How Much Camera Do You REALLY Need??

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Fuji X-H2
Fuji X-T5
Fuji X-T3 amzn.to/3iB6g0I
Fuji XF 10-24mm WR amzn.to/3xAYkAP
Fuji XF 16-80mm
Fuji XF 70-300mm amzn.to/42r1UNy
Fuji 16mm 2.8 WR amzn.to/3xBUKGO
Fuji 23mm 2.0 WR amzn.to/3Arzaq6
Fuji 35mm 2.0 WR amzn.to/3rhRU9p
Fuji 50mm 2.0 WR amzn.to/3uYW9I4
Peak Design Slide Lite Camera Strap Black amzn.to/3jofVHA
Filters:
HOYA PRO1 77mm Circular Polarizer amzn.to/3LUgZz2
PolarPro QuartzLine 77mm ND 6 stop Filter amzn.to/3JqWHvq
PolarPro QuartzLine 77mm ND 10 stop Filter amzn.to/3KtcDPc
Software:
DXO Photolab 6 www.dxo.com/dx...
Affinity Photo 2 affinity.serif...
Tripods:
iFootage Gazelle Fast Bowl amzn.to/3qpBI8m
Acratech Panoramic Head. amzn.to/3ITheLU
Gitzo GT2541 amzn.to/3rYpQFT
Gitzo 1545T amzn.to/37kPvkd
Manfrotto 3021BPRO amzn.to/3pmUPtP
Sirui 7A amzn.to/3pxTel2
Oben AtAt 3535 amzn.to/37mhO1L
Camera Bags:
Tenba amzn.to/43hyMJL
F Stop Lotus 32L amzn.to/3rIj4Ew
Fisher 100% Brass Space Pen amzn.to/3arPIUR
Chamonix 45-N2 www.chamonixvi...
Intrepid Gen 5 4x5 and Gen 3 8x10 intrepidcamera...
Rodenstock 90mm 6.8
Nikkor 135mm 5.6
Rodenstock 210mm 6.8
Nikkor 300mm 8.0
Pentax 67 w/TTL Prism
Pentax 67 SMC 45mm
Pentax 67 SMC 55mm
Pentax 67 SMC 75mm
Pentax 67 SMC 90mm
Pentax 67 SMC 135mm M
Pentax 67 SMC 200mm
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www.EdwardMartins.com
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[@jeffdrew625]

Good points discussing the needs vs wants. Interesting point comparing images from small sensors in drones etc. Recently, I’ve shelved my APS-C formats in favor of trying M43 Olympus/OM system. Much of the time I don’t see much difference in image quality between the two. The M43 kits have had steeper learning curves initially, but the added features, lighter weight kits, and articulating view screens are really handy! Add in new post-processing repair algorithms and features, one can compensate for smaller sensors, lower pixel counts and exposure goofs. My old Fujifilm X10 is back in use @12mp too! Fun! Thanks for interesting discussions!

[@VictorReynolds]

So true. I shoot with a iPhone and am happy with it. I’ve produced exhibit-worthy images which don’t need to be movie-poster size. I also shoot Polaroids too when I’m in the mood. However, I no longer have to worry about lugging gear like in the past. Today, my thrust is image creation, not having “x” gear because some influencer say so. Thanks for sharing.

[@SilverChief]

Im 67 yrs old. Been shooting 35mm FILM since I was 12 yrs old. At 14 jumped to 120 PENTAX 6x7.. The ideal format.! 50 years later...... Still using it today with a complete 25 lens system and 4 6x7 bodies. Its perfect...no need for lazy digital .50 years of NEGATIVES and KODACHROME slides and they still reign supreme.

[@EdwardMartinsPhotography]

The 6x7 is a wonderful camera. As far as I'm concerned, when Pentax quit making them is when they went out of business.

[@jasongold6751]

@@EdwardMartinsPhotography They Pentax are still in buisiness with Ricoh! Atrue Monochome DSLR, the 1/2 frame 35mm and maybe a famous Q model..

[@EdwardMartinsPhotography]

@@jasongold6751 The K3 mark III is a more a Ricoh than a Pentax. The K1 is the last somewhat Pentax made. Real Pentax's are only available used.... 🙂

[@jerzyjablonski1432]

It is only internet gearheads that obsses about pixel count or camera models. Most people are happy with camera in their phone, most pros use what they bought years ago and never change until it breaks cause why when it delivers. I am using 1/1.7'' 10 or so Mpx 16 years old compact side by side with 26 Mpx APS-C, I print photos from both and hang them on my wall. Perfectly happy with them. But people like numbers. Higher the number the better the gear. Camera, phone, car - more under hood = better in opinion of many people. And influencers get money from advertising stuff, so people hear about "I just switched to... it is SOOO much better cause it has 5 Mpx more and it can detect mouse eye". So they switch too. And after few months the same guy "switches" again cause... and yeah. Well, manufacturers need money from camera sells after all.

