Many of my friends who are thinking of buying or upgrading to a new camera always ask me these questions,

“What is the best camera to get?”

“Should I get a DSLR?”

“What lens should I buy?”

“Nikon or Canon?”

Bla bla bla..and the list goes on...

I have known of friends who go into depression by just making a decision on what camera to buy. I’ve seen people in forums switching between camera brands like they are changing their clothing's. It’s not common to hear about the “BBB” Syndrome in Singapore where photo enthusiast are “Buying Buying and Buying”   camera equipment; thinking that by pocketing that one lens would assure them a better photo.

Here’s the truth: Getting better equipment doesn’t improve the quality of your pictures. Spend time and effort on thinking how to create better images than to ponder what kind of cameras to get.

Now it is of no surprise that a good amount of photo enthusiast could not phantom this fact. “Doesn’t resolution play a part in image quality? What about Dynamic range? It makes a photo look more vibrant doesn’t it?”

Look, legendary photographers like Ansel Adams who produced tones of magnificent landscape photographs did not have to worry about HDR. Well known sociologist and photographer Lewis Hine did not mind the slow equipments that he had to make do with then and still could produce powerful photos to alert his society about abuse in child labour.

Better cameras don’t make better pictures, they just makes things easier for us to achieve that image we want to make.

Renowned online reviewer Ken Rockwell who earns his living by reviewing camera equipments does not mind hurting his readers’ feelings (and his income) by posting THIS. Chase Jarvis, a professional commercial photographer, took pains to publish a book that displays awesome photos taken by just using an iPhone. That proves to show one thing, you don’t really have to spend big bucks on big cameras to get wonderful pictures! Composing a good photo needs to be developed in the mind and changing the way of seeing things. Taking photos is suppose to be enjoyable and purposeful. But of course, it doesn’t mean that heavy equipments such as DSLR and Medium formats should be thrown off the shelves. What I do suggest is that we should put hold that thought of buying the new camera for a moment and start to think what kind of photos you want to take.

So in closing, a few takeaways for photo enthusiasts who are looking for a new camera:

1. 1)Work within your budget, do not overspend on what you’ve intended. A compact camera under $200 could well be a pretty decent equipment to take some impressive pictures.
   

2. 2)Even if you have loads of cash, don’t go into a buying frenzy, because you’ll be overwhelm by all the equipments you own. Instead make do with one lens if you’re buying a DSLR, start taking pictures and get use to it.
   

3. 3)DSLR is not a must if you want to take nice photos. DSLR only makes the photographer’s work easier in getting their pictures taken. They are normally recommended when you need to often take on situationally demanding assignments which require fast reflexes or under low lighting such as sports, concerts or photojournalism.
   

4. 4)The money saved from not buying a $1000 DSLR could well be spent on a good holiday or a short backpack trip in south east asia. Where you get to experience different cultures and have more opportunities to grab nice photos. What’s more you pocket not only photos but also a whole lot of great experiences with the world out there. Alternatively you could spend the extra cash by signing up for basic photography courses to get your fundamentals right and beef up your skills. Courses such as THIS could get you involve with professionals who are capable of mentoring you. What’s more, you’ll get to meet up with like minded photo enthusiast whom you can share and learn from.
   

5. 5)I know this could sound extreme to some. But to some serious photo enthusiasts out there who really want to seek to improvements in photography: Don’t buy a DSLR...Start with film! It trains you to really think about your shots before you decide to press down that shutter button!