LEWHITE7747 Loc: 33773

I love the manual six speed in my Z. The atavistic feel of the car, the sound, the g-force slamming me back in the seat is not duplicated in an automatic. It is like two different cars. It is all how you look at things. Some people enjoy a silent shutter--me I want to hear the sound. It is again for me visceral experience that I enjoy.

Bill_de Loc: US

Over the years we have learned that:

A good photographer doesn't need a built in meter.
A good photographer doesn't need auto focus.
A good photographer doesn't need more than ASA 400
A good photographer doesn't need image stabilization.

Those of us who have been snapping pictures for decades have read all the reasons technological advances take the human element out of photography.

If it's a hobby, use what it takes to have the most fun.

If you are competing with other photographers to make a living, use what ever it takes to produce the best product.

These two approaches to photography are not mutually exclusive.

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BebuLamar

We can't discuss money making because if you want to make money whatever sells well that's what you want to make and making it with the least amount of effort possible. It's just business sense. For making money if you need skills you have to have it but if you can do it without so much the better.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Your desire to succeed as a photographer must be greater than your fear you can't afford the best equipment.

BebuLamar

I don't know about your desires. I think you use Canon and Sony but you don't have either of the cameras mentioned. I wonder what keeping you? The lack of desire or the fear you can't afford them? I do think the A9II isn't your cup of tea but the R5 is just the camera for you. What's keeping you from owning one?

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Need. I don't need an EOS R5 at this point in my photography. My current lenses and cameras deliver everything I need.

Goals. My goal is to drain the entire economic value out of my pair of EOS 5DIII bodies, then consider new options.

Plan. I made a plan about 8 years ago to use my pair of cutting-edge technology EOS 5DIII bodies for 10 years or failure, whichever came first. Neither has failed and both register 120,000+ shutters. No new bodies clearly distinguish a difference from these 2012 bodies.

Mirrorless. My mirrorless needs are satisfied with a plenty capable Sony a7II.

JohnSwanda Loc: San Francisco

And if you have a great eye for light and composition and great timing, you could get some great photos that way.

Rongnongno Loc: FL

So you take a video and rip frames to get a photograph?
FPS is frame per second (video capture)

Thomas902 Loc: Washington DC

Can either the Canon R5 or the Sony A9ll effectively balance your studio illumination to achieve the precise nuanced effect your client is seeking @lewhite7747?.

So strange that on UHH photography is identified with a camera rather than a poignant visual statement as it is in Fashion and/or Beauty genre...

btw, I make far more as a lighting assistant than as a photographer...
Loving the journey to the bank... lol
Albeit it can be up to 4 mouth until the photographer gets paid by the clients advertising agency...
One of the annoyances of working on major production gigs. But it's definitely worth the wait. :)

Thomas902 Loc: Washington DC

"I made a plan about 8 years ago to use my pair of cutting-edge technology EOS 5DIII bodies for 10 years"
I hear you Paul... And likewise, I'm still shooting my pair of Nikon D3x's which now are 12 years old... They have preformed flawlessly and always exceed client expectation...

So now Nikon is considering replacing the D3x (Professional Studio Camera) with the Nikon Z9... Same projected price tag... $7K The amazing news is that a "D" type adapter will be offered with it... All the legacy glass will once again be front and center... Funny how what is old is new again...

btw, I have my D3x's serviced by NikonUSA professional service... most recently a complete "Premium" level service for $208... Nikon supports Commercial Photographers very well indeed!

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

We're in a golden age of photography, especially digital photography. There is every possible mixture of capabilities at most every price point (other than free, I guess). Anyone with a camera at 20MP or higher has what could be their forever camera. The 80% decline of the global market for interchangeable lens cameras reflects several trends, including there really is no need to buy new cameras to replace already 'perfect' cameras.

As discussed in other posts, 20MP cameras are enough for professionals shooting 2-page magazine spreads. Digital posting needs no more than 2048x1365 (2.8MP) to fill most target high-def screens. Even filling your 4K TV needs no more than 3840x2160 (8.3MP). Printing benefits from higher resolution cameras, such as the near universal 24MP standard issue, but we all have way less wallspace than card space.

ChristianHJensen

Next generation cameras will have a feature where you point it towards the scene and it will automatically download similar, but perfect images from Getty Images and charge your iTunes account

via the lens Loc: Northern California, near Yosemite NP

For some people better, more advanced gear means even better (defining "better" is the key here) image. For other people better gear simply means better gear and the same terrible images they've been taking for years. If you are a good (yes, define "good") photographer you can take advantage of the newest, greatest gear but good gear is only a part of the art of photography. You can point and shoot with any camera but that does not make it a good image. Many photographers focus on gear because they lack the ability to create art with their images and they think better gear means better photos.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

When I was just a little boy, my parents used to take me to the camera store. I wanted to see the cameras. Such amazing designs, such amazing lenses, such amazing prices. My father would buy a new camera every few years even though his pictures where never really very good. He was always reading the DXO sharpness charts and discussing the micron size of the pixels. His images were hardly ever in focus. After he passed I was going through his things. I fear he read on UHH that equipment is what matters most and as he grew older, he never could free himself from this thought.

E.L.. Shapiro Loc: Ottawa, Ontario Canada

Simple!

Cameras can measure, quantify light, and perhaps set an accurate exposure but they can not SEE the aesthetics and dynamics of lighting. Cameras can focus sharply on a subject even if the photograher is somehow unable to but it can't carefully select what to focus on. Pretty well that is where the little (i) standing for artificial intelligence stops. Thereis no automated function in a camera that can create a good composition. Cameras can not seek out human expression and emotion. A camera can not determine the mood of an image or tell a story all by itself. Most of all, cameras do not have a psyche and a heart. All that good stuff is the job or place of the PHOTOGRAPHER!

All the equipment and tools in the world can not build a house without architects, craftsmen and tradespeople.

Y'all know the answer to the OP's question- I think he does too!

The problem with this ongoing question is it tends to divide folks up into categories. Some folks may not be technically inclined and all they want to do is enjoy photography so there is great technology to help them simply make pictures. Others may be preoccupied with sophisticated gear and the joy of incessant technobabble- they may be good artists as well. For the average family snapshooter, the cellphone camera is marvellous- a lot of folks are enjoying photograhy who would otherwise never venture into it and perhaps are discovering new talent in themselves! They are not robots!