I need a better camera! Which one?

[Burn Ban]

apparently irony does not work for everyone. sorry you got confused.

seriously this time:

i am a golfer.  the very similar correlation is that golfers are always looking for the newest driver to improve their games and drop shots. it almost never works. no amount of technology will accommodate the fact that they look like elaine bennett dancing when they are in their back swing. fix that swing to fix your score. better put your money into lessons to improve skills.

[tjavery]

i am a golfer.  the very similar correlation is that golfers are always looking for the newest driver to improve their games and drop shots. it almost never works. no amount of technology will accommodate the fact that they look like elaine bennett dancing when they are in their back swing. fix that swing to fix your score. better put your money into lessons to improve skills.

Good point!

[jeffblaylock]

i am a golfer.  the very similar correlation is that golfers are always looking for the newest driver to improve their games and drop shots. it almost never works. no amount of technology will accommodate the fact that they look like elaine bennett dancing when they are in their back swing. fix that swing to fix your score. better put your money into lessons to improve skills.

Great analogy.

As I learned from my grandfather -- a photographer -- long ago, there is no camera on this earth that can correct for bad composition, poor depth of field, wrong exposure settings, too much or too little flash, or shooting into the sun (or from the sun into the shade).

It takes patience, practice, and a little bit of artistry, but really it's mostly the first two. In this digital age, there's no excuse for not taking LOTS of photos if you're trying to get a good one -- a "wall photo" as my grandfather called it, or a "keeper" as another photographer mentor of mine would say -- and learning from the many, many mistakes.

It also takes learning how whatever camera you have works.

As for that new driver, well, unless it has a setting where the sweet spot automatically hits the ball squarely, and compensates for my offline foot placement, then it won't help me one bit. 

[Casa Grande]

patience

I would argue, that one word is the key to great photography...otherwise, it's just luck.  Ansel Adams had his view camera literally tied to the back of his pick up truck.  He would park his truck and camp for days and days sometimes, waiting for the right clouds to form, waiting for the sun cast just the right shadow.  Patience and/or time.  Patience can be learned (something I'm still working on), but time is sometimes in short supply.   I have a project in mind that will keep me sitting in the same spot for an entire 24 hour period on the South Rim..... doesn't sound too bad, now that I think about it!

[dkerr24]

I can speak from experience that more megapixels or more features does not equate better pictures.  I have taken pics from my old Canon A640 (6mp) camera that are better than the ones I've taken from my Canon G9 (12mp).

I attribute that to the fact I'm more familiar with the old camera and its menus.  With time, I'll get better with the G9.  Like the golfing analogy used above, working on learning skills and using your camera will help more than buying more equipment.