The Best Camera is Your Axe

Recently, a commenter here said he liked his Olympus E-PL6 with the 17mm ƒ/1.8. "Tried other lenses," he added, "but that's the one I like."

Another said he liked his Leica M6 and Summilux-M lens.

Another, his 4x5. ("So guess it's a horse buggy for me?" he asked.)

One likes his Nikon D700 a lot; another owns a Sony RX10 Mark III.

One just bought a new Nikon Z7, and another has a Fuji GX50R on order.

Yet another named a number of different cameras he owns and says he likes shooting all of them at different times for different reasons.

The point is, whatever you like best, or enjoy using the most, or trust, or are familiar with, or that gives you the results you like, or any combination of those...well then that's the best camera for you.

It could be this,

Or this,

Or this,

Or this,

Or this.

If it's what you like to use and gives you the results you like, it ain't nobody's business but your own.

Mike
(Pictured, top to bottom: Arca-Swiss F-Field C 4x5 view camera, Leica M10P in black chrome, Olympus E-PL9 kit with 14–42mm lens, Sony RX10 IV, Huawei P20 Pro)

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(To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)
Featured Comments from:

Jeff Smidt: "Three queens and a King also have something to say about your own business."

Tim Bradshaw (partial comment): "I agree, cameras should be like that other axe: in particular it should be possible to make the sort of investment of time that a guitarist might make in their chosen weapon, secure in the knowledge that, theft and accident aside, that guitar will serve them for decades."

Rick Denney: "Taking from my music experience, I have owned and used perhaps 12 tubas over the last half century. I classify them this way:

1. Tubas that make me sound better than I am, even if they make me work for it. (I thank myself for buying these.)

2. Tubas that aren't worth the struggle, either because I'm not good enough to make them work or because making them work takes too much effort. (I wonder why I bought them.)

"I have found no correlation between that classification and price, popularity, type, age, maker, country of origin, or anything else. Of course, any tuba may fall into one category of the other depending on the music I'm playing, which dimension I'm measuring at the moment, or my mood and abilities that day. It's not about being forgiving, unless I'm out of practice and need forgiveness.

"I've owned many camera systems, and they can be categorized the same way. Some are unforgiving but get results like no other. Some try to be so easy that they don't do what I want them to do.

"But I still either thank myself for buying them, or I don't. The Sinar view camera is forbidding, but I thank myself for buying it in ways I never did with my previous Cambo, which always put up a fight for no apparent reason. My Pentax 645z is a beast, but I'm still thanking myself for buying it--it rewards the sore biceps with sheer joy in both using it and seeing the results. My Canon 5D and 5DII get the results I want but sometimes fight me, and I have 15 years of learning their interfaces.

"One truth I have learned about both tubas and cameras: None is perfect, and each fulfills a different set of requirements related to what I'm trying to do. Trying to find the one camera that fulfills all requirements may be a fool's errand."

Comments

[Bill Pearce]

This whole thing could bite you on the a**. Of all the digital cameras I have owned and used, the one that is the most pleasure to use despite some unfortunate shortcomings, was and is my Sony R1. I had great hopes for the follow on product that would have remedied the shortcomings such as a better EVF, faster autofocus or a bigger buffer, and perhaps even an upgraded sensor, but what a pleasure to use. I still keep it and occasionally use it. Whatever you say about the Sony acquisition of Konica minolta, that was the death of the R2.

[Samuel]

Not sure if you are using irony when placing a photo of a Huawei cellphone next to the words "ain't nobody's business but your own" – while multiple United States intelligence and law enforcement agents are sounding an international security alarm about Huawei's association with the Chinese military and spying on users' communications.

[Michael Ferron]

I wish I wish I could make myself shoot with one camera and one lens. Life would be so simple.

I own a 4x5, TLR, a number of old manual slr's, one F100, a Fuji X100 (original) an Olympus E-P5 and still have an old D300 hanging around. Oh a 4x5 pinhole too which is a lot of fun to shoot.

If I was a guitarist it would be best to decide if I was going to excel in Blues? Jazz? Rock? Buy the proper guitar for the style decided upon and go to work. Not go to the guitar shop and try out every electric and acoustic instrument in the store, bring half of them home and wonder which one I should play. Sigh

[Tim Bradshaw]

I agree, cameras should be like that other axe: in particular it should be possible to make the sort of investment of time that a guitarist might make in their chosen weapon, secure in the knowledge that, theft and accident aside, that guitar will serve them for decades.

At the point where electronics has, once again[*], reached the point where there is any prospect of that being true, then, well, it might make sense to think of electronic cameras that way. Until then, if you invest thousands of hours in a tool that will then fail catastrophically in a few years with no repair possible o replacement available, well, you can call it your axe but guitarists will sneer, and (unusually for guitarists) they will be right so to do, because you're a fool to do so.

[*] 'Once again': I had a check over my one of my amps today as I was hoovering. It's had new power valves in my time and I suspect may have had some electrolytics replaced before I owned it, but it's completely fine. It was made in 1972 (I was nine when it had its final inspection) and it will probably last me the rest of my lifetime and longer than that. I use it most days.

