Oh Boy Here it Comes

[rothberg]

Hooray
Of course the camera matters.
The paper a printmaker uses matters
The kind of canvas (or wood) that a painter uses matters
In the fight between form and content you got to have both
Michael spoke the truth. His hope that his essay will end this discussion is
Like Nikon vs. Canon
Leica vs. their customers
Digital vs. film
Ain’t  gonna happen
Thank you Michael for trying
Watch out for the s*%t storm

[hgmoore]

Michael, why don't you say what you mean?  

A good craftsman uses the camera, lens, and medium appropriate to the task at hand.

That said, I remember when the Polaroid SX-70 first came out, they gave one to several of the reknowned pros at that time and published the results. Some fantastic images were shown from the SX-70. But, the images would have been more fantastic if better equipment had been used.

[zlatko-b]

I agree fully with Michael's article.  I buy and use very specific equipment because it matters very much for the way I work and the results I get.  Equipment doesn't make the image, but it makes the image possible.

[jjj]

At the last local pro photographer meeting, one chap argued that the camera was irrelevent, as clients never asked what you shot on and he'd never not got a shot, because of camera limitations. 
Well I'd argue otherwise, I was able to get shots on one job, another colleague failed to, as I had full frame and good high ISO [5D] and his D2X struggled both with shutter speeds, lack of fast apertures and with wide shots.  
The D3 has levelled the field since, but at the time, I could only have used a 5D or a 1dsIII to get the shots.

[alainbriot]

Michael is correct in saying that the equipment matters.  It does in photography and in any endeavor in which science plays a significant role.

The real issue is that the equipment is not all that matters. The art matters as well.

In my view one's approach should be a 50/50 split between art and science.  

Or maybe 60/40.  

Definitely not 90/10  or worst 100/0 in either direction.

At least not if one intends to create expressive images.

[David L. Robertson]

Comment moved to "Your Camera Does Matter".