It’s all too easy to fall into a trap of thinking that more expensive gear will automatically produce better images, or to think that you must have the most expensive camera & lens on the market if you want to be a “professional”. It’s a trap I fell into hook line ‘n’ sinker when I got started a few years ago, and I recently got asked by a friend for advice re a lens upgrade, which got me thinking.
There’s a really big question here “Could I take the photos that I do with a cheaper camera, if not, why not?” personally, I think the answer for me is almost certainly YES. Before taking photography as seriously as I do now I owned a Canon 1000D, then upgraded to a 70D, and finally to a 5D Mk3 when I wanted to be a “pro” (ha!) I feel I could quite easily take the vast majority of the photos I take today on my 5D Mk3 on the 1000D with kit lens. So, I set myself a bit of a challenge…
Back to that question on kit upgrades from my friend, I myself was in the market for a telephoto lens, and was trying to justify the cost of a Canon 70-200mm f/2.8, but I happened to have a few Wex vouchers lying around, so thought I’d make a punt and buy an “entry level” cheap telephoto lens instead. I looked in the Wex used section, and found a used Sigma 75-300mm for £77, minus my £40 vouchers meant I only paid out £37, what’s the worst that can happen?
So, I placed the order, and as soon as it arrived I headed out to take some snaps.
Before I go any further I should really point out – this is by no means a technical product review, I am not endorsing the Sigma lens, or any other lens for that matter, the only thing on question here, and the only benchmark being compared to is “Would I be happy to upload this photo to my site”..
These photos were taken on the Sigma, a lens which cost £77 for me to buy, and they are now in my gallery – so they pass the acid test.
The bottom line here is, you don’t need expensive lenses to make good images, don’t be fooled into thinking that you can only take professional images on expensive equipment. Whatever you use to take a photo doesn’t matter – it’s the end image people are going to be looking at.