What is a real camera

This debate, much like the debate about whether or not photography is art, rages on ad nauseam. It recently came up in a modeling group I admin. The question posed by one of my other admins was, “is a cellphone camera a real camera?” The comments and votes were not surprising in the least. Photographers who used high-end gear overwhelmingly said a cellphone was not a real camera. It was interesting though they couldn’t define a “real camera”. Is a Brownie Target Six a real camera? Absolutely! A “real camera” is anything that can take a photograph, period, full-stop. Hells bells, it can even be a professional camera put into the right hands.

The real question comes down to is it the right camera for the task at hand? Right now, cellphone camera technology may be a bit more limited than some of our newest digital SLR or mirrorless entries but the abilities are beginning to shrink.

As I have said before and will continue to say, it isn’t the gear but the skills of the person operating the gear. Again full-stop. Let’s stop trying to belittle others for the gear they chose. Trust me, I can find someone using a cellphone as a camera who can outshine many photographers using the top-of-the-line digital SLR or mirrorless model. I may even give it a go and take the same photograph of the same subject using my cellphone versus my Nikon gear and see if anyone can tell the difference. Game on!