I get so frustrated when people ask me what camera, lens, film, etc. I use to capture/create my photos. I can’t stress enough how much all of those things don’t matter and how irrelevant they all really are. When I tell people I use a Nikon D90 and a cheap, Chinese-made 50mm lens for 95% of my work, they either refuse to believe me or laugh in my face. It’s especially priceless to watch the reaction of the guys shelling out big dough for their Hasselblad, Leica, high-end Nikon & Canon systems. I can’t stand watching people get caught up in the latest and greatest cameras. The camera is nothing (and I stress nothing) more than a recording device. Just like a tape recorder is to musicians, a camera is to photographers. It’s not going to boost creativity, spark new ideas or make the difference between an award winning composition and one that can just be tossed away. It’s who’s behind the camera and how they approach their subjects and environment. The two most important things in photography are:
1) The photographers eye and it’s ability to capture the world around it in a visually striking way, be it landscapes, portraits, products, whatever. A creative and innovative eye far outweighs any technical aspects in photography.
2) Light. I suppose you could argue that this is more important than the eye, in the sense that if there’s no light, there’s no photo (but hell, without eyes, we’d be blind and yeah…)! Good light, be it natural or synthesized, makes the difference between a bad photo and a good one. There’s something truly magical about good natural light and it’s what I prefer shooting in as much as possible.
Those two things then, are the most important things in photography. The camera body really is, in my opinion, the last thing one should worry about. There are just too many other, more important, things to worry about first. Don’t get caught up in the megapixel war, the Nikon vs. Canon battle, ISO performance, etc. It really doesn’t matter! You’ll end up shelling out, and subsequently losing, thousands of dollars if you get caught up in the hype. Buy yourself an entry-level SLR (film or digital; up to you) and get the fuck out and shoot!
