LocalNavy433 Photography

Hello and how the hell are you?  If this is your first time here thanks for stopping by.  In this blog we are going to cover a topic that has a lot of people talking.  Yes we are going to go over whether or not the gear really matters. I am going to look at this from a different point of view.  I am not going to go over the spec part of whether or not gear matters. I am going to cover how it feels rather than how it works.  The reason for this is simple the technical aspect of how the camera works is not the end all be all.  In fact it all comes down to the user not the gear itself.  

When you are watching or reading all the vlogs, and blogs about this topic the one thing that they keep going back to is how the camera operates.  Which is fine and nothing wrong with that because you have to know how the camera or lens works for you. The feel of the camera is just as important as how it works.  The only time in my opinion that gear really matters is when you want it to. I love shooting on older gear because of the way that it feels to me.  There is a certain look that the older DSLR’s have to them.  The Optical View Finder (OVF) is the one thing that really makes it feel like photography to me is huge. When it comes to the gear that you are shooting with.  The overall ergonomics of the camera matters more than the nuance of shooting with the newest piece of equipment.  

The overall look to a finished image is another thing that is going to determine what camera you are shooting with as well. You see I love to match the lenses to the body.  So if for example if I am shooting on a camera that is over ten years old I love to match that with a lens from that era because the look of the images is going to have it’s own personality to it.  The colors are going to render the right way because the lenses were built for that body.  This might sound strange to most of you but to me it makes perfect sense to me.  Why would you put a lens that is from 2023 on a body that is from 2012.  The lens is going to be better yes but that character to the image is going to be totally different.  Using the lenses that came out at the time your body was built are going to give you a vintage look to your images.  

For example I had a Canon 5D2 and I paired it with a 24-105 v1 which gives the images a look from 2008 when both were in use.  The example is perfect for getting that look that you are after in your photography.  So when it comes down to the question of does gear matter the short answer is yes and no.  No because of the fact that it matters only to the end user not the masses that are viewing the images that you are producing.  Yes because if you are not comfortable shooting with the gear you are not going to get the most out of it. I for one am only going to shoot the gear that I want to and it makes the experience of getting the images a pleasure.  

When it comes down to it pairing the right lens with the body you are shooting is very important to what you are looking for in your images.  I loved the way the older gear really brings to life the photos that I am taking.  So if gear really matters why then are we even having this talk.  The simple answer to that is people.  I say that because if it was not the opinions of others we would not draw the conclusion that you have to have the best of the best in order to get the images that others are getting. 

I came to the photography industry late in my life and all the good DSLR’s were already past their primes but were they.  I say that because of the fact that I still use older gear and the only time that I feel that I would need something more is when I am shooting a portrait session and I would love to have that Eye AF that the mirrorless bodies bring to the table but then I would lose that vintage look to my images.  So that means that I have to work harder at making sure I grabbed focus perfectly.  You see the newer gear is going to make things easier for you in the end. 

When you build out your gear list you should be looking at what lenses are going to enhance the images to the point that you will be happy with them. The older lenses have their issues but to me that is what brings out the look to an image that you cannot get with the newer gear.  I love the vintage look that my older gear is giving me right now and that is not going to be there when shooting a newer body with the older glass.  Yes the older glass is not as good as the glass that you can get today but photography is an expression of who you are as a person.  You see my wife loves to point out that I am stuck in the 90s and she is right about that lol. So my images have that look from back in the early 2000s and late 90s because that is me and who I am so it reflects in my images.  Thank you for stopping by and I hoped that you enjoyed my take on why gear matters and why it doesn’t matter.