The Best Camera

Posted by Philip Northeast Aug 23, 2007

The perception by some is that to take the best photographs you need a camera used by professional photographers.

Pro style digital cameras are intended for photographers with professional skills and these top line cameras have all the adjustments and tools that the pro photographer knows how to use.

Many novice photographers purchase the top of the range of model DSLR and are then disappointed that it does not instantly produce the professional quality images they see in magazines. One of the main reasons professional images look good is because of the skill and knowledge of the photographer, not the camera.

One factor that gets overlooked in all the marketing hype and megapixel numbers is lens quality. The lens is the most important part of the camera. Most photographers would be better off buying a simpler to operate, and cheaper, DSLR and spending more money on better quality lenses.

The rugged construction of pro cameras caters for constant use; their shutters are rated for 300,000 shots instead of 100,000 for normal DSLRs. This reflects the extra work load of a pro digital camera and does nothing for the quality of the images.

Another factor is specialisation. Even in film days the 35mm format SLR was not the ultimate in quality. It was a compromise between acceptable picture quality and portability. Its small size made the SLR a good compromise for shooting in the field.

Larger image format cameras produce stunning images, and in the digital era a 39 mega pixel P45 digital camera back from Phase One fitted to a medium format Hasselblad camera is still king of the studio.