Camera lenses are more important than the camera they’re attached to, at least in most situations. An entry level DSLR with a great lens will take great photos while a $10,000 professional camera with a terrible lens will take terrible pictures. Here’s why.
Cameras Are Just Really Really Good
A big reason cameras don’t matter so much anymore is that even entry-level models are excellent. Think how much the camera in your smartphone has improved over the last decade. With the much larger sensor in DSLRs and mirrorless cameras, the difference is even more distinct.
Here’s a shot I took using my entry-level (and five-year-old) Canon 650D with a 50mm f/1.8 lens.
And here’s a shot with my professional, newer, Canon 5D III using the same lens.
When you’re shooting with good light and displaying your photos online, there’s not much difference in quality between images produced by both cameras. There are other advantages to more expensive cameras, but pure image quality isn’t the biggest one anymore.
What Gets in the Way of Light Matters
So, let’s get to the crux of it: anything that gets in between the scene you’re photographing and the sensor of your camera affects the quality of the image. It’s easy to test this yourself: just take a photo through any window. Although you can see through it clearly, the quality of the photo you take will be badly affected.
