Will A New Camera Make A Difference?
I received my Canon R7 on Saturday! I spent Sunday looking at various videos on how to setup the camera for bird photography and noted approximately 65 menus to access and customize in order to optimize the camera so I have control over the variables I need while in the field and I obtain peak performance while taking pictures. After my initial setup I’m sure I will be tweaking some of the buttons and settings over the next couple of months. As I approach taking my first photos with it I’ve been asking the question, “Will it make a difference in my bird photography?”
I spent almost $2,000 for the Canon R7 (camera+tax+lens adapter ring) so something better be better. But what? Harkening back to the QSAR (Quality Self-Assessment Rubric) I know I’ve taken a lot of GreatBirdPics quality pictures with my trusty Canon 7D Mark II; will the Canon R7 help me produce more Award Worthy quality pics? The very first Component of the QSAR is Technical Quality/Focus. Yes, I believe the R7, with its “Animal Detection/Eye Detection” capabilities will get more photos with better focus. After that, most of the QSAR’s Technical Quality and Content Components have more to do with how the bird is positioned within the frame and post-processing (such as cropping) – which don’t have much to do with the camera.
It’s not until you get to the Image Characteristic Artistic Quality that we find Components that can lift the final quality of an image from GreatBirdPic to Award Worthy. Note that Components such as Originality, The Story Within the Photograph, and Impact are attributable to the photographer, not the camera. A new camera alone will not make a better bird photographer.
With a new camera – and if nothing else I do changes – I can expect to get more “Keepers” because the focus will be better and I might get better low-light images. Walking down a trail and snapping pics of birds along the way with a new camera won’t change my end results that much. What needs to change is to take a different approach to bird photography – like Emil Baumbach, Birder2011, and Burningnaturephotography. They stake out their target bird, select the best vantage point, and stay there until they get the shot they want. Purposeful bird photography will yield better results than coincidental bird photography.
Am I right? I’ll let you know as I get to know my new camera.
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