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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Pretzel" data-source="post: 306445" data-attributes="member: 12257">I beg to differ.  Did Ansel Adams have a D7x00, or an FX camera of today's capabilities?  I'd warrant that the entry level D70 from years back MORE than eclipsed the capabilities of what one of photography's "Jedi Masters" ever used in his lifetime.  Granted, a higher end camera might make it easier to make quick adjustments, or give you an edge in starting your PP work, but give me a master with a well loved base model over a n00b with a $5000.00 FX any day.I'll quote the man himself...  Adams said, "The single most important component of a camera is the twelve inches behind it."  Or how about, "A good photograph is knowing where to stand."  No mention of equipment there!BackdoorHippie recently posted a link to a blog that made me more aware of this than ever before re: the "creation" of beauty in the impoverished areas of Cuba.  It's definitely worth the read.Now, having said all of that, yes...  I did just recently upgrade to the D7100.  Why?  Many different reasons...  none of which increased my skill or bettered my "eye" in any sense.  I'm still just a boy with a new toy, and I've got a TON of learning to go through myself.  I'm often just as discouraged as what you're expressing, [USER=16844]@Lawrence[/USER], and it's often from viewing the works of others on this very forum.  Then something happens like friends commenting on a photo I've posted on FB, or a family raving ON and ON and ON about how much they love the photos I took for them (btw, all of those family sessions were with the D3100 as of yet), or that moment (recently) when I sold my first "artsy" shot, and I think:  I've just started, but I've got something here...  and I keep plowing on.Is EVERY shot I take a jaw-dropping specimen of the art?  No.  But I've had a few, and I've got the determination to keep learning until it happens more often.  I've got so much more to learn, and not a lot of life left to learn it, but I'm not doing this just because I can, I'm doing it because I've found a joy, a thrill...  a LOVE for photography.  It may be that I never become the 21st century's Ansel Adams.  In fact, the odds say that I won't, but...  I'd rather live my life as a man striving for excellence than be a man who joins millions of others in the category of "the best quitter".And if I come up with...  say a dozen images a year that make people marvel at the beauty I have captured?  Well then...  I have rivaled the MASTER himself!  (at least, in my own way)  "Twelve significant photographs in any one year is a good crop." - Ansel Adams...Wow, that was deep.  Sorry for the long winded trip to the soapbox there, but the suggestion that a better camera makes a great photographer hurt my heart just a bit.  <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite6" alt=":cool:" title="Cool    :cool:" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":cool:" />  Now back to your regularly scheduled programming!</blockquote>

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