[@robmas57]

I get what you're saying regarding the summer conditions. I live in SW Florida and it's not working for me right now with the humidity and indexes over 100f every day. Regarding the gear, . . . . I'm just a hobbyist, but I think my XT5's would be more than sufficient for anything not requiring less than billboards. But maybe I'm just talking myself into thinking that. Regardless, your video helps convince me that I don't need anything better than what I already have. Thanks for your video.

[@EdwardMartinsPhotography]

I think your wrong, I think your XT5 would work just fine for billboards... 🙂🙂 9 days, September 15th, the forecast is for 72 degrees and cloudy and raining, and it stays under 75 from there on out with days in the mid 60's a week or two after that. Finally!! For inspiration in SW Florida, I'd look at Clyde Butcher's work. He shoots/shot 8x10 film and did some stunning landscapes of the swamps down there. He's on Instagram and has a website too. Thanks for watching! 👍👍

[@stevef2114]

I think you make valid points... Digital has exploded the idea that you have to keep up with the latest and greatest. People's threshold to be satisfied.. as with anything in life, is now so low, its really quite sad. I understand when you start, like I did, you do swap around a bit as you find your style and what you like in terms of format, or you just want to experiment and enjoy all kinds of photography, from 35mm to 10x8! But for most yes i think you are correct, 20mp is way more than what most people need. BUT.... there are caveats to that right. Format and tonal quality do come into it, as well as detail. People enjoy photography for all different reasons. We cant hold people to 1 standard and say that is all you need. Ive had all cameras in 17 years there are, APSC digital, full frame digital and film, medium format digital and film, and large format film. I stopped shooting about 6 years ago but have recently taken it back up. Im not a professional. But ive settled on the Fuji GFX 50sii for my digital setup, and I have a large format 4x5 film camera. Do I need it? Yes I do! Because the format and detail is important, and the process is important. Printing is also very important because or me that should be the goal of every photograph... to enjoy it! For home, I do have prints up to 100cm that I like to do because I want to immerse myself into what I shoot, because for me detail is very important. Tonality is important in the print also. Now i only have a few of these prints up at any one time, mostly I do 20" prints or less, but that isnt the point. There are too many variables to consider when it comes to why people use what they use. The GAS issue though is separate to this I think. You began by holding up a MK book... there is someone to respect, who's shot with the same camera i think for most of his working life. He has a vision, and he pursues it, for himself. His camera perfectly fits him for his needs AND wants. I think these arent a choice but must exist and compliment each other. Speaking of YT photographers.. they are not photographers i respect personally.. I think most of their works are sub standard, especially Heaton, I dont enjoy his work at all. You think Ansel would be on YT.? What about Galen Rowel, or Peter Dombrovskis? What about Edward Burtynsky, or Andreas Gursky in the contemporary scene? These people and many others are set apart because they were and are masters, busy excelling at what they do, enjoying their passion, and being good enough to have highly desirable works. Im sure they have a camera system they love and are about doing it for themselves more than anything to. They arent busy trying to earn money from YT chasing followers to make their living. I see a big difference to those who post of YT for their passion, and those have put their trust in YT to earn a living. Im not saying YT photographers dont have a passion, but im afraid all i see is a passion that is watered down by being enslaved to the system of producing content. YT is the worst form of platform for any artist I think... to maintain subscribers as a goal must be so burdensome. They deviate, buy and sell gear, shoot any old thing, and do their best to come up with something every week to try and stand out. Have you noticed how they all produce the same content almost on top of each other all the time. Where are the visionaries, where are the ones coming up with great images that take real time and real effort. They arent on YT lol

[@EdwardMartinsPhotography]

