Does Gear Matter? Why Professional Photographers Use CHEAP Cameras

NixonS · May 20, 2025

The question shouldn't be "does gear matter," the question should be: Does Gear Matter to You?

Because with a question like that, you're saying things that people within the community kind of already know. Things like:

- Older isn't broken.

- Older gear can produce amazing images.

- Older gear can be used for professional use

saltydogstudios · May 20, 2025

yardcoyote said:
You're right on the first point: the main interest of any commercial artist in any medium is earning a living. That means finding enough clients and then pleasing those clients so they pay you. Everything a commercial artist does in their pro work is in pursuit of those goals, though the details of how they do it vary with the type of work they do.

Some pro photographers rent the gear they use on shoots.

Some pro photographers only buy the gear they know they'll earn back through more / higher paying gigs.

Some pro photographers buy the latest and greatest.

Some pro photographers try a dozen samples before buying a lens, because sample variation matters to them.

Some pro photographers are loathe to upgrade to the latest because they love what their current gear gets them.

Some pro photographers (insert whatever you want to say here and it's probably true).

yardcoyote said:
And you're partially right about amateurs. Amateurs are driven by love, passion, and the idiosyncratic drive to seek their own goals, whatever they may be. But it's a mistake to generalize much about what those goals are. You will certainly find clumps where there seem to be groups of people who share a common interest: in amateur photography you might easily find bug hunters, birds-in-flight enthusiasts, exotic travelers, brick wall shooters looking for extreme sharpness, post production purists, and more. But for every person you find who is following an obvious trend, there are countless others striving for completely different goals, many of which are quite personal and may be close to impossible to describe in words.

I quite like the word dilettante. From the Italian dilettare "to delight" or "take delight in". From the Latin dēlectāre.

To be a dilettante is to take delight, to find delectable, the things that you do.

IDk why so many people get caught up in what "the pros do" as if that's a standard to live by.

FrancoD · May 20, 2025

"I quite like the word dilettante. From the Italian dilettare "to delight" or "take delight in". From the Latin dēlectāre.

To be a dilettante is to take delight, to find delectable, the things that you do.

IDk why so many people get caught up in what "the pros do" as if that's a standard to live by".

The word amateur comes from the Latin verb amare, to love, therefore one that does something for the love of it not for money.

If you do it for money than it becomes your PROfession...

GeoffRG · May 20, 2025

jjbinx said:
Regarding
". . . the myth that you need expensive, cutting-edge equipment to take amazing photos."

I've never heard or read of any such myth.

In my opinion the producer of that video has constructed a false premise just so that he/she can shoot it down.

jj

I wouldn't know. I won't be watching it as the creator probably gets paid per view.

Quarkcharmed · May 21, 2025

I'm a bit late to the party, but I've checked the video and this guy doesn't provide any evidence to support his claims. No links, no statistical data, no sources.

Pure speculation.

Night Pixel said:
The producer of this video says:
"Why professional photographers aren't obsessed with the latest camera gear - and why you shouldn't be either. In this video, I debunk the myth that you need expensive, cutting-edge equipment to take amazing photos. After spending time with elite photographers I've discovered the surprising truth about what equipment the pros are ACTUALLY using day-to-day - and it's not what camera manufacturers want you to believe! Whether you're into portrait, landscape, or wedding photography, this video might save you thousands of dollars and countless hours of gear obsession. I share real statistics about professional photography incomes, what cameras professionals are truly using, and where they're investing their money instead. Learn why the "income minus expenses equals profit" rule matters more than megapixels, burst rates, and AI autofocus when you're trying to succeed as a photographer."
What do you think? Is DP Review just a big marketing scheme to get non-pros to argue about gear and spend tons of cash on gear they do not need?

MoreorLess · May 21, 2025

NixonS said:
The question shouldn't be "does gear matter," the question should be: Does Gear Matter to You?

Because with a question like that, you're saying things that people within the community kind of already know. Things like:

- Older isn't broken.

- Older gear can produce amazing images.

