Don't get stuck on that camera

If I could do a few things over in life I would make much less fuss about equipment. Especially cameras. I get attached to things and often they are not are worth it. Cameras are one of those things.

This sounds crazy, right? I mean come on, when you buy a camera you buy the best for your needs? Lenses and all other stuff are much less important, right? Well, not quite...

I share this with the hope that someone out there will not repeat my mistakes.

I bought my first digital single-lens reflex camera (D-SLR) in April of 2005. That was Canon's EOS 350D. It's sensor had 8 megapixels which rivalled Nikon's 6 megapixels at the time. At that time D-SLR cameras had only very recently started eating solid foods.

Let's just say that a huge number of things happened since then. For one, In the name of upgrading, I sold my 350D not three years later for about 25% of what I paid for it.

Back in 2002 Kodak upset the apple cart when they produced their DCS14-N. It was what film shooters wanted. A REAL digital camera with a sensor the size of a frame of 35mm negative. This was the first full frame D-SLR camera. It was no great success but it did pave the way for a deluge of new cameras second to none.

Back to topic, though. Over the years since then I have lost count of the number of Canon D-SLR cameras I have owned. As soon as it made sense to do so (I crippled my cashflow!!) I HAD to own a full frame camera. This was Canon's EOS 5D Mark 1.

I had two of them and I am about to buy the third one. Why? Because it is a classic and I WANT it. If you have had one you will understand.

So, somewhere between my 5D Mark 1's and an EOS 1D Mark IIN, I HAD to get the EOS 1Ds Mark II. This destroyed whatever traces of cashflow remained. It was, and still is, one AMAZING camera.

The thing is though, we are no longer in 2008. Over the last years technology has improved by lightyears. Things even got cheaper. Camera brands and models proliferated to the point of stupidity.

Newer is better as sad as that is. Unlike the good old days of film there remain no clear-cut boundaries. Even then boundaries were rather fuzzy if you knew where to look. The class system is dead and gone as far as digital photography goes.

My top-model camera from 2005 is now much like a less-loved uncle two towns away. Not one we spend a lot of time with. It can still produce amazing results, make no mistake. The sad reality is that no-one cares except me. It is approaching a point where most entry-level cheapies run circles around it.

Herein lies the point I am trying to make. Please learn from my mistakes. Good lenses will be in demand for many more years than camera models and bodies. Flashes are tools. Use them up and replace them.

By all means buy a nice camera. I am not saying buy the cheapest or smallest model available. What I am saying is that cameras find their way to the landfill almost as soon as mobile phones. OK, OK it is not really that bad. The fact remains that I will now spend more than the camera's value when I buy a 10 year old new battery to keep it going. See them as the tools they are and do not overspend or get too attached.

Overspend on great lenses. Those are potential investments. Camera bodies are not.

Happy shooting!