What I found most interesting about the MK book, is I assumed his early non-square work was done with a Nikon 35mm. It was interesting to learn that most of that work was done on all different cameras before he settled on the HB's. You really can't tell. Some of it was 4x5, 35mm, and a Mamiya RB 67 among others. I find it interesting that you would criticize TH. There are legions of his followers that would tar and feather you for such blasphemy. (Though I quite agree with you. If I were teaching him in a photography 101 course, I'd give him a B for the term, competent but uninspired. His one man video work is A+ at times which is how he got where he is.) The biggest gripe I have with YT photographers is when they are sponsored by a brand like Nikon and don't disclose it. The Z8 is a great example of that. Even a guy like Nigel Danson who has had multiple back surgeries got one and that's not the right choice if weight is an issue for landscape photography. The number of British YT's with 100K+ subscribers that got a Z8 after they came out is quite astonishing. Almost like they were giving them away... For me YT is a way to keep my head in the game. It's the excuse I use to create. Having barely scraped a living for most of my life at photography, there has to be a commercial end goal to spur my creativity even if it's a very nebulous one. I try to make the content I find interesting, and that I think others might find interesting. It's the crap that's successful on YT and the real photography channels don't do all that well. AOWS is great example. Adrian should have a million followers, his channel is about creativity and the passion behind his photography. His video about photographing the windmills of La Mancha is one of the best on YT, yet he only has about 35K subs. Toneh and Cheeslea have millions of subs and they are worthless in my opinion. Same with Fro. But that's like complaining about people choosing McDonalds over a decent restaurant. Pigs love their trough. The real problem, is if the real photographers are not on YT, then where are they? If a tree falls in the forest, and nobody hears it, what is the point to the sounds it makes? There are a few YT photographers who are real and they are worth supporting.

[@stevef2114]

@@EdwardMartinsPhotography Sorry about TH... thats how i feel .. good luck to him but there is simply no emotion, no pathos for me. MK v TH... i know the better photographer. Ive looked up AOWS.. could be good.. i'll review thanks! I quite like Alistair Benn at least he gives some depth, and Ben Horne i admire his approach but im not connected with his works these days... just cant get excited about it. Nick Carvers videos are great and entertaining, and some of his works I can appreciate. The others you mention I have no idea who you mean sorry :) I did start to look at Todd Dominey.. but he doesnt engage with his viewers.. well not me anyway. Quite like some of his stuff and his digital darkroom skills are good and his videography i think is good to.

[@BarryBader]

Hi, new to your site. Considering getting into large format. Am I making a mistake starting out with 8x10, and skipping over 4x5. Have a chance to buy a used Chamonix Alpinist and already have a 8x10 Devere enlarger in my darkroom. Really enjoy your videos, down to earth and very informative. Thanks

[@EdwardMartinsPhotography]

Welcome! Great question. A few thoughts. The Chamonix Alpinist is a beautiful camera, but the Alpinist doesn't have a rotatable back and so it's limited to horizontal photographs. The Alpinist X model does have a rotatable back. Large format is a very limiting in terms of what you can photograph. And the larger the format the more limitations there are. Ben Horne is a great example of that. His photography is brilliant, but if you watch a lot of his videos and look at a lot of his work, there's only so many kinds of shots he takes and that's not a limitation of his skill, or artistic eye, but the format. All 8x10 landscape photographers do the same kinds of things. 4x5 is more forgiving of subject matter and much more versatile. It would take a VERY unique individual to jump into 8x10 and make a go of it. Not to mention the expense. I'd rather make all my mistakes on $2.00 a sheet film than $7, (or $10 vs. $25 a sheet for color.) If it's a great deal on an Alpinist X I'd go ahead and get it, but then I'd but a $350 4x5 Intrepid and cut my teeth on that.

[@BarryBader]

Great advice, Edward. I can purchase an almost unused Alpinist x at about a $1000 discount from a new one. So, think I will follow your advice and grab an used 4x5 to learn on, and buy/store the 8x10 for later times. Just don't think I can come across a deal like this again, but maybe I am fooling only myself. My wife, says, 'not only the first time':) Enjoy your site. Thanks, Barry

[@EdwardMartinsPhotography]

@BarryBader The Alpinist x is about $5K new. $4k is still a lot of coin. You can get an Intrepid 8x10 for about $600, and both will do the same thing. If you bought the Intrepud 8x10 new and found out after a few years that 8x10 was your format you could just buy a Chamonix new, and it would worth it. Now if the Alpanist X was $2500 that's different. You could get an Intrepid 8x10 AND 4x5 for under $1k, and see how you get on. They are competent cameras and cheaper new than most used cameras.

[@BarryBader]

He didn't go for my offer, so nothing is lost:) Thanks again for your advice.