- Older gear can be used for professional use

Something mentioned in the video which I think is significant is that there was arguably a period were "gear" was advancing very rapidly during the 00's especially, shifts up in sensor size, significant increases in resolution, noise performance, AF and FPS in the range were most would notice it.

The last 10-15 years I do think its arguable that things have slowed down and that what advancements we have seen have been more extreme performance(especially FPS) which might not be that useful. If your a serious video shooter I spose things have shifted more but I do think theres been an effort by the industry to try and sell the idea that same very rapid advancement is happening when for most people I'm not sure it is.

tbcass · May 21, 2025

xGR86x said:
Once upon a time you pretty much had to be a pro (ie somebody who would make a return off spendy cameras) to justify the high cost of high end gear.

I'm 80 years old. In my lifetime nothing has changed in that regard. The only justifications then as now was to have sufficient funds and receive an adequate return of enjoyment.

tbcass · May 21, 2025

sportyaccordy said:
mfinley said:

The definition of what a "pro" is must have morphed quite a bit from my day as I can assure you sharpness was the default requirement, if it wasn't sharp it was in the trash can.
I see posted on this website so many pictures where the focus point is off or the sharpness is off that I can't imagine how anyone would quantify amateurs as being the group who fixates on sharpness. But hey I'm old now and it's a different world.

Click to expand...

I can think of probably 10 things that matter more to the average photo shoot client than sharpness. Hell I never pixel peeped my own wedding photos. You are projecting your values onto everyone and by extension showing how little you understand the average person

As far as I can tell the average wedding client receives prints no larger than 8x10 at which size the photo would have to be quite blurry to be a problem. On the other hand many studio and fine art photographers use high rez FF and MF cameras because they want to capture as much detail as possible. Because of the wide range of types of photography a single generalization is futile.

tbcass · May 21, 2025

mfinley said:
I understand where your thinking comes from but believe it or not what you're referring to isn't really new, but goes back almost 3 decades.

At my age I consider 3 decades recent!

sportyaccordy · May 21, 2025

mfinley said:
sportyaccordy said:

mfinley said:

Dr Jason Polak said:

The objective of the professional is just to produce imagery that the client likes. The objective of the amateur is to produce shots they themselves like. Many (but not all) clients are unlikely to care about sharpness. But producing razor sharp photos is fun and important to the amateur.

Click to expand...

The definition of what a "pro" is must have morphed quite a bit from my day as I can assure you sharpness was the default requirement, if it wasn't sharp it was in the trash can.
I see posted on this website so many pictures where the focus point is off or the sharpness is off that I can't imagine how anyone would quantify amateurs as being the group who fixates on sharpness. But hey I'm old now and it's a different world.

Click to expand...

I can think of probably 10 things that matter more to the average photo shoot client than sharpness. Hell I never pixel peeped my own wedding photos. You are projecting your values onto everyone and by extension showing how little you understand the average person

Click to expand...

Ah, so your definition of "pro" is someone who works for an amateur consumer of photography—say, a bride or a family—while ignoring the many professionals who consume photography as part of their work. You think "mom at a wedding," I think "editor at Sports Illustrated." See how that works? I project, you project. That’s how these conversations usually go: people argue from their own example in their mind without ever actually defining the terms.

Over the years, while I’ve seen plenty of wedding photographers who barely knew what they were doing—what some might label a hack. But I’ve never encountered a hack working under an art director.

That's one subset of pros. Full time pros working under art directors like my wife are another subset. In both cases sharpness is valued in the context of end use, and while obviously having proper focus and no shutter blur is optimal it's definitely not the top priority.

AcquiredTaste · May 21, 2025

Night Pixel said:
The producer of this video says:
"Why professional photographers aren't obsessed with the latest camera gear - and why you shouldn't be either. In this video, I debunk the myth that you need expensive, cutting-edge equipment to take amazing photos. After spending time with elite photographers I've discovered the surprising truth about what equipment the pros are ACTUALLY using day-to-day - and it's not what camera manufacturers want you to believe! Whether you're into portrait, landscape, or wedding photography, this video might save you thousands of dollars and countless hours of gear obsession. I share real statistics about professional photography incomes, what cameras professionals are truly using, and where they're investing their money instead. Learn why the "income minus expenses equals profit" rule matters more than megapixels, burst rates, and AI autofocus when you're trying to succeed as a photographer."
What do you think? Is DP Review just a big marketing scheme to get non-pros to argue about gear and spend tons of cash on gear they do not need?