[John Krumm]

Funny, I think I've settled, more or less, on my "Axe" for a while. After trying just about every lens available for the K1 in the 28-50mm range (except for a few exotics) I've mostly returned to the very first lens I bought, the cheap FA 35 f2. It's sharp and works well, and small, and I like 35mm. If I use my EM1, I also mostly use the 17 1.8, which I like almost as much (I just happen to think that 35mm looks a little better with a horizontal 3:2 ratio that a 4:3). Probably should try the Panasonic 15 for the EM1.

An aside: I just thought of a "digital" feature I'd like that a company like Panasonic could do. Have the camera automatically switch to 4:3 aspect ratio when shooting vertical, but then back to something like 3:2 horizontally.

[William Lewis]

An E-P3, a 25/1.7 and thee? Well, perhaps my GF rather than thee, Mike but I get where you're going with it. I enjoy it and the only thing I can honestly say I'd like to do is trade the body in on an Oly Pen F and go faux rangefinder without having to have the add on finder :) But that's what I like to make my art with and that, as you say, is the real point of all of this.

[Jean]

Fujifilm X-Pro2 + primes especially 23/2 and 56/1.2.

[Len Metcalf]

Yes. Definitely. The perfect camera is a myth. Camera love counts. Enjoying the process of photography. Loving photography

[Mark Jennings]

And thus is revealed the true meaning of “The best camera is the one you have with you.” People tend to pack a favorite and for good reason.

[Peter Baglole]

Ain't nobody's dirty old business but my own.

[c.d.embrey]

#NSA_calling_kettle_black ...and spying on users' communications.

The late political philosopher George Carlin, could have had a lot of fun with this absurdity.

[David Zivic]

Here is my opinion of my favorite cameras.
https://www.mangoziv.com/about.html

[Igor]

Ahem. I like shooting stills but I don't like cameras. Something in them always gets in the way. Except when it's me who gets in the way of my shooting but I still blame the camera.

[subroto mukerji]

Nice filler, Mike, but I'll rise to the bait. For me, the Panasonic GX1 is the winner, thanks to (1) its uncanny ability to nail the custom white balance when bouncing flash off coloured walls,and (2) the way Silkypix developer transforms its Raw files. It's also a very simple and intuitive software and a bit of polishing of the TIFF files is all that's needed thereafter.
Outdoors, the Olympus Epl5 is great, let down only by its rather clunky and inefficient Raw developer (Olympus Image Viewer 3). But it's great for B&W, especially with bounced flash.
The Sony RX100 poses a serious challenge to both the above; at low ISO values and decent lighting, it can sometimes even outdo them.
The Nikon Coolpix P7700 is likewise excellent at low ISOs and has a very sharp lens. Judiciously used, it is capable to producing excellent files but ViewNX2 is a bit of a pain to use. A little flash thrown into the mixture and...Wow! I've made some 16" x 24" prints and am delighted with them.
So obviously software plays a vital role in the process (no pun). Overall, it's the same old story: horses for courses.

[Richard Tugwell]

https://medium.com/photo-dojo/why-you-shouldnt-upgrade-your-camera-de296679446e

I particularly like the suggestion to re-purpose (horrible word, I know) the money for other stuff

[Robert Roaldi]

The interweb universe of photographers seems weird to me. On the one hand, we seem to have one contingent whose reason to live seems to be shallow depth of field. Then on the other hand are another large cohort who seem to only take photos at the optimal sharpness f-stop for their lens. I wonder if the Venn diagram of these two groups overlaps much.

[Rod S.]

Nice to see the Arca-Swiss F-Field C in your choice list, Mike. Yes, a very nice choice. I’m currently getting to grips with the similar Toyo VX125 in Morocco and Tunisia, on my ancient Islamic architecture project. The collapsible rail on the VX125 has quirks and that simple rail on the AS looks appealing. Plus there’s no circular hole on the front standard, so there should be no problem fitting early serial number Schneider Super Angulon XL 90mm lenses (like mine!) that have the large fixed rear flange.

[Dennis Ng]

My current favorite one is Nikon P1000.

Winter time and HK is a bird paradise (as anyone with a border with communist country like North Korea or China). Do not want to carry my Nikon gear (oh that is also a Nikon forget that). It is ok for ID bird and some video of its habitat. Good for the purpose.

But for better photo, even a light gear like N500 + 200-500 or 70-200 + 1.7 is much much better. But then you cannot carry it you cannot ma.

[Doug C]

A #10 Cirkut camera was/is my axe. I made my living with it for about 35 years. Something like that sets one well outside the mainstream, or even reality I suppose. Technology moved on and I now get almost the same results with digital and stitching and a (somewhat awful) inkjet printer. I never could talk myself into a Light-Jet.

I may buy a Nikon Z6 this week, (if I do I will go through your link) it has some minor advantages over my Sony.

But buying cameras like this feels more like buying a batch of film for the Cirkut than any significant change in picture taking.

Not to cast shade on other people's work, but using digital certainly takes the drama out of photographing the scene compared to using a larger than large format antique like the Cirkut.