[@ianforber]

I’ve had a rollercoaster ride from 35mm, 6x7, APS-C, m4/3 and now back to APS-C again. All good. My best landscape and travel photos were taken with an 8 megapixel compact with a sensor smaller than 1” - some of which were pretty significant crops. The size of the sensor and its megapixel count just doesn’t matter. Even the quality of the lens is not that important to most hobbyists like me. I almost always fall into the trap of convincing myself I need a pro lens with corner-corner sharpness, APO level colour correction and no vignetting. But software these days usually corrects that and I also tend to crop it out corner problems anyway. For landscape, a decent tripod is probably a better investment.

[@EdwardMartinsPhotography]

A decent tripod has to be the most overlooked and undervalued piece of essential gear.

[@RFranks]

I'm still using a Nikon aps-c from 2016, it's not perfect but gets the job done. I haven't really been inspired to upgrade to anything yet despite trying a lot of different cameras. Some of the cameras I've tried have some of the things I want but none of them have all of the things I want.

[@EdwardMartinsPhotography]

That's where I'm at. Luckily Fuji doesn't really screw with the XT series from iteration to iteration. So shooting with an XT5 is very much like shooting with an XT3, only the improvements are things I wanted changed anyways. (With the exception of the moved Q button...)

[@BobKeck]

Wisdom in the current atmosphere is hard to come by. Yes, we need to work with good equipment, but there is a line each of us needs to define between sanity and overkill. Thanks for bringing the question before us and bringing clarity. Keep up the good work.

[@SteveKleinheider]

Thanks for the heads up on the Michael McKenna book…I just ordered a copy!

[@EdwardMartinsPhotography]

I just find it interesting how they all shoot with a FF or MF, yet the quiet part is that they are all happy to shoot with APS-c or even 1 inch sensor cameras for their work. Nobody will take you seriously unless you shoot with the larger formats, but nobody cares what format the finished products are made with. There's a disconnect in there somewhere. 🙂

[@EdwardMartinsPhotography]

@@SteveKleinheider Glad they are still available!

[@thomastaylor9237]

Another excellent video. Very true. I had the XT-3, an excellent camera. For me, the Pentax K-1 meets my needs with a few lenses like the DFA 28-105 and the DFA 21 Limited as my favorites. Along with an Osmo Pocket 3, and Action 4, I’m set for landscapes and video. The K-1 is heavy, but worth the trade off. 😊

[@EdwardMartinsPhotography]

The FLog2 video is addictive... 🙂 I don't really need it and I could get by with the Osmo and Gopro's, but as the Fuji's have it built in, what the hey. And I really enjoy shooting with the XT5. But the K1 is a superb camera as well and better image quality than most other FF's for sure.

[@c.augustin]

Well, my digital camera is an Olympus Pen F digital, and I'm happy with the results (20 MP is quite nice, and the 80 MP pixel-shift high-res mode comes in handy for the next part … ;-)). But most of the time, I schlep my 4x5 around - for various reasons, but not for the resolution (which in reality isn't better than a 40 to 60 MP sensor, depending on many factors). So, yeah, what one really needs is often not much and depends.

[@brettryan3298]

I'm still using a D5000 that I got in 2009, a used D7200, and a whole mess of F-mount glass that I've picked up over the years and I've found that the benefits presented by the new equipment is not enough to justify the upgrade and expenses involved.

[@ironmonkey1512]

I shoot with GFX50r and two G zooms. Both have OIS which is amazing, I don't use a tripod any more. That being said, I just picked up a D200 and experimenting with some lo-fi photography with that.

[@RoastBeefSandwich]

Honestly if I had it to do over, I would have kept my Pentax K-3 (original) and the kit I had assembled with it. I’m very happy with my Fuji X100VI, but I really didn’t need to spend the money on switching (not that I spent much after selling my Pentax equipment). It was mostly a form factor change, the image quality upgrade is (mostly) lost on my work.

[@EdwardMartinsPhotography]

Form factor can be important. But there is very little difference in image quality among most of the cameras today with the differences being at the margins that most people don't stray into to often if at all.

