A lot of my images are metaphorical. They are far away from documentary. I just need enough camera to get my emotion across to the viewer and let them take it from there. For the longest time I would always try to get the biggest (sensor) camera I could get my hands on. A long line of Nikons from the D700 to the D850. From the Nikon Z7 to the Nikon Z8. But I always had a smaller camera with me as a backup. A lot of the Panasonic Lumix cameras were great and in recent years the Ricoh GR IIIx. What I have come to find over the years is that most of my more emotional and evocative images were made with the smaller cameras.

There are 2 reasons for this I believe. First on a technical level for a given size sensor the less megapixels the better the image. My favorite Nikon camera in term sof image quality was the D700. It was a full frame sensor but only 16 megapixels. I much preferred it’s images over those of the D850 (42mp). For my style of shooting which entails walking around a lot and just shooting as I come upon scenes and emotions, the smaller cameras require less attention to handling. My images also are not large. Usually 11″x14″ or 13″x19″. And for that you don’t need a lot of megapixels.

Pixel peeping is detrimental to the creation of metaphorical images. A hard won lesson I have learned over the years is that a photograph is meant to be seen at a certain size at a certain distance. This is necessary to deliver the meaning and emotion of the image. Viewing the image at a pixel level does not assist in creating the meaning of an image in any way shape or form. You may have a technical reason for doing so, and that is valid, but in judging the potential impact of the image seeing at print size is the best way to go.

The second reason is that in many cases a smaller camera is easier to pull out and press into service. My Ricoh GR IIIX fit comfortable in my pocket. It was very easy and comfortable to carry around. Most of the images in FOS X were made with the Ricoh GR IIIx. The camera has an APS-C 24mp sensor and for my work that is all I need (it seems to me).

I recently bought a fixed lens, small camera with a 60mp sensor. The camera was small but the lens stuck out a lot making it hard to fit in a pocket. While I bought it to use in a similar fashion to my Ricoh camera it was too much camera (60mp and expensive) and somehow not enough in terms of handling and image quality for the money. I don’t need 60mp. In fact I have determined that a 20 or 24 megapixel sensor (APS-C or full frame) is really all I need.

Alas my poor Ricoh GR IIIx was dropped and damaged beyond repair. I have sold the 60mp camera and for now have settled on a Canon Powershot V1 point and shoot camera. My aim is too walk around and point my camera to whatever interests me regardless of subject matter and have a little fun.