Photography: A reflection on my Favourite Cameras

While producing my first photography album “Droplets of Life” I have learnt more than I expected about cameras and what they can achieve.

Your best photos don’t always come from the most expensive cameras.

I used five cameras and it became somewhat confusing trying to collect all the photos. I have looked back over the final 26 photos and what I learnt was, your best photos don’t always come from the most expensive cameras.

I borrowed two expensive cameras and took thousands of photos on a few dedicated days walking around the city in Sydney. For the last month I also found myself using my mum or dad’s cameras at every opportunity when I was out with them.

Which camera did I like most and why? I have scored them out of 10. Here they are in order of how many people are using them (according to Flickr):

• 8/10 A borrowed Canon EOS 7D

  This was a great camera. See how super powerful it can be,
  I took the “Happiness from all angles” photo with it.

  This camera does not have a GPS.
  Flickr says on 25th June 2013 there were 3,993 users that day. Its popularity is growing: http://www.flickr.com/cameras/canon/eos_7d

• 9/10 A borrowed Nikon D90

  This was my favourite camera because it was fairly easy to use, I loved the zoom and as you can see the results were fantastic. I had great success with the Rapid Fire and the autofocus seemed better than the Canon EOS 7D. I took “Ruby Red” and lots of other beautiful photos with it. I won the 1st prize for the Photography Assignment, Year 6, so I know it gives a great result.

  This camera does not have a GPS.
  Flickr says on 25th June 2013 there were 3,344 users that day. It is becoming less popular: http://www.flickr.com/cameras/nikon/d90

• 4/10 My dad’s iPad

  Dad carries this on our walks so he can do emails in the breaks! This produced the worst quality images I took. Snapfish even gave me resolution warnings when I uploaded them to have them printed. However I did like my “Stepping Stones of God” photo.

  A great things is it has a GPS, which is good because it shows on Flickr where you took your photos.
  Flickr says on 25th June 2013 there were 662 users that day. Its popularity is levelling out: http://www.flickr.com/cameras/apple/ipad

• 6/10 My mum’s Sony Camera DSC-HX5v

  Mum carries this in her bag and I liked this camera because it is small, though it produces less powerful images. I took the photo “Dancing On The Opera House” with it.

  It has a GPS.
  Flickr says on 25th June 2013 there were 144 users that day. It is becoming less popular: http://www.flickr.com/cameras/sony/dsc-hx5v

• 7/10 My dad’s phone, a Nokia Lumia 920

  I grabbed this when I did not have a proper camera with me. This produced much better photos than I expected. I took the photo “Ready… Set… Brrr” with it.

  It has a GPS.
  Flickr says on 25th June 2013 there were only 29 users that day. It is becoming more popular: http://www.flickr.com/cameras/nokia/lumia_900/

All the cameras were really quite powerful and it took a while before I could spot the differences. I really enjoyed learning their strengths and weaknesses. Upon reflection since my final 26 photos came from all five cameras, I now know that it doesn’t matter what camera you are carrying.

I am sure I am not the first to make this observation, but do you know what the best camera in the world is?  The one in your pocket :-)

Whichever camera is with you at the time, is the one that allows you to capture the moment.

All photos have a story to tell.
Many photos have meaning.
Each photo, is a moment caught in time.

-Eve Cogan