As a photographer, I am constantly fielding questions about ‘good’ cameras, which camera to buy, how to find a camera that ‘takes better pictures’. And don’t get me wrong, this is great. People should ask for advice before deciding on such purchases. But being the public photographer I am, I also get emails from my lovely readers asking me how to answer this question for their own friends and family. Now that I think about it, I kinda can’t believe I didn’t write about this until now!
So. There are a three questions I ask someone wanting to know what camera they should buy:
- What camera do you already have?
- Why do you want a different one?
- What do you hope to do with your camera in the future?
{What camera do you already have?}
Most people asking this question are already somewhat photography minded and probably have a camera of some sort already. Most first time buyers {in my experience} go for price and don’t have the slightest clue that there are differences, benefits and drawbacks for cameras other than price. It isn’t until they buy a crappy cheap thing that they start searching online and find this great big world we’re already pretty deep into. But knowing their past and presets experience with cameras is important. If they have a pocket-sized point-and-shoot, the jump to a 1D would be a pretty asinine recommendation.
{Why do you want a different one?}
This question was posed to me a few years ago by a camera dealer when I wanted to buy a 5DmkII from him. At the time, I had a 450D and my answer to him was the typical “I want to take better pictures”. He suggested that I spend an hour lesson with him addressing whatever I felt was wrong with my current camera and he very gently hinted at the fact that it wasn’t the camera, it was ME that needed to progress. But you know what, I upgraded anyway. Not to a 5D but to something like a 550d. I had it in my head that I wanted a flashier camera and so I bought it anyway. Now, I take his same advice and hand it out like candy to budding photogs and wonder if they’ll be as silly as I was and buy a different camera anyway. So keep in mind that many people have something stuck in their head that a better camera = better photos and they’ll just go for it anyway.
{What do you hope to do with your camera in the future?}
I always get a feel for what they hope to get out of their camera. If they say “I want to be a wedding photographer” I would suggest something serious they can grow into and of course, it will need to be a DSLR and a good lens. If they say they want to take fun pics of their kids, their dog, their pottery then I’d suggest an advanced point and shoot like a Canon G12 or even a bridge camera to give them the mini-DSLR feel without the confusion over lenses.
p
So you see, you really need to probe the person asking and if doesn’t result in them buying the exact thing you’ve recommended, it will at least get them thinking about the fact that there’s more to consider when making this choice than first meets the eye.
