Camera brands are constantly trying to sell up new technology. But, what do professional photographers really want? We have finally made it through a megapixel race and seemingly into an autofocus and mirrorless arms race.
Camera companies sell cameras. It’s the business that they are in. I am fully on board with this. They need to show improvements, and that there is a reason for you to buy the latest and greatest camera. There are far more amateur photographers out there than professionals too, which I assume is why a lot of the tech that is being developed by the major brands is suited to this market.
After finally getting over my anxiety about the gear that I was shooting with, I started to think about exactly what I needed from a camera in the profession that I was working in. I shoot predominantly still life with the occasional portrait work. So, for me, it was resolution, color accuracy, and lens selection. This made choosing a camera pretty straightforward. But then, I started thinking about what other niches might be looking for in the professional world.
I broke the profession of photography down into three groups: first, wedding and event photographers, which would cover anyone who shoots outside of this, but in a similar style, music photographers, for example. Then, I had portrait and lifestyle, which is a lower-action version of weddings and events. And finally, there were still life photographers, which are those of us who shoot things that don’t really move. Now, you might find that for your profession, you need some of what wedding gear offers as well as a bit of the lifestyle photographers’ requirements. The best thing about our profession is that no two photographers’ careers are the same.
Once I had my groups, I set about asking a lot of professionals their opinions. The feedback that I received was very interesting (to me, anyway). It also makes it very clear that there are really only one or two camera options within each niche once you really break your requirements down to the nuts and bolts of what you do and what you need your gear to do for you.