Which is the best professional camera?

Answer 1

Please first see the answer to the related question noted below ("Do all cameras produce the same image quality?") The camera you use doesn't matter. Knowing how to use it does.

When I was studying Photography, our professors were quick and adamant to emphasize that cameras are merely a means to an end. The camera you use doesn't matter. Some years ago there was a television commercial for a very well known brand of camera. The commercial featured an equally well known professional photographer who favored that brand. The tagline was, "You may not have my eye, but you can have my camera!"

We old pros used to laugh ourselves silly at that, because we all clearly understood what it meant: The camera you use doesn't matter! What matters is how you use it. The most pitiful throwaway camera in the hands of someone who knows how to get the best out of it can produce art. The finest camera made in the hands of someone who can't turn it on will produce - nothing.

That said, there are many great marques out there: Canon; Nikon; Pentax, and so on. Any of them will produce superb images. Generally, a professional camera will be a single lens reflex, whether film or digital. If you're camera shopping, do your homework. Go to the library and study Consumer Reports on cameras you like. Go on line and read user reviews. Go to the store and handle the cameras. The way a camera fits your hand is important. How does this one feel as opposed to that one? Is the camera intuitive to operate or do you have to keep the manual in your pocket? Does this one have a feature you don't think you can live without and no one else has it? If you don't already have any camera, get an entry level point-and-shoot and then get yourself some coaching and training. Join a camera club. Take a course. Spend time in museums studying great paintings to learn about composition. Train your eye to see light. Your camera is only a tool, no matter its complexity, reputation or cost.