From time to time I check the search terms that lead people to my blog. I see for example Qtpfsgui appearing regularly since I wrote a post about this great open source HDR tool some time ago. And 70-200 is also a frequent one that brings people here even though I’ve never written a proper review about it, but definitely mention this great lens quite often. I saw one expression yesterday that made me laugh: ‘tibor radványi photo‘. Hey, am I that famous?

One day I noticed a search term that was interesting enough to write about and thought that it might start some thoughts and is worth to discuss: ‘cheap photography equipment for professional‘.

I think there is an intrinsic antagonism between professional photography equipment and being cheap. The reasons are many fold:

Professional equipment is designed for heavy usage and is built from more durable e.g. metal parts and with solutions to protect the gear like sealing against water and dust to be able to use it in places and circumstances where most of us would never use such a thing. This extra durability and protection cost the maker and finally you more money.

Professional gear is equipped with leading edge technologies, which requires heavy investments in research and development, and which demand for higher margin when those shiny pieces finally appear on the market.

And finally it is – like anything money can buy – all about marketing and the story told and believed by us. (Suggested reading: Seth Godin: All Marketers Are Liars: The Power of Telling Authentic Stories in a Low-Trust World) What can be the story here? Pro equipment makes better results. If I’m a pro and I’m in fierce competition I need the best gear to survive and I must to show off to my customers too. And to achieve all this I’m ready to pay some – well, a lot – extra. Since there’s this belief, gear makers can charge extra and up-to-date photography equipment can never be cheap.

This was what I had thought about pro gear till yesterday when I participated on the first session of the portrait photography class I anticipated so much. And in a magic moment the instructor, master of portraiture, 80 year-old pro celeb shooter pulled out a Panasonic Lumix FZ30 from his bag saying that he likes that camera very much. We were all shocked and felt ourselves ridiculous holding our heavy 70-200 lenses.

What do you think of Lightbox? Amazing. I want it on my blog. Not, bad. Leave me alone. I browse in text-only mode. View Results  Loading ...

Update: When thinking about this entry I realized that I am – and others might also be – very much interested in search terms hitting other photography blogs. As a result I initiated a Project on Blog Statistics – Search Terms. Please join the project.