Do You Have A "Professional" Camera?

[ksmattfish]

I had to resurrect this thread , because tonight I shot a wedding with a Pentax K-1000, while the Bride's father and sister ran around with a Nikon DX1 and a Nikon F5. They both did double takes when they saw my puny camera, but they'd been to my website, and liked my stuff, so it wasn't a big deal.

They had so much gear that I asked if they were professional photographers; nope, the sister is an aspiring photographer, and dad is a big NASCAR fan, and needs the heavy duty gear to get shots of the race cars.

Their cameras had giant (like 28-300+), slow, consumer zooms, while I was using fast primes, so I think our photos will have a different look. Hopefully their photos will compliment mine. The father approached me and said that he hoped I didn't mind, but they were passionate amateur photogs. I told him "no problem", I understand

 

[Hertz van Rental]

I shot a wedding with a Pentax K-1000

Nothing wrong with the Pentax K1000. I have one in my cupboard - even though I'm a dyed-in-the-wool Olympus man (SLR & DSLR). I bought it for my son when he wanted to do Photography. They are good, robust and dependable cameras with great lenses... and built like tanks. What more do you want in a camera?

 

[DocFrankenstein]

> One common question posted on this newsgroup pertains to whether or not
> "pros" use a particular camera,... These are obviously amateurs
> posting these questions, since a professional
> would already know better. I've met some amateurs fully loaded with
> "pro-gear" and hardly capable taking a better snapshots than someone with a
> cheap fixed focus single-use camera.
>
> Why should an amateur worry about "pro-gear" if all he or she is shooting
> are family snapshots and cliche travel photos? Is the perceived reliability
> and so-called "ruggedness" of pro-gear material for the snapshooter who uses
> maybe two dozen rolls of film per year, if that?

This post makes a lot of faulty assumptions. It assumes that all amateurs with "pro" cameras are only taking snapshots. In my experience, they are usually pretty serious amateurs, not family snappers (not that there's anything wrong with family pictures). Sure some people like to collect equipment, but where's the harm in that? It just makes it cheaper for the rest of us since the manufacturers sell more bodies.


Secondly it assumes that the features of a pro camera wouldn't appeal to non-professionals. This is clearly ludicrous. So called pro cameras (F5, F100, Maxxum 9, Canon EOS-1, Contax RTSIII, etc.) are rugged, durable, and feature rich. They're generally a pleasure to use, have large bright viewfinders (usually 100%), and will last about as long as you'd ever need a camera to last. A Pro might wear out a pro camera, but that same camera will last an amateur pretty much forever if he wants it to. These cameras have mirror lockups, depth of field previews, good spot meters, and a host of other features that even amateurs can learn to love.


Third it assumes that taking fewer rolls in a year means any camera will do. This isn't so. The right camera for the job is the one you enjoy using, especially if you're an amateur. If you're a pro, maybe you have to use whatever gets the job done in the most cost effective manner, but an amateur is out there for fun. If that's the goal, then the right camera is the one that has the features he needs and the one that is the most fun to use.


For me, that's a Contax RTSIII. Wonderful ergonomics/controls, plenty of the right features, great lenses, and solid as a rock.

1

 

[terri33 4]

I had to resurrect this thread , because tonight I shot a wedding with a Pentax K-1000, while the Bride's father and sister ran around with a Nikon DX1 and a Nikon F5. They both did double takes when they saw my puny camera, but they'd been to my website, and liked my stuff, so it wasn't a big deal.

They had so much gear that I asked if they were professional photographers; nope, the sister is an aspiring photographer, and dad is a big NASCAR fan, and needs the heavy duty gear to get shots of the race cars.

Their cameras had giant (like 28-300+), slow, consumer zooms, while I was using fast primes, so I think our photos will have a different look. Hopefully their photos will compliment mine. The father approached me and said that he hoped I didn't mind, but they were passionate amateur photogs. I told him "no problem", I understand

Ha, good story, Matt. Be sure to post some of those Pentax pics!

 

[wharrison]

Unfortunately, this is one of those endless "discussions" that end up going nowhere and, in the process seem to discourage or "PO" a lot of people. It is somewhat said, that photographers seem to be the only ones discussing such topics. I have never witnessed conversations with architectects who argue or discuss such things as drafting boards, paper, drawing or drafting pencils, etc.

