Hi, everybody, welcome to episode seven of the photography explained podcast. In this episode, which camera should I buy?

I’m your host, Rick, and each week, I’ll try to explain one photographic thing to you in plain English in less than 10 minutes without the irrelevant details. My aim is to explain things in just enough detail to help us with our photography and no more.

What’s the question?

Now, you might be wondering what the question is here. Buying a camera is quite a big thing. So, I wanted to just go through quite a few of the considerations because this is a bit of a fundamental reality of photography.

You should buy the camera that is right for you. You need to think about

• What do you want to take photos of?
• Is photography going to be a hobby or a business?
• How much money do you have to spend?
• How much time do you have to invest in photography
• New or old camera?
• Film or digital?
• Photos and video?
• Will your phone do?

You can listen to the episode here

Or keep on reading. Or do both. Entirely up to you!

There is no right answer

No, I’m not going to get to the end and say you must buy an X or Y camera. If only life were that simple. No, I’m afraid not. It’s just a matter of consideration and your personal preferences and options. So, all I’m going to give you here are some things to think about, which will help you make the decision about which camera you should buy.

In Episode Six, I answered the question, what are the different types of cameras?

I have already explained very briefly what the different types of cameras are and also told you the cameras that I use.

What camera do I use?

The two types of cameras that I use are a DSLR, a Canon 6D, and a micro four-thirds mirrorless camera, an Olympus EM5 Mk 2. Now I have specific needs for these cameras.

So, what things should you consider when you’re thinking about buying a camera?

1 Budget

The first one is your budget. How much money have you got to spend on a camera? This is obviously a main consideration. And as a very general rule of thumb. the more money you spend, the better the camera you get.

Yes, you can spend £20 grand on the best camera in the world, but guess what?

If you don’t learn how to use it properly, you’ll still take rubbish photos. So, all I’ll say about the budget is decide how much money you’re prepared to spend on a camera, and the accessories and all the other stuff.

A word of caution

I’m not a big advocate of buying loads of accessories straightaway – decide on a budget, set a limit and then you have got something to work with and that will give you the options for the cameras that you can get.

2 Okay, then, what is the camera for?

What do you want to take photos of?

It might be that you just get the photos you need with your iPhone and there’s nothing wrong with that. And don’t let anybody tell you there is anything wrong with that. There is too much snobbery in the photography world (in my humble opinion) where people who use phones are looked down on for just being non-photographers.

That’s nonsense.

I’ve never used my iPhone (well not at the moment anyway) for commercial photography work. But I still have got some great photos taken on my iPhone. Great videos too.

A clever feature that phones have – I’ve even made phone calls with it iPhone would you believe.

3 So what’s the camera for?

Do you want to take photographs of people, street photography, architectural photography, construction sites like me, or landscapes?

This is a good starting point. Or if you want to just general use camera then that’s absolutely fine as well. Any camera will do for any subject matter really – size and weight vary from camera to camera though.

4 Travel photography

I have a Canon 6D and Canon 24-105mm lens which I stopped using on holiday because I just got fed up lugging them around (and all the other stuff) – this is how I ended up with the Olympus EM5 Mk 2. This camera is much smaller and has a much smaller lens, which I can actually just shove in a pocket.

Another thing that needs to be said here is that not that long ago, the size of the gear that you had was very important in your impression to your client of being a professional photographer. If you turned up with a mirrorless camera, they might look at you and go, who’s this guy or gal? I could have got someone for much less money that’s got a real camera.

Thankfully those days are behind us and mirrorless and micro four-thirds cameras are much better, a much higher standard and are a good replacement for a DSLR camera.

5 Size and weight

If it’s an important factor you might want to look at one of the smaller camera systems rather than the DSLRs. Having said that DSLRs aren’t that big really.

When my Olympus camera does not fit in my pocket!

You can buy a Micro Four Thirds camera and get a big lens put on it and you are no better off than you would be with a DSLR.

6 Do you need to be able to change lenses?

Do you want to be able to buy other lenses and change them? Why would you want to do this? I have a Canon 17-40mm lens – 17mm is very wide, and 40mm is close to standard focal length (50mm). I also have a Canon 24-105mm lens, which I use for general travel photography, I just take that one lens.

