I have owned many cameras over the years: manual film cameras, point and shoot cameras, Micro Four Thirds cameras, APS-C cameras and professional full-frame cameras.
I’ve also bought lots of different lenses for all of these different cameras and camera formats, from cheap zooms to expensive primes.
But if I could start over, knowing what I know now and having experience with all of this gear, would I make the same choices? Would I buy and own the same stuff?
The answer is no way.
Keep it Simple
Starting over, I would try to keep everything as simple as possible. That means only two cameras. I say two cameras because I do think every photographer needs a backup camera, so in my “starting over” plan that’d mean owning a second copy of the same kind of camera or a closely similar model.
Keep it Cheap
I’ve spent a lot of cash on gear. I wouldn’t do that again. I would just get the cheapest camera that fits my needs and be done with it. Also consider that when a more expensive camera breaks, it’s more expensive to repair. I want a camera so cheap that I can just buy a new one for the cost of repairing a higher-end camera.
Image Quality Above All Else
In the past I have told myself that the image quality of certain cameras was “good enough”. Why even bother with carrying a camera around if you’re aiming just for “good enough” image quality? It is true that all modern sensors perform very well, but there are differences between the formats. There is a point where it’s hard to tell those differences (such as newer APS-C sensors versus full-frame sensors), but smaller sensor formats than APS-C just don’t deliver in a lot of circumstances. So no more “good enough” — I want superb image quality.
Controls Aren’t That Important
I don’t care that much about controls, buttons, dials, menu design, and so on. Are you going out shooting to make beautiful images, or are you out there to hold a camera and play with the buttons? I would absolutely rather have a camera with fewer controls that made stellar images than a “pro” camera with tons of buttons and dials that wasn’t so great.
Okay, Let’s Start Over
So what does this all mean? It means I’d choose an APS-C camera, like one from the Nikon D5x00 series. The sad thing is, I already have a Nikon D5100 that I feel performs better than any other camera I own. I should have just stopping buying cameras after that one. Using it with an old 30mm Sigma f1.4 lens, the D5100 delivers images I haven’t been able to match with other combinations. I can also easily set it up for video since it has a fully-articulated flip-out screen and an input for a microphone.
If I knew everything that I know now I would have just bought that one camera — or these days, Nikon’s latest version of it, the D5500 and focused on taking pictures rather than chasing gear.
Every photo in this article was taken with my little Nikon D5100 & 30mm f1.4 setup. I bet you, dear reader, probably thought a more expensive, newer, or possibly even a full-frame camera took these images. But they didn’t. It was Nikon’s little outdated “amateur” model that made them.
What do you think of my decision process and final choice? Leave a comment below with your thoughts and consider following me on Instagram.