Over the years, I've seen many "professional" people - doctors and lawyers - take ordinary to sometimes poor photographs with their Leicas and Hasselblads and equally many fine amateur photographers who take excellent to superb photographs with other cameras.

On this point, perhaps a word from Alfred Eisenstaedt, one of the original photographers for Life magazine, might offer something useful.


"The key to Eisenstaedt's genius lay in his humility and humanity. "My style hasn't changed much in all these sixty years," he explained. "I still use, most of the time, existing light and try not to push people around. I have to be as much a diplomat as a photographer. People often don't take me seriously because I carry so little equipment and make so little fuss. When I married in 1949, my wife asked me. 'But where are your real cameras?' I never carried a lot of equipment. My motto has always been, 'Keep it simple.'"

A link to a short biography and some photographs is given below. For those, who enjoy reading in the area of photography his "The Eye of Eisenstaedt" is still a superb read. Copies are available through your public library and/or through alibris.com or abe.com - both excellent sources of used books.

http://artscenecal.com/ArticlesFile/Archive/Articles1997/Articles0397/AEisenstaedt.html

Bill

 

[erniehatt]

Well I must say, if you people are going to continue to be rude and insulting Im afraid you are going to deter others away from the forum. Although I don't necessarilly agree with all that he said, it does make some sense. It seems that many ofnyou are not old enough to remember the box browne cameras of years ago, they took some very good pictures, I have seen some pictures taken by profesional photographers using them, given the quality of film in tha era theyn were brilliant. The dicsionary says that a profesional is someone doing an activity for pay, and some one skilled in the field of there endevour, nothing about the equipment they use. It is a known fact that there are people out there that must have the latest and the best, wether they are capable of using it or not, and those that have asperations but no skill to back it up. As the gentleman said earlier "nice way to get new people to stick around" I think not. The more I see of this Forum the more I have concerns. Ernie

 

[Xmetal]

My grasp of a Pro shooter is someone who does it solely for a living - not someone who owns a super-duper SLR with a big collection of gear that only shoots on weekends.

I shoot for money as well the 'love of the game' but I don't shoot for a living therefore i'm not a Pro, People think my works look professional but they get a rude shock when they actually find out that i'm a hobbyist with a Canon Powershot S45.

 

[photogoddess]

Well I must say, if you people are going to continue to be rude and insulting Im afraid you are going to deter others away from the forum. Although I don't necessarilly agree with all that he said, it does make some sense. It seems that many ofnyou are not old enough to remember the box browne cameras of years ago, they took some very good pictures, I have seen some pictures taken by profesional photographers using them, given the quality of film in tha era theyn were brilliant. The dicsionary says that a profesional is someone doing an activity for pay, and some one skilled in the field of there endevour, nothing about the equipment they use. It is a known fact that there are people out there that must have the latest and the best, wether they are capable of using it or not, and those that have asperations but no skill to back it up. As the gentleman said earlier "nice way to get new people to stick around" I think not. The more I see of this Forum the more I have concerns. Ernie

I think perhaps that you've misunderstood this thread. We have many photographers here that work professionally using cameras that are perceived as archaic. They are merely joking about only Canon being professional cameras and putting "professional" labels on their cameras. Please read through the entire thread without all of the seriousness and have a good laugh like the rest of us. We're talking about people's perception of what a professional camera is, not reality. If you don't believe me, do a forum search and find some of the serious photographers here that take some pretty awesome photos with Holgas and other vintage cameras here. I'm pretty sure that we all know that it's not the camera that takes a photo, it's the person behind the camera that does.

 

[2WheelPhoto]

i want a professional camera

 

[manaheim]

This jonny guy is going around revitalizing threads from 12.6 trillion years ago.

 

[2WheelPhoto]

yeah, crazy spammer he is.

 

[unpopular]

wouldn't a professional camera be one that is used by a professional?

 

[KenC]

wouldn't a professional camera be one that is used by a professional?

This in turn lead to the question: "what is a professional?" However, we've beaten that horse into glue by now.

 

[manaheim]

I have a shoe box with a hole punched in it.

It's ALMOST as old as this thread.

 

[unpopular]

wouldn't a professional camera be one that is used by a professional?

This in turn lead to the question: "what is a professional?" However, we've beaten that horse into glue by now.

Pretty sure Helen has said she owns a P&S or two.