everything is a compromise. You might find that you want different camera setups to cover multiple use-cases. At a concert in 2024 I noticed the professional photographer of the band carry three distinct setups: a smaller interchangeable lense camera with a normal lens for close ups, a large DLSR-type camera with a tele lens for shots from longer distance and a traditional videocamera held sideways to capture vertical videos for social media. Each camera has a totally different strengths and weaknesses in features and usability.

My systems

I have two main camera setups.

Smartphone

My Android smartphone is always at hand, making it my default camera. I can double-tap the power button to activate the camera. I do so when pulling the camera out of my pocket, resulting in a very quick shootout-style action to get a camera. This way I can take a photo in only a few seconds. If needed I can spend some more seconds to adjust exposure or change the focus point.

The quality of the smartphone is acceptable, especially for candid shots.

For more control I like the Open Camera app, which can be customized and can record RAW images for later processing. Unfortunately I haven't found a way to change the default camera app to Open Camera to have it available with two taps.

With today's smartphone camera quality I see little need for compact cameras, other than usability or longer zoom ranges.

Full-frame mirrorless

For more serious photography I have moved from a compact camera, to Micro Four Thirds mirrorless, to crop-sensor DSLR and now to full-frame mirrorless. My current camera is an EOS RP with a EF lens adapter to fit an old professional quality Canon 24-70mm f/2.8 L zoom lens. This setup is a low-cost combination of old, new and consumer-level gear that provides me with great autofocus, quality optics, nice background blur and great light sensitivity.

Modern mirrorless autofocus like Dual Pixel Autofocus provides me with fast eye-tracking autofocus, ensuring correct focus when photographing people. The full-frame sensor helps in low-light conditions and increases background blur to help separate the subject from the background. The autofocus and the ability to review photo's through the viewfinder speeds up the photography process.

I use prime lenses occasionally, trading flexibility in zoom for a lens that is lighter, more compact, focusses faster and is better optically. Most of the time however I use older professional zoom lenses, either a 24-70mm f/2.8 without image stabilisation or a 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 with image stablisation. The lenses are large and heavy, but I find this acceptable when doing event photography.

In most situations I don't use a flash as the combination of full frame sensor with wide aperature lens can handle most natural light situations. When needed or preferred I use an external flash in order to bounce flash off from the ceiling or walls. I haven't needed high speed sync flash yet.

Technical aspects

Let's dive into some technical aspects that make a difference.

Portability

You can only take the photo if you have your camera with you. For spontaneous photography you need to be able to have your camera ready in time.

To illustrate this: in the past when I was mountaineering I had a digital compact camera in a weatherproof bag on my hip belt with manual dials I could use with gloves on. It had an optical finder so the batteries could last weeks without charging and I didn't have to change batteries in an uncomforatble position. Where most people only took photos at rests, I was able to take photos during the action because I had a setup that enabled me to.

I like my smartphone for portability, but also have had good experiences in the past with my compact camera. My previous Micro Four Thirds setup was compact and light and didn't need much space in my bag. I could therefore also bring additional lenses. My current full-frame mirrorless setup is larger and heavier and so there are situations where I decide to leave it at home in favor of using my smartphone.

Larger sensor sizes help reduce noise and increase color accuracy, but result in larger camera bodies and larger lenses that contain more glass and thus weigh more. Zoom lenses compared to prime lenses bring flexibility, but are heavier, larger and relatively more expensive.

Cost

Good cameras are expensive, especially upfront. Lenses and cameras can last for many years and keep their value accordingly, so yearly costs are lower.

You can save money by buying older gear second-hand or reduce upfront cost by buying camera gear aimed at entry-level photographers. As the photography market is big and established, there are no reasonable way to get the latest technology for a low price. The easiest way to save money is to need less gear, need less features and in general rely on older technology.

Camera gear might need repair on the parts that wear out, like a shutter in a camera body or the electronic ribbon cables in a zoom lens. I've had repairs done on both of the second-hand professonal level Canon zoom lenses I use. A professional repair was about half of the price of the second hand price, making the repair worth its cost. For gear of lower quality a repair might not be available or might not be worth the cost.

I recommend to choose a system and grow into it, buying better or more gear along the way. Main choices are the camera brand and sensor size. Unfortunately the lens mounts are the distinguishing factor in the camera market.

Autofocus

This is the feature that made me switch to my current camera and this is the feature that is the greatest innovation in modern cameras. The autofocus points on my DSLR would often miss focus slightly or even completely. Sometimes they'd focus on something that was closer to the camera and close to the point I was aiming at.

Older mirrorless autofocus systems based on contrast detection are slow. At least to slow for my liking.

Face tracking and eye deetection in modern autofocus helps me get the correct autofocus when photographing people. This in turn enables the use of a wider aperature, enabling a faster shutter speed and lower ISO, increasing sharpness and color accuracy. Furthermore the face detection helps the camera to properly set the correct exposure, assisting the photographer.

Newer cameras can detect more subjects and can focus more reliably. I'm very much looking forward to having these features in the future, but at the moment they aren't worth the extra cost for me.

Note that the speed of the autofocus can be limited by the camera lens. My second-hand professional camera lenses focus almost instantaneous, whereas modern professional lenses are even faster. Cheaper lenses often focus slowly, which can be an issue when trying to photograph fast-moving subjects like cars, birds in flight or at a sports game.

Compatibility

Camera systems are systems. In order for all the advanced features to work, they need to communicate. This is why I am careful when buying third-party electronics like lenses or batteries.

My Sigma 100mm macro lens mimics as a Canon 100-400mm zoom lens as it uses the same identifier when communicating with the camera body. I assume this is a trick of the manufacturer to get some in-camera lens corrections to work. As I use both lenses, the editing software cannot always determine which lens is which. Lenses from the camera brand can be expected to properly identify themselves and will often have in-camera lens corrections supported.

Unfortunately Canon decided to use encryption in their battery communication for modern cameras. Therefore my Canon EOS RP can accept third-party batteries, but then there is no communication on the state of charge. Third party battery manufacturers were able to get power delivery working, but haven't yet cracked the communication. With original Canon batteries I get an upfront warning when the battery is low. I can still take a dozen of photos before the camera shuts off. This feature is important for me, which is the reason why I don't use third-party batteries.

Other aspects

All the rest are smaller aspects that come down to personal preference and the amount of money you can spend. Image stabilisation helps, but takes up space and weight in a lens and adds cost. Dual card slots help lower the risk of losing photos due to failing memory cards, but is only available on professional camera bodies. Longer battery life requires larger batteries that result in a larger camera body. Built-in flash is only flattering in some situations and is often only in cameras targeted to consumers. Focus stacking is a handy feature if you do macro photography.

Other gear

Monitor

A good computer monitor with accurate color representation is very helpful when editing photos.

I have set a custom profile to a lower brightness so I can easily reduce brightness when editing in the morning or evening. I have noticed I'd edit to a lower exposure value when the room lighting was darker as otherwise the photo would look to bright. Editing at a lower brightness ensures that I edit to a correct exposure level.

Bags

Working from a well organized bag is a pleasure. I have bags in different sizes and with different features like a laptop compartment. That way I can pick the bag that is best fit for the occasion. I like the bags that provide access while keeping the bag on my shoulder, like slings do.