Choosing The Right Camera by Brian Abbey

My name is Brian Abbey and I am a real estate photographer in the Seattle area, and I also shoot often in Leavenworth and Wenatchee.

I get asked frequently about my recommendations for choosing the right gear. Both Seattle and Leavenworth offer some unique shooting environments. One is frequently rainy and wet, and the other is frequently extremely hot or cold. Both are important considerations when choosing a camera system.

In the wet, Seattle weather I really appreciate a rugged and durable camera that holds up to damp wet weather. In the extremely hot and cold environments of Leavenworth and Wenatchee, a camera that can operate in very hot and very cold temperatures is helpful as well.

The most important considerations for me are really dynamic range, or how well the camera sees the lightest and darkest aspects of a scene, and the color science, or the ability of the camera to accurately reproduce the colors in a scene. Some photographers get into pixel peeping, or looking for the camera with the greatest number of megapixels, but unless you are planning to blow your images up on a canvas, more pixels just means more hard drive space, which gets expensive!

My current camera is in the Sony alpha series, specifically a Sony A7rii. Sony makes great cameras, although they are perhaps a little more expensive than comparable cameras in the marketplace, and lenses are quite expensive. I have also owned Canon cameras and find their color science to be perhaps the best.

Whether I’m shooting in Seattle, Leavenworth, Wenatchee, or New York City, the gear isn’t really what makes the shot. It’s your eye that makes the shot. So what’s the verdict? Pick whatever camera you can afford, read the manual and learn how to use it the best you can. Because it’s the eye behind the camera that really makes the photo. Whatever you choose, just get out there and take more photos!