Sounds like an AI written article designed to gets clicks.

I'm what the article supposedly describes, and you are welcome to take a look at my gear list. Pros use what they need.

Bob A L · May 21, 2025

Good stuff I think, but I don't really care for or watch videos, preferring to read what I am interested in. But it sounds like you make some really good points that are not going to get much agreement from the dpr participants. The basic existence of this medium is based on the opposite belief. Do you have a medium that shares your beliefs and thoughts that can be read on the net somewhere? Link if possible would be interesting.

Photo-opinion · May 21, 2025

Whenever I see one of these YouTube videos telling us what ‘professional photographers’ do, I always wonder if the perpetrators actually know any.

In the days when photography was part of my job, I don’t think anybody ever asked what gear I was going to use; and when I commissioned photographers, or selected photos for publication, neither did I. It’s the photos that matter, not the kit.

I’ve bumped into a few lately (and quite a number over the years, having had professional connections and still being interested) and of two who were photographing the same kind of event recently, one was using a Nikon D850, the other a Canon R5. If you were to look at either’s website, you wouldn’t know.

(The main reason each was using one or the other for those shoots wasn’t, btw, one that YouTubers who tell us what pros choose and why would be likely to put first, and it had nothing at all to do with the cost.)

tbcass · May 21, 2025

Photo-opinion said:
Whenever I see one of these YouTube videos telling us what ‘professional photographers’ do, I always wonder if the perpetrators actually know any.

90%, give or take, of YouTubers are just hacks like me acting like they know more than they really do. Since most of what is to be found on the internet is pure garbage you have to know some knowledge already to separate the hacks from the rest. Some of the crazy conspiracy theories passed around as truth boggles the mind.

xGR86x · May 21, 2025

tbcass said:
xGR86x said:

Once upon a time you pretty much had to be a pro (ie somebody who would make a return off spendy cameras) to justify the high cost of high end gear.

Click to expand...

I'm 80 years old. In my lifetime nothing has changed in that regard. The only justifications then as now was to have sufficient funds and receive an adequate return of enjoyment.

Negative. Im old enough to remember not seeing many ILCs in the 80s to 2000s. I sure hope you are not arguing that the common person today has less ILCs in hand than say 1985? And you should also know that household income is far lower, not many common people today can survive with single parent income, both work now.

So we have less money but more high end cameras? How does that work? I'll tell you how, culture and the public mind has changed and more people care about photos and selfies, likely due to social media. And that's with camera phones already saturated.

And im not talking about NEW camera sales only, im talking about how many people are out there with ILCs. New sales won't reflect people buying used. Less money, more cameras.

xGR86x · May 21, 2025

tbcass said:
Photo-opinion said:

Whenever I see one of these YouTube videos telling us what ‘professional photographers’ do, I always wonder if the perpetrators actually know any.

Click to expand...

90%, give or take, of YouTubers are just hacks like me acting like they know more than they really do. Since most of what is to be found on the internet is pure garbage you have to know some knowledge already to separate the hacks from the rest. Some of the crazy conspiracy theories passed around as truth boggles the mind.

I think you are right but there is a 2nd truth that can be possible at the same time. I think maybe you guys are the older gen of pros, guys who worked on the ground, out in the world. Old school people friendly photography.

The newer generation that tends to thrive on social media i'd say is a different group. When they say "professional photog" i think they are only aware of people like themselves, so their info is incomplete and doesn't apply to guys like you.

