∴What Camera When∴

I like cameras. I love photographs. This week I put out a new video dipping a toe into my developing thoughts on image making:

In other words, different cameras make different photos.

It’s easy to get carried away with the technical aspects of gear. I think this is because each new feature carries with it the promise of better pictures. There’s an extent to which this is true: higher quality sensors and glass help us capture better information with greater potential for containing an image. But what I’m talking about here is a bit different:

The image you want to make, and the context in which it’ll be made, is the best guide for your camera choice.

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So with that in mind I want to share about the four cameras I use, and the practical considerations that make me use them.

NIKON D810

This body is my workhorse. Technically it’s great, but the reason I keep returning to it is that it’s tough as nails. My lens was once ripped clean off the body when the tripod it was attached to took a dive. The service center patched it back together and it’s made tens, if not hundreds of thousands of photos since.

That’s why I use it for so much of my outdoor fashion and commercial work, as well as shooting skateboarding. When I know it’ll be a long day, and the camera will take a bit of a bash, I never hesitate to choose it. Not worrying about the camera’s safety the whole time means I feel more free to move around, climb things, and get where I need to be to make the image I want to make.

NIKON Z6II

Like many working photographers, I’m sort of caught in between my DSLR gear and the general shift toward mirrorless. I initially picked up my Z6II planning only to use it for video. I’ve since come to realize that it really shines shooting in controlled situations. For that reason it’s become my first choice for shooting tethered in studio. It is light (which matters on a full day shoot) and produces a very clean image which is usually what you’re looking for in studio.

Plus, in my experience, the internal mechanics tether far more reliably than my DSLR. Shooting fashion there is typically a time-crunch, and being able to trust the connection will hold and the images will transfer puts my mind at ease, not to mention the client’s.

NIKON F6

My F6 has been my go-to for all my personal documentary work over the last few years. It was Nikon’s last and most advanced film camera, and when it does make its way onto a commercial shoot, it’ll typically get mistaken for digital.

The F6 takes the benefits of film, which for me means an encouragement to slow down a little and photograph thoughtfully, and it does so while streamlining the photography process. In other words, it slows me down enough to make me a more considerate photographer, without ever slowing me down so much that it’s frustrating.

This has been such a positive influence on my personal work, and I struggle to imagine it having happened if I’d kept shooting exclusively on digital, or film point and shoots.

And before I seem too all-in on Nikon…

RICOH GRIII

I picked up this little camera after seeing a friend of mine use a similar one at my wedding.

I know I just spoke lovingly about my film camera, but its major drawback is that the price of film can discourage experimentation and a simple documentation of your life. Many people will rely on their phone to fill that gap, but personally I don’t feel a deep connection to phone photos, even if they’re of my loved ones. So for me, the GRIII has become a way to document my life and the small moments in it that I enjoy, whilst still making images that have presence in them. I wrote more about the idea of presence here if you’re interested.

Phone photo of a lady I met on a walk who insisted on buying me lunch.

The same subject just sings on the point and shoot.

The GRIII is also feather-light and small, so I can take it anywhere and photograph intimate moments that may be interrupted by a bigger camera. Ultimately I want to shoot meaningful photographs, and when I have this camera slung around a shoulder, it keeps that curious, searching part of my brain running well.

Disclaimer

I don’t believe you need four different cameras to make a good photo. But knowing what kind of image you want to make, and the conditions in which you'll be making it, seems to me the important thing to consider when figuring out the right camera for you. I’m writing all this because I care about thoughtful photography, and I realize that gear is a part of that. It’s just a part that can get a bit too precious a treatment at times.

Don’t forget to check out the moving picture version of this newsletter. It has a lot more examples of what I’m talking about here.

Cheers,

Chris.