RodeoMan Loc: St Joseph, Missouri

Call it coprolite and folks will think you have a better camera.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Very nice.

cincykid

To me the camera is a tool. Beauty is in the "eye" of the beholder. A high end camera in the hands of a user who does not understand/learn its capabilities not to mention exposure, composition, etc, is better off with a cell phone camera (which they may still not use properly for photos).

BebuLamar

To me the camera is never a tool. I don't make money with it. It's my toy.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Scruples Loc: Brooklyn, New York

I had just started James Madison High School, Brooklyn. As I was looking for a classroom, a teacher offered to help me find a classroom. He also offered me a opportunity to learn photography. I was intrigued. Eventually he loaned me his Canon AE-1 and I fell in love with it.

One day my aunt was going on a vacation. She needed someone to watch her Saint Bernard named Bagels. He was a wonderful dog. He loved hamburger and beef liver as a treat besides his regular food. I loved being taken for a walk. I would have to brush him in my parents backyard. There was plenty of fur to knit another dog.

When my aunt returned she gave me a fresh $100 dollar bill for watching Bagels. The only thing I could think of was buying a camera. All the stores wanted way too much money for a Canon AE-1. I went to Olden Camera, in New York City. On East 33rd Street and 6th Avenue by Broadway I climbed the stairs to the 2nd Floor. I walked around and finally found a camera I could afford. It was a Zenit-E. I loved the feel and it was my baby. I took it everywhere and photographed everything. At one point the hot shoe broke off. I repaired it. At one point the shutter curtain tore. I had it repaired. I still have that camera and because I loved all those times I had it, it is in still good working order.

It was made well back then and still weighs as much as a brick.

Scruples Loc: Brooklyn, New York

To some hoggers, a camera is a tool like a wrench and a plumber. I do treat my camera as if was my baby. It serves me well even if I am not a professional.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

I remember Olden's ads in the photo mags.

BebuLamar

I have tools to do my job which is not photographic related. I treat my tools reasonably well but I do not baby them. I bought the tools I need and if I don't have money I have to compromise. I have to think about how much money I get out of the tools.
With cameras which are my toys I don't do it that way. I baby my cameras. I buy only what I want. If I can't afford what I want I just don't buy it. I don't compromise on toys. So in fact if I were in love with the AE-1 like you were I wouldn't buy the Zenit E. I much rather be cameraless.

cincykid

Point well taken. My cameras are my babies too but like fine woodworkind tools, they are still a means to the end.

DaveD65 Loc: Queen City, Ohio

I learned and maybe I learned on the UHH That if someone compliments how good your photos are, and finishes with " you must have a really good or expensive camera?" you just ask that person (perhaps if male?)"Is your wife or girlfriend is a really good cook? If the answer is yes, reply that she must have a really nice and expensive STOVE". I've only used this twice, but both times the person posing the question got the point immediately. I guess you change the main subject to something similar if the answer is NO.

SteveR Loc: Michigan

Has anybody asked what the difference between inexpensive and expensive cameras are? You can take the same photo on an inexpensive camera as on an expensive camera. That is, you select speed, aperture, and ISO. You CAN take excellent photos with a simple camera. I think my favorite camera is still my manual Canon ftb. That included manual focusing.

However, these newer technological cameras can give you a lot of bells and whistles including better and better auto focus, more frames per second, and any number of settings not available on simpler cameras. A $5000 dollar camera shooting 15 fps+ is more liable to get that perfect shot than inexpensive cameras where the photographer must really try to time the best shot. Bottom line, the expensive cameras are just tools for those who have need for those tools.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

I like bells and whistles.

olddutch Loc: Beloit, Wisconsin

I have a Camera that is quite expensive, but my #2 son has a much better eye and takes better pictures with his iPhone... What is a Guy to do?????

SteveR Loc: Michigan

I have a fb friend who I met on a fb photography group. She really started seriously in photography around 2010 mostly as a wildlife photographer. She would go to Antelope Island in Utah just about every day. As they used to say, "practice, practice, practice." It was amazing to see her skills progress over time. Once her husband retired they started traveling the Utah, Wyoming area quite often, both taking excellent photos. One thing she also has is a quick eye. I visited her once on my way back from a California vacation with my wife. We went to Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge and as we drove I was amazed how quickly she could spot things.

P.S. Perhaps more important than that expensive camera is the lens.