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like Professional photographer I shot everything from Editorial photo stories to Product photography Landscapes, travel and Street photography in my personal work. In that time, I learned that there are three Camera types Which all photographers need in their collection. And I’m not talking about brands, like Sony or Canon, or even sensor types, like full frame or APS C. I mean deeper Level of Camera Choice – Camera types that offer completely different ways to approach your photography and allow you to create your best work, no matter what genre you like to work in.
Although these types can be physically three different cameras, it is also possible to represent them in two cameras, or even just one. I’ll explain, so let’s dive into camera type number one.
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This is a camera that gets things done. It’s probably packed with modern camera technology. It’s fast to use, shoots very quickly, has lightning-fast autofocus, possibly image stabilization, and almost certainly uses interchangeable lenses. It may be full frame. It is the camera that is used professionally all over the world for all kinds of photo shoots — Just like I did – From weddings to cars to products to pets… whatever. It’s a versatile camera you can trust that will do anything you need it to do, anytime you need it to do it.
I’ve used the Canon R5 for many professional photo and video shoots. It’s a high-performance all-rounder.
For me now, that’s the Canon R5. Fast, high accuracy. Tons of features. Flip screen. And he shoots a great video. Endless options of lenses and accessories. It’s the camera I trust for most of my professional work because I know it can deliver and I know I can succeed when I use it. Previously it was a Canon 5DIV and before that it was a Canon 6D. For you, it might be the Sony A7RV, Nikon Z8, or Panasonic Lumix S5II.
It may not be the newest model out there, but whether it was released in 2025 or 2005, it will meet all the requirements you need for a busy day of photography whether you are a professional or a keen amateur. The workhorse is a camera that will do it all and do it well. But it’s also likely to be very large and potentially expensive. Although it’s great to have so many lenses to choose from, sometimes you may not want to go through the burden of choosing. So when you need…
It’s great to have a compact fixed-lens camera like the Fujifilm X100VI with you, always ready to shoot.
Daily load
It’s a little digital. A Compact point and shootIdeally. It is almost certainly a fixed lens. the Fuji X100VI Or Ricoh GRIII. Even relatively old Sony RX1R Or Leica Q3. The Q3 isn’t really small but I actually am I like my Q3 43 as a daily carry. This will be the kind of camera you can quickly grab when you’re out running without thinking about lenses. When you don’t want a backpack full of gear while camping, but you want lots of fun shots of you and your friends around the campfire. It’s the camera you can always carry. It’s the social camera you don’t mind accessing amidst the chaos of life. It could just be your phone’s camera.
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The lightest camera you own will probably be the one that allows you to wear it comfortably around your neck while strolling the streets of an ancient Italian city. It’s probably small enough to put in your pocket when you walk into a pub, and then easily slides out when the light comes beautifully through the pub window and you want to take a quick shot.
Having my Leica Q3 43 with me always allows me to capture scenes when I see them.
It’s a camera for speed photography and social photography – perhaps even dirty shooting from the hip or spray-and-pray photography. This is probably the camera you captured the most memories with, but it’s also not the camera you used to take your favorite artistic photos. Oh no, that’ll be this.
A shrewd one
Maybe not Technically Be your best camera. It probably doesn’t have the most features. It may not be the smallest, fastest, or easiest to use. But it’s the camera that inspires you the most. It’s the thing that makes you feel creative just looking at it. It’s the option you make when you drive hours to one place hoping to get good light that evening.
It’s a camera that makes you slow down and think about the art in your photos instead of taking thousands of mediocre shots. It’s the camera responsible for the work you’re most proud of.
Hasselblad 907X – an amazing and strange camera.
This camera can be many things. It could be a film camera, whether it’s 35mm or 120 medium format. This alone will slow you down and make you take a more methodical approach unless you are happy to spend a fortune on film. Or maybe it’s more like a modern digital media format like Fuji GFX or my personal favourite, Hasselblad 907X100C – This weird little box made such a fuss when I used it that it was really hard to get rid of it when I had to return it.
I found Hasselblad’s X-Pan panorama mode incredibly inspiring. This image has been shortlisted for a major UK photography prize.
It’s a camera you probably don’t have yet and might not even know you wanted. I didn’t know I was at all interested in film photography until very recently, and yet I gave a guy a bunch of money in a parking lot to buy a Mamiya 645 Pro medium format camera, which I’ve really enjoyed acting in many film roles. Life throws things your way sometimes. So this is probably the camera you’ll need to be a bit more open-minded about. But it’s also the thing you’ll probably be most glad you got in the years to come.
Three types, one camera
Between the hard work, the daily grind, and the technical stuff, you’ll enjoy any aspect of photography, no matter what genre you want to get involved with.
I took the Canon R5 to Sicily, where it performed all the roles of workhorse, daily carry and inspiration camera admirably. You don’t necessarily need three separate cameras.
Of course, some cameras can be two things. Hell, some cameras can be all three. And that’s perfectly fine – as long as that camera checks all three of those boxes for you. It’s really up to you to interpret whether a camera is small enough to carry daily or inspiring enough to be your art camera. But this rule definitely doesn’t mean you need to go out and buy two extra cameras.
The Canon R5 with its compact core can certainly be all three. It was a great daily carry On a trip to Sicily This inspired me to take artistic photographs that I later licensed to go into a luxury travel book in the sense that it was also My spine. So, on that trip alone, I achieved all three elements. But not always all of these things for me.
The Leica Q3 43 was a great camera for everyday use Recent trips to the Swedish Arctic And Barcelona. It was the camera I took on multiple ferry trips to various remote Scottish islands and it was the camera I took when I went to hang out with my brother on his 40th birthday. And yes, it is also the camera that interests me, inspires me and motivates me to be more creative with photography. Because it’s a fucking Leica and what photographer doesn’t get excited about taking pictures when holding a Leica?
My Leica Q3 43 was an amazing daily carry tool and a professional workhorse on my mission in Sweden. Have you also inspired me creatively? You bet.
But it’s my recent forays into film that have taught me more about slowing down and framing, and the culmination of that has led me to acquire the Mamiya 645 as an accomplished camera, which completes my personal holy trinity.
And sure, as my work and style evolve and other cameras come and go, this trio of cameras will likely change over the years, but the building blocks of a workhorse, daily carry, and art camera will always need to meet whatever cameras I have.