Will a $10K “Pro-Grade” Camera Make Better Pictures? Perspective from a Boomer Photographer
“Photography, as a powerful medium of expression and communications, offers an infinite variety of perception, interpretation and execution.” Ansel Adams
Introduction
If there is one word that amps up anxiety or conjures images of bank-breaking expenditures among millions of photographers, that word is “professional.” For as long as I’ve been a photographer, earning my living in the business, or just enjoying the art of photography in my retirement years, pro-gear — professional equipment — is the image which generations of new and advanced photographers have come to embrace as the pivot upon which turns their chances of achieving just the right image.
In online forums, in camera manufacturer’s ads, in camera clubs, in popular discourse among photographers, there is preference — maybe deference — afforded the would-be-buyers and owners of top-end cameras and lenses otherwise known as pro-gear or, worse, prosumer equipment. I have no idea what a prosumer is other than an advertising gimmick to lure amateur photographers into ever-increasing price levels of camera bodies and lenses.