[@1717jbs]

Always interesting. Thanks

[@JimsPhotographyArt]

You make a good point as I can do almost everything with my micro 4/3 20mp Olympus-OM camera system. I would really argue that the Olympus/OM System is about the best for wildlife and macro (focus bracketing and stacking) that there is. These micro 4/3 cameras do 99% of all my wildlife and macro photography. It does take those correct lenses for the job to make any camera shine though. I'm just not personally satisfied with the 4/3 system for high detailed landscapes though. I've spoiled myself with the GFX system as you know but I surely don't need it as the X-T5 is absolutely good enough. I do actually prefer the look of the images from the GFX but do shoot with my X-T5 more often as it's just easier to lug around. If I had to get rid of all my gear except for one system, I'd absolutely keep the Olympus/OM System as I enjoy wildlife (birding) and nature macro shooting the most. And, I could also make it work for landscapes too ;)

[@EdwardMartinsPhotography]

The right tool for the right job, for sure. Hey, I shoot 8x10 film just because it's fun to look at and a challenge, but I'd never use it for anything where I had limited access to the subject and really wanted the shots. i.e. any kind of photo trip. The APS-c fuji sensors are the sweet spot for what I do, and 95% of what everybody else does could be done probably better with smaller sensor cameras as well.

[@haneyfrancis2780]

I agree with you. I am tired of these influences who tell you what cameras you need for this or that. But I still use Nikon F5 and Fuji Velvia 50 and I sell my prints in larger sizes. I have a digital camera but it is 10 yrs old also. Its ability not tools. How many tradesmen have we hired based on ability and experience not based on what tools they use.

[@EdwardMartinsPhotography]

It's a lot easier to obsess over gear than creativity or craftsmanship. Digital only made it worse, sacrificing quality for quantity of output. Even if the digital end result were superior to film, the ridiculous number of final images oversaturated the medium to the point where we just don't really care anymore about the individual photograph. Digital's tail is wagging the dog.

[@paulatterby7507]

I really miss Velvia 50 in sheet film!

[@alanjacobs9216]

Influencers are, in general, playing to the vacuous mob. We may despise them and their followers but we can also benefit from the situation. How else could I sell my 3 year old X100V for more money than I paid for it new?

[@jasongold6751]

Agree Totally! The new medium format digital BS! I use small cameras,CCD sensors! My Film cameras all very old! BRAVO

[@chrismann5070]

Some people think you need top of the range Hassleblads

[@EdwardMartinsPhotography]

@@chrismann5070 those people usually get them for free from Hasselblad...

[@joshmcdzz6925]

I can't figure out what you mean by the z8 is heavy and you carry a pentax 67 with multiple 6x7 lenses around which is almost the same weight as my rb67 .. Can you make that make some sense? The nikon z7/z8 aren't 42Mpx but 45.6Mpx.. Lemme throw the question back to you.. why do you have expensive gear as well when I can basically reproduce the same things with a point and shoot like the olympus xa etc...

[@EdwardMartinsPhotography]

Everything is relative. A Z8 is double the weight of a comparable Sony camera. If a Z8 took 120 film and made 6x7 negatives then you might have a point. Because you can't do what I do with a point a shoot. And just to throw something at you... the Z8 is 4 times more expensive than a Pentax 67. And has inferior image quality. So why bother with a Z8? (Rhetorical question. It's obviously the right tool for the right job is the answer. I wouldn't want to shoot sports with a 67, or landscapes with a Z8.)

[@RichardBO9]

We are drowning in information and starved for wisdom. There is a lot of wisdom in this video. The best photos are those that evoke emotion. I have not figured out how the whole pixel count vs system weight dynamic meshes with creating emotion. What I find odd, is photos that make me happy which are highly detailed so I can identify every plant species don't generate as much interest in my work as some random "snapshot" I have taken that has great color but isn't particularly sharp. I think there is a certain level of cognitive dissonance in KZbin photography channels where it's preached that your photos should look a certain way, versus what actually creates a response by the viewing public. It has taken me a long time to figure that out. As I look back on my own photos, those I took with the X-H1 and X-T3 always stand out as my favorites. I wish I had not chased gear so hard. :(

[@EdwardMartinsPhotography]

If I had to pick the two photographs that have gotten the most reaction from people over my career, both were made with black and white 35mm film. Chasing gear is easy, being creative with the gear is hard... So we always follow the path of least resistance unless we force ourselves to do the right thing.

[@Pentaxenstein]

I need ALL the camera, Ed...lol 🖤🤍

[@andrewleno591]

There are no true desires without true needs...

[@EdwardMartinsPhotography]

Actually one of the best comments I've read yet. Many facets to this. What springs to mind immediately is that this is the reason most everyone in society today feels very unsatisfied. When beyond all your needs are fulfilled, what's left to desire?

[@costelloandsilke7321]

Lenses - not cameras.

[@yuval6354]

Please add NSFW warning to this video, as it is clearly Not Safe For Wife 😄