There is no ‘best camera’ – we all know that. Cameras are tools – not more. Nevertheless I often ask myself, if an upgrade of my old and trusty camera gear (RICOH GR II, Mamiya 7 II, Hasselblad 500 C, Nikon FE and FE2) could help me reach the next level of photography – so – shall I upgrade? If yes – what’s the ‘best’ new camera?
If I had to describe my style of photography I would try to express it as follows:
- I am inspired by minimalism and simplicity,
- I love monochromatic, color-desaturated or black and white images,
- I spend a lot of time mostly on slow photography,
- I rather make a photograph than take it,
- I spend hours if not days outdoors facing the elements,
- colors, tones and shading are much more important than resolution and sharpness; I couldn’t agree more with Henry Cartier-Bresson:
“Sharpness is a Bourgeois Concept”.
The camera of my dreams
Dear Canon, Fujifilm, Hasselblad, Nikon, Olympus, Panasonic, Pentax, RICOH, Sigma, Sony & whatever & Co – why don’t you provide us ‘Slow Photographers’ with the gear we want? With a combination of Medium Format – Landscape and Street Photography? It should have the following ‘specs’:
- Autofocus: No (like Leica M)
- Sensor: Square! 35 x 35 mm, app. 35 MP, preferrably interchangeable (like many digital backs)
- Video: No
- IBIS (In Body Image Stabilizer): No
- Viewfinder: OVF (like Leica Q, M) or hybrid (like Fujifilm X-Pro*, X100*)
- Lenses: Small manual focus primes (like Leica or Voigtlander)
- Cubic design (like Hasselblad 500 C, Alpa), unobtrusive (like RICOH GR II and III)
- Weather and dust sealed
- Battery life: Several days, external pocketable battery pack available
- Weight: Suitable for travel, body only less than 750 gr
I (and I pretend – many slow photographers) would spend a fortune on this simple camera system, whatever brand it may be.
So my final question remains the same.
What camera would best cover my requirements?
Photographs: RICOH GR II, GR Lens f=18.3 mm 1:2.8. .DNG RAW format.
Edited in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom.
Any tips or thoughts? Please let me know.
Photographs: RICOH GR II, GR Lens f=18.3 mm 1:2.8. .DNG RAW format.
Edited in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom.
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Dear Christian, there’s always a solution, the question is just how much your expectations will be covered . The GFX R Series from Fujifilm comes pretty close and can be powered with an external source. It is also budget friendly , has a bunch of adapters for and film simulations that will help.
Yes there’s no optical viewfinder anymore, but a zoom-in option for checking the sharpness.
I always recommend to rent the systems you have in mind and then make the decision, I will no longer buy the “cat in the bag” without researching and real world testing when it comes to that price range.
But keep in mind.. what will the most expensive camera offer in comparison to another camera? Will the 2% more “whatever” (its not the image quality, trust me..) be woth the heavy price tag?
The light will always be the judge over a marvelous picture.
Have a happy and joyful day!
Pädu
Thank you a lot Patrick, the day you showed me your GFX R camera made me think. Combined with the 50 mm lens this combo would be quite compact. If I carry it with me all days? Despite its compact size probably not, compared to my RICOH it’s a beast – but this is a pretty unfair comparison! And you are right: Always rent the camera before you buy it! Once again thanks a lot for letting me know your opinion!
We rarely ever stop to think about, or invest completely, in that old saying that every decision we have made in life has brought us to where we are right now…but damn if it’s not trying to hit me over the head right now.
I don’t even remember what I had initially entered in my google search, but it eventually brought me here to your minimalist blog. I’ve been shooting for roughly 20 years, gone through several different competing systems, and like many, have found myself in the popular position of having an “every day, portable camera”, while saving the full-frame, mega-megapixel system for those “important” situations….only, I have been quietly admitting to myself that those “important” situations are becoming more and more rare.
For some reason, somewhere along the way, many of us have come to the conclusion that we need the bigger mega-pixel monsters on hand to consider ourselves real photographers. However, the truth is, the simplified system I use on a daily basis has allowed me to produce my favorite images over the past few years, in part because I don’t worry about all the technical spec sheets I may be working with, and remain present in the moment, making use of the tool I have on hand almost every day.
I don’t know if I’m going to start uploading my gear to eBay tonight, but I think your blog has just set me one step closer to admitting to myself what I had long been feeling about holding on to that special occasion gear. Gear that, if I’m honest, doesn’t really feel all that special and doesn’t necessarily contribute to my creativity.
Thank you Jamie.
Same here, my ‘special occasion gear’ is setting dust, while my small unobtrusive camera is getting used everyday.
Thank you once again for reading and your comment!