Yes, multiple new cameras come out every year and you may say to yourself “well this batch doesn’t have exactly what I need so I’ll wait and see what the next model brings to the table”. That’s fine, though there is no perfect camera and I am not saying buying a camera is the only way to upskill your shooting experience, there are many professionals who have never needed to own a camera and have work just fine. However the game changes as technology gets more affordable and video has become a massively popular medium to communicate ideas, especially online.
New opportunities have come about to help people with their needs through video and owning your own gear will take you one step closer to being able to provide a solution yourself. In the early days whether this is paid or unpaid is not so important, what is important is that you learn your gears strengths and weaknesses and your own strength and weaknesses. It can be empowering to own a camera, at any time you can decide to go out and practice an idea or have inspiration come to mind from watching other videos and be able to apply it to your next project. If you are passionate about learning how to shoot video or becoming confident with any particular piece of gear, you can either network with people who have gear and find ways of helping them or buy your first camera as many of the DSLRs and older prosumer video cameras available today are very versatile and affordable. If you have doubts about it after your purchase, you always have ebay.
When it comes to buying your first camera
- What are the benefits I will get from buying a camera
- What are the benefits of not buying a camera
- There is always the option for second hand to balance a budget better, with places like gumtree, ebay etc (There is some risk but my second hand purchases have come out well).
What was your first camera you bought and how did it make you feel? If not yet why? Tell me about your experience/thoughts with a comment.
