One of the reasons I love my job is for the fact I get to talk to photographers of all levels from across the world. Being we’re photographers, we’re ALL gear heads-only some have more control over it than others and we always get around to discussing the latest and greatest gear which of course includes cameras. One of the things I hear from many “top” photographers is “It’s not the gear” and something I’ve been trying to formulate in a way that doesn’t make me seem the antagonist is I disagree…to an extent.

Understand when I say I disagree I’m not saying lets run out and buy the Canon 1Dx or whatever the newest Canon camera is, what I’m saying is the gear helps to create the vision. Canon vs Nikon? Who cares right? Right, BUT there is a specific reason we own Canon or Nikon. For me, when I started digital I went Canon because they had just announced the EOS Digital Rebel 300D. Coming from a film background I wasn’t ready to make the switch and Canon had announced this new DSLR that was sub 1,000.00. To this day I have very little Canon equipment so making a switch is super easy for me. I’ve kept myself light for this simple fact.  The new photographers and dedicated, aka “fanboys” will fight tooth and nail to prove their camera maker is the best on the planet, the professionals state their reasons for the specific body.

While stating their preferences, the pro’s always say they can shoot with ANY camera, yet most often times they have the top of the line Canon EOS 1DS Mark III or Nikon D800. Why? Because the gear DOES matter! You’re thinking; “Jay, how DARE YOU disagree with the pros, sir!” And I digress. I once had a talk with a mentor of mine and he said “Give me a Brownie box and I will get you an amazing image” but went on to say that while he COULD get an amazing image with the BB, he chooses to stick with his digital gear. While equipment doesn’t matter, it helps make our jobs easier by giving us access to tools that we’ve never had before, or enhances the tools we had but needed better. When I got my digi rebel, I became serious about model photography. As a result, I got 8 publications with that camera and kit lens. This 6mega pixel camera with the 28-75 f3.5-f5.6 kit got me published in major magazines! My next upgrade was the Canon EOS 20D and Tamron pro grade lens. Another 5 images from that camera. Add another 12 images to the 40D and you can see where I’m going. It’s not the camera BUT having the ability to have things such as faster buffer, faster and better auto focus and higher iq performance at higher [64,000] ISO!

It’s not the equipment…no, but having the ability to get the shot RIGHT when we need it is important so the equipment plays a large role in the grand scheme of things!