AcquiredTaste · May 21, 2025

tbcass said:
sportyaccordy said:

mfinley said:

The definition of what a "pro" is must have morphed quite a bit from my day as I can assure you sharpness was the default requirement, if it wasn't sharp it was in the trash can.
I see posted on this website so many pictures where the focus point is off or the sharpness is off that I can't imagine how anyone would quantify amateurs as being the group who fixates on sharpness. But hey I'm old now and it's a different world.

Click to expand...

I can think of probably 10 things that matter more to the average photo shoot client than sharpness. Hell I never pixel peeped my own wedding photos. You are projecting your values onto everyone and by extension showing how little you understand the average person

Click to expand...

As far as I can tell the average wedding client receives prints no larger than 8x10 at which size the photo would have to be quite blurry to be a problem.

My average wedding purchases a 20x30 for their main art print. I don't think you are speaking from experience.

tbcass · May 21, 2025

xGR86x said:
tbcass said:

xGR86x said:

Once upon a time you pretty much had to be a pro (ie somebody who would make a return off spendy cameras) to justify the high cost of high end gear.

Click to expand...

I'm 80 years old. In my lifetime nothing has changed in that regard. The only justifications then as now was to have sufficient funds and receive an adequate return of enjoyment.

Click to expand...

Negative. Im old enough to remember not seeing many ILCs in the 80s to 2000s. I sure hope you are not arguing that the common person today has less ILCs in hand than say 1985? And you should also know that household income is far lower, not many common people today can survive with single parent income, both work now.

So we have less money but more high end cameras? How does that work? I'll tell you how, culture and the public mind has changed and more people care about photos and selfies, likely due to social media. And that's with camera phones already saturated.

And im not talking about NEW camera sales only, im talking about how many people are out there with ILCs. New sales won't reflect people buying used. Less money, more cameras.

You never said a thing about how many people had ICL cameras and neither did I so it seems you are changing the subject. I was referring to your comment on justifying the high cost of gear. That said where I live far more people had ICL cameras between 1980-2000 than they do now. Maybe where you live things are different.

tbcass · May 21, 2025

AcquiredTaste said:
tbcass said:

sportyaccordy said:

mfinley said:

The definition of what a "pro" is must have morphed quite a bit from my day as I can assure you sharpness was the default requirement, if it wasn't sharp it was in the trash can.
I see posted on this website so many pictures where the focus point is off or the sharpness is off that I can't imagine how anyone would quantify amateurs as being the group who fixates on sharpness. But hey I'm old now and it's a different world.

Click to expand...

I can think of probably 10 things that matter more to the average photo shoot client than sharpness. Hell I never pixel peeped my own wedding photos. You are projecting your values onto everyone and by extension showing how little you understand the average person

Click to expand...

As far as I can tell the average wedding client receives prints no larger than 8x10 at which size the photo would have to be quite blurry to be a problem.

Click to expand...

My average wedding purchases a 20x30 for their main art print. I don't think you are speaking from experience.

I am not a wedding photographer. I'm speaking about the people where I live who hire a wedding photographer. I have never in 60 years seen one of those married couples buy a 20x30 print from a photographer. As far as I remember 8x10 was the largest print they purchased. You apparently deal with a very wealthy clientele, far wealthier than the people I know.

tbcass · May 21, 2025

xGR86x said:
tbcass said:

Photo-opinion said:

Whenever I see one of these YouTube videos telling us what ‘professional photographers’ do, I always wonder if the perpetrators actually know any.

Click to expand...

90%, give or take, of YouTubers are just hacks like me acting like they know more than they really do. Since most of what is to be found on the internet is pure garbage you have to know some knowledge already to separate the hacks from the rest. Some of the crazy conspiracy theories passed around as truth boggles the mind.

Click to expand...

I think you are right but there is a 2nd truth that can be possible at the same time. I think maybe you guys are the older gen of pros, guys who worked on the ground, out in the world. Old school people friendly photography.

The newer generation that tends to thrive on social media i'd say is a different group. When they say "professional photog" i think they are only aware of people like themselves, so their info is incomplete and doesn't apply to guys like you.

I am not a professional photographer.

Does Gear Matter? Why Professional Photographers Use CHEAP Cameras

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