An odd photography thing…

If you do this long enough you’ll find a time that a new camera has great new bells and whistles but somehow doesn’t make files that look as good. Notice I didn’t write sharper, more contrasty, or with better color. Those are mostly measurable things. Some cameras have struck some kind of magical balance of all of these. Those cameras may even be completely “lesser” models by any measure, but still somehow shine through the specs (or lack of them). Fuji was my first introduction to this. An older Fuji X-E2 has a 16mp APS-C sensor but punches way about that number. I makes great files with sharpness, contrast, and color that jump out. With any lens. Their X100F and X-Pro2 have a 24mp chip that does the same, as does the X-H1. Have a look at my NYC 2022 gallery. Those are taken with the X-Pro2 and a 16-80 zoom full of compromises. Then there’s that purple flower shot in another post. That’s when I discovered the Nikon Z5 sensor also has that magic about it. Here’s another from the Z5…

Nikon Z5 with Z 50mm/1.8S

This one though is with a Z 50mm/1.8S, a great prime lens. But still, there is something in the depth, sharpness, and color that all comes together nicely, beyond its price point in my opinion. The Fuji GFX100S I use for work has it SOMETIMES, which tells me it is more lens dependent. Here is the Fuji…

Fujifilm GFX100S with GF120mm/4 Macro

To help make my point here. The Fuji camera/lens combination would cost about $7500. The Nikon about $1200. I’d expect the Fuji to perform. The Nikon was a surprise. I’d expect it to be good/great, it is a Nikon, but it supposedly uses a dated sensor from their older DSLRs, not the newest, latest and greatest. Yet still there it is.

So… here we are. Do you NEED the latest model or WANT it? Maybe a new lens is a better spend. If you have a camera that delivers what you see when you push that button, invest in it instead of replacing it. A camera that captures your vision as you intended is a rare beast. If you can edit a little to get there, that is equally fine, but if you have to wrestle with the file and are still not satisfied that the image conveys what you saw, maybe it is time to try something new. I can take commercially viable images with most any camera, and have done so for many years. But only a few have rewarded me with my vision effortlessly. I’ve started to go back and re-purchase those cameras to hold on to this time. Not all of them, but a few hand-picked examples. No client ever asks what camera I used, but they do see the results. Let your images speak for you, not the brand of camera you shoot.