I also have a 70-200mm telephoto lens, which I use once every three or four months when I have a specific need. So, lenses are very important.

And I’ll say the same thing again, get the best quality lenses you can because camera bodies depreciate rapidly in value, but camera lenses don’t. Camera lenses hold their value incredibly well. I sold a lens last year that I bought 5, 6 or 7 years ago and actually got more for it than I paid for it.

7 Do you want an expandable system?

Because any camera system that I’m aware of is expandable apart from a Kodak film camera. So, ignore that and move on. I had to put this one in for the purist.

8 Do you want a digital camera? Or a film camera?

Nothing against film photography, nothing against people who choose to take photos using film. Personally, I don’t get it.

It is digital all the way from me. So that’s a consideration (I don’t need to make). Like I say if you want to go film, you go for it. Just allow for the time to get the negatives back.

9 New or secondhand?

Now I have bought new cameras, and I have bought secondhand cameras. I bought secondhand lenses from too, and I’ve never had a problem with them. I’ve actually had lenses which are in much worse condition than I expected with marks on the front lens element. But it’s never affected my photos so we can be a bit precious.

Nothing wrong with buying secondhand equipment. Just be careful where you buy stuff from is safe and make sure it’s what you’re after. And you’ve got some recourse if it’s damaged or faulty.

But yeah, don’t be put off by it. Don’t feel that you have to buy brand new expensive gear. It’s not the case.

10 Is your phone enough for you?

Think about this seriously, can you get by with just a phone? I do on holidays quite a lot, which I’m happy with. Phones are going to get better and there will come a point when the lenses are better as well.

And you and I will be using cameras less and less. But we’re not there yet.

So, there are a few things you need to consider.

Next episode

According to my script, I will describe the different types of cameras that you can buy. That’s not true, because that was the last episode. Sorry, I had a slight change of sequence here which I haven’t fully updated. Now I’m not reading this all on a script, by the way, I just got some bullet prompts. I just missed that update.

Sorry – next in Photography Explained Podcast is Episode 8 – Why Is Camera Sensor Size Important?

But remember this (I think that was in a song once).

The most important thing about photography is that you go out and take photos – this is the number one way to improve your photography. And for me to improve mine.

And also, ensure that you enjoy your photography. A great camera doesn’t equal great photos. Great photographic technique and composition help you get great photos, be it with a rubbish camera, an average camera or a great camera.

Forget the snobbery.

It’s what you do with the camera, and what you point it at, not the camera.

Okay, that’s that one done.

Thank you

Thanks for listening. I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you did enjoy it, please leave a nice review and rating wherever you get your podcasts from. And I’m all over the place. Let’s be honest. And please subscribe so you don’t miss an episode. And if you could also tell everybody you know about my podcast that will be even better.

You can also check out my website, Rick McEvoy Photography, where you can find out all about me and my architectural photography and my construction photography. And also, you can read my thoughts on my blog about photography in general.

Post podcast note – I have created the Photography Explained Podcast website where you can find everything you need.

What’s next? In the next Photography Explained Podcast episode 8 – Why Is Camera Sensor Size Important?

Ask a question

Last thing, if there’s something you want me to explain in less than 10 minutes without the irrelevant detail, let me know and I’ll add it to the list which you can see on my website.

This episode was brought to you by the power of my mouth just about managing to work. When I get a paid sponsor link for this bit, I look forward to it. None yet though. Thanks again for listening, and I’ll see you in the next episode.

Cheers from me, Rick.

OK – that was the podcast episode.

Want to know more?

Head over to the Start page on the Photography Explained Podcast website to find out more.

And here is the list of episodes published to date – you can listen to any episode straight from this page which is nice.

Let me know if there is a photography thing that you want me to explain and I will add it to my list. Just head over to the This is my list of things to explain page of this website to see what is on there already.

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And finally a little bit about me

Finally, yes this paragraph is all about me – check out my Rick McEvoy Photography website to find out more about me and my architectural, construction, real estate and travel photography work. I also write about general photography stuff, all in plain English without the irrelevant detail.

Thank you

Thanks for listening to my podcast (if you did) and reading this blog post (which I assume you have done as you are reading this).

Cheers from me Rick