Reading such stories some time ago I told myself:
"If a monkey can photograph, so can I!!"
Please, please, please let us not conflate monkeys with chimpanzees. Monkeys just make casual snapshots. In the past, they carried around point-and-shoot cameras, but lately they just use their cellphones. They
love to take selfies, often at scenic locations that they never look at directly, just through their tiny electronic devices with their faces in the foreground.
Now before the howls of protest start, I acknowledge that some monkeys aspire to become serious craftsman. At least that's what they
claim. But if you watch them closely, you will realize that the majority of the would-be craftsmen are really only gearheads. They gravitate toward Sonys because they enjoy spending hours fiddling with the menus.
It's only among chimpanzees that you hear serious arguments about the distinction between art and craft. And among the primates, they're the least interested in camera equipment; they're more sharply focussed, so to speak, on the end product. They tend to make conservative camera choices: DSLRs, mostly full-frame, and they have a penchant for f/2.8 lenses. They don't seem to worry much about the weight. They're pretty strong and, unlike humans, you rarely hear them complaining about their aching backs.
There is recent evidence, however, that some of the more adventurous chimps are getting serious about mirrorless. Jane Goodall recently observed a pair of them in a secluded forest shooting what appeared to be a DPReview video about a new mirrorless camera. She was able to get close enough to see the device, but unfortunately the chimps had covered the manufacturer's logo with gaff tape so she couldn't identify what it was. Guess we'll have to wait for the review to be posted on YouTube.
