Bill_de Loc: US

What lasts longer, the job or the equipment ... or both?

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oldtigger Loc: Roanoke Virginia-USA

it stands to reason a pro photographer would want to improve his profit margin by buying cheaper gear.
They don't do that, what do you suppose the reason is?

zoomphoto Loc: Seattle, WA USA

I personally don't care if a person has made a pinhole camera from a tissue box or have a Leica. I'm just happy they enjoy the hobby and will do everything I can to provide encouraging feedback.

ligneus

More aspects of expensive gear that don't get considered and very important to a professional [applies to woodworking tools too!] is that they last longer, are more reliable and are usually proofed against the elements. You have to produce and you give yourself every advantage to that end.
I find the adage of 'it's not the camera, it's the photographer', though true to a point is somewhat of a romantic notion. Maybe that's the root of the difference between the amateur and the professional, the amateur can afford to be a romantic. He can also afford to screw up sometimes without getting sleepless nights!

racerrich3 Loc: Los Angeles, Ca.

I am happy to have "Good" equipment, and equally proud to say I am (still) a beginner. I may be past my rookie year with my first DSLR, but I want to learn to take better pictures and get out of the "auto" mode. Gee, did I get that last term right ? lol. Not afraid or embarrassed to ask the "pros" for help or opinions. and yes, who cares what equipment I have, except for me ! :-) .......thank you all for letting me put my 2 cents in.

dragonfist Loc: Stafford, N.Y.

If you are making a living at any trade it pays to have the best equipment possible. This is because your livelihood depends on that equipment being able to produce the best possible results that you are capable of. However if you are dabbling at something as a hobby that is a different matter. I would venture to say that most on the Hog are not pros. If they louse up a shot due to their ineptness or their lack of top notch equipment the most that will happen is a bruised ego. I have never gone hog wild on equipment because I am not that good at the game. I could have spent a ton of money on photo gear but only at the expense of my family having to do without some of the things that gave them pleasure. Now the kids are well into middle age and to be honest I would rather see my discretionary money go to giving my grandchildren pleasure and putting money away for their future education. I assume a lot of folks on here made a lot more money in their working careers than I did. We were comfortable, lived in a home that was mortgage free and paid our bills on time but for a long while what money there was for extras went to things we could all enjoy. My feelings are if you can afford it, enjoy it, but don't rub other peoples noses in it just because you can afford things that some others can't or don't want. Show me your work because I could care less about what a picture was taken with, only the technique used to get it.

Bill_de Loc: US

You know what is funny? The pictures I post have no EXIF data. It is lost because of the way I do the frame on my shots, not because I am trying to hide anything. This is the first site I've posted on that it seems to be an issue for some people. Some of the same people who whine about the equipment that others have are the ones that complained because they couldn't see what I was shooting with. Sometimes you just can't win.

I like your attitude of family first. Your last sentence also makes a lot of sense.

10MPlayer Loc: California

Talent refers to art. Skill refers to craft. One can be highly skilled and produce acceptable works without necessarily being greatly talented. The artist takes the craft beyond what has come before and creates something new. Very few of us are true artists. They are the ones who come up with a previously unheard of approach to a subject. They create something unique. There are plenty of highly skilled craftsmen/women, who are able to produce works their clients value for generations. A great artist comes along once in a generation.

racerrich3 Loc: Los Angeles, Ca.

I agree to the "don't rub it in our noses", but as I <-- mentioned in my post I am (well sort of) proud to be a beginner and want to learn more and how to get out of "auto" mode. but in the mean time here are a few recent "auto" pics I took Sat night 11th after a night of racing. the track had a fireworks show.

ligneus

"Talent refers to art. Skill refers to craft. One can be highly skilled and produce acceptable works without necessarily being greatly talented. The artist takes the craft beyond what has come before and creates something new. Very few of us are true artists. They are the ones who come up with a previously unheard of approach to a subject. They create something unique. There are plenty of highly skilled craftsmen/women, who are able to produce works their clients value for generations. A great artist comes along once in a generation."

Yes, very romantic, um, are we still on the subject of photography?

Dan De Lion Loc: Montana

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I’m glad you asked why we professionals choose the equipment we do. I use my equipment extensively, around 150,000 cycles per year. Long lived equipment costs are small relative to total business costs. Reliable performance is essential. Many customers pre judge a photographer on the equipment he uses. And, I know how to get the best performance from my equipment based upon its’ intended use.

If those criterion are yours, definitely buy the pro stuff. If you are an equipment collector who doesn’t know what he is buying but just wants to show off, who cares. But if you tell other people what to buy based upon what you think a pro would buy. Well, someone should point out that such equipment probably isn’t appropriate. The perfect examples are the “heavy trinity” or the amateur with a 50-500 zoom on his D810 for sports photography.

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mongoose777 Loc: Frisco Texas

Looks like your describing the Millenials and/or Generation X of photogs.
BTW 'Who Care What Teachers You Have' because I was self taught, but learned
from my uncle whenever I could during the film days.
We didn't have the internet in my time.
I sure spent a lot of money on many of wasted film bc it was either over/under exposed.

BebuLamar

AUTO works great but if you started out with AUTO you tend to get stuck in that mode. If you don't start out with AUTO you can't be stuck in AUTO.

J.R.Newton Loc: Saint Bernice, Indiana

In 1977 when I was about to be discharged from the USAF I enquired to several photography schools. At the time I owned a Ricoh SLR which I had bought because of the price and its reliability. The schools I contacted suggested I invest in better equipment. I was aware at the time that Alfred Stieglitz photographed mostly with a box camera and it wasn't the equipment that was important but the person behind the lens. I later invested in more equipment including Pentax, Hasselblad, Yashica, and Minolta. I could notice a difference between the Hasselblad / Yashica and the others but that was because of the larger negatives. I still think it's the photographer and not the equipment that makes good photos.

Jerry

Bobspez Loc: Southern NJ, USA

Sure a custom hand made cabinet can be made with minimal hand tools by a master craftsman, not your average joe, and would cost 10X as much as a production made cabinet if it were for sale. And people have sailed around the world in a one person boat. And anyone who made world famous photographs with a wooden box would have been a one in a million photgrapher. And Picasso made some world famous art with just a few brush strokes and a couple of colors. And some multi-million selling songs were written in 20 minutes on the back of a napkin. The fact that a one in a million talent can accomplish something with minimal tools is not proof of anything. It's kind of a ridiculous argument.