camera or person behind camera?

[LBL2009]

Safe and perfect answer: The person behind the camera.

Honest answer: The camera

Look at what they have -

1. winners of photo competition
2. the masters
3. most people on forum who say it is the person behind camera

If you lend me a D90 with a 17-55mm f2.8 lens, I can do a better job than what I can do with my D40 + 18-55mm kit lens. :bsmilie:

 

[Etna-sama]

Same logic as how buying a top-dollar keyboard does not make the person using it a kick-ass writer or reporter.

 

[wootsk]

Same logic as how buying a top-dollar keyboard does not make the person using it a kick-ass writer or reporter.

It makes the person a better typist as he finds more comfort in typing.

 

[henry soh]

Hi, Both should be equally good to achieve the best result.

 

[divinemoment]

Ok, now after 2 years, I'm more interested to know what's the OP status?

 

[plainsunset]

It's 10% luck, 80% skill and 10% equipment.

If person is skillful, he can take good pictures with anything. Good equipment jus makes his work easier.
If person is unskillful, give him anything also no use. Because he dunno what he is doing. The occasional good shots are purely luck cos he cannot replicate the effect.
If you haven seen ppl who make great pictures with mobile phones...u ain't seen nth yet.

If the camera can produce good shots on it's on with no input from the man..then surely all D3 owners make good shots. But sadly that is way far from the truth. Are all newspaper photos nice?

The reason publishing house requires god camera...cos they wanna eliminate the part of the equation.

 

[acpical]

Ok, now after 2 years, I'm more interested to know what's the OP status?

Dunno but for you, I know for sure your skills deserve a better camera!

 

[wootsk]

It's 10% luck, 80% skill and 10% equipment.

If person is skillful, he can take good pictures with anything. Good equipment jus makes his work easier.
If person is unskillful, give him anything also no use. Because he dunno what he is doing. The occasional good shots are purely luck cos he cannot replicate the effect.
If you haven seen ppl who make great pictures with mobile phones...u ain't seen nth yet.

If the camera can produce good shots on it's on with no input from the man..then surely all D3 owners make good shots. But sadly that is way far from the truth. Are all newspaper photos nice?

The reason publishing house requires god camera...cos they wanna eliminate the part of the equation.

I give you a 600mm with a 1.5 crop body and ask you to photo some landscape shots near a beach resort vs a noob who has a 12mm and a ff using auto mode, I seriously wonder who will turn out better photo?

Lets remove the luck factor and we can see that people mistake the person behind the camera because in modern time, most people who handles the used to be only professional equipment and blame the camera because they just haven't learn the inside out of how good their equipment actually are and for some, even some of the most basic for handling it and photography knowledge and skills. But for those who learned it, they find restriction in their current equipment. Seriously you don't really have much chance to shoot a high up in the sky bird with your current kit lens at max around 80mm with crop.

Regarding, the good photo with phone, there is a video online about IPhone photo shoot. Maybe his conclusion will be more meaningful about how much touch up he need to do using the software and the restriction to only using certain style for his photoshoot.

 

[theme spirit]

Give a Professional photographer a canon 1000d with kit lens And a canon 1d mark iv with L lenses. see the result and you'll know the answer

 

[starlens]

The person behind the gear .....

 

[LukaviZ]

=D

it's a case to case basis, but the strength of a photo mostly relies on composition.
composition itself is an art; formless, intangible.

while good composition is made with skill rather than gear, better gear allows for more keepers.

lack of good composition by someone with good gear, just gives him nicely focused shots with no distinct elements that constitute good composition.

you'll be surprised that some people look at their precisely focused picture that's sharp and rich in colours, and call it a 'good shot'. it's a very subjective thing, i know, but good photography goes beyond the simple factors like colour and extreme sharpness.

thus, i still stand by the fact that the person plays a bigger role in the creation of a good picture.

PS: point to add. anyone using a 600mm lens to shoot landscape is quite daring. not impossible, but closely there. there is one situation where this 600mm + crop shooter will turn out a better shot that a 12mm + ff shooter, and that is, to shoot an island or object/subject that is extremely far away. the 12mm ff will barely see anything. =P

 

[divinemoment]

Dunno but for you, I know for sure your skills deserve a better camera!

My dear friend,

The short answer: My size dictates the wt of camera I should carry
The long answer: My CO holds the credit card.

Cheers

 

[wootsk]

=D

it's a case to case basis, but the strength of a photo mostly relies on composition.
composition itself is an art; formless, intangible.

while good composition is made with skill rather than gear, better gear allows for more keepers.

lack of good composition by someone with good gear, just gives him nicely focused shots with no distinct elements that constitute good composition.

you'll be surprised that some people look at their precisely focused picture that's sharp and rich in colours, and call it a 'good shot'. it's a very subjective thing, i know, but good photography goes beyond the simple factors like colour and extreme sharpness.

thus, i still stand by the fact that the person plays a bigger role in the creation of a good picture.

PS: point to add. anyone using a 600mm lens to shoot landscape is quite daring. not impossible, but closely there. there is one situation where this 600mm + crop shooter will turn out a better shot that a 12mm + ff shooter, and that is, to shoot an island or object/subject that is extremely far away. the 12mm ff will barely see anything. =P

I wrote near a beach resort because there will be nothing there out for LANDSCAPE towards the sea area. As such, you will be forced to shoot the land area...

Anyway photography isn't really call "art" from my POV. People who learn the skill and how to handle their equipment are for different reason. It is just that some people learns it because they like to use it as a media to produce "art" work.

 

[PaulKami]

I think the poll answered the question, and I agree with it to some degree. 90% photographer, 10% gear...

If a photographer doesn't know how to take photographs (framing, lighting etc), even if he uses a D3X, the photo will not turn out to be awesome. On the other hand, if you pass him a compact, he maybe able to do wonders with it.

 

[zaren]

it's the camera. that's why everyone can't stop buying.

 

[Legoz]

A good photo is relative. A good camera and a good photographer would yield nothing if no one appreciates the picture. To the uninitiated, every pic can be a good one.

 

[tehzeh]

both lah both lah.

 

[Deathegg]

In the gaming world, having a better mouse with better tracking doesn't mean you can frag your opponents better than someone who is using a normal mouse. Skill is the key.

 

[wootsk]

In the gaming world, having a better mouse with better tracking doesn't mean you can frag your opponents better than someone who is using a normal mouse. Skill is the key.

Having a better mouse allows you to have an edge over someone who has the same level of skill as you.

 

[Deathegg]

Having a better mouse allows you to have an edge over someone who has the same level of skill as you.

Yup, but personally I think for photography, human factor is really important coz two different people cannot take pictures from exactly the same angle. Even the time of the day etc are different.

One may have the best gear but they still need an eye for detail and beauty (may not suit all but should be to most, e.g. fashion designers' works may not suit all but the better ones appeal to most)