I’ve pretty much shot all the cameras out there, and currently– there is really no new cameras out there which interest me.

Now what?

In praise of iPhone

Currently my favorite snapshot camera is the iPhone. Simple, minimalist, and the most ‘frictionless‘ camera to shoot with.

Not only that, but I’ve been having so much fun shooting with the iPhone! I’ve been shooting everything with the HUJI cam app, and because it connects to the internet, I can upload photos directly to this blog with no friction!

And the upside of all this:

More opportunity to experiment in photography, and less brain-power necessary to think about new cameras.

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Beyond tranquility

I have always thought that GAS (gear acquisition syndrome) was a bit of a brain-disease. Furthermore my Zen pursuit was this:

To free myself of all desires of material/external things.

But now I feel this zen-tranquility when it comes to cameras– this calm feeling of strength isn’t quite as epic as I anticipated. Even though I do feel some sort of ‘enlightenment‘, this feeling is a bit uneventful.

The front-pocket rule

And what thought caused me to no longer be interested in any new cameras?

The realization that pragmatically, any camera which cannot fit in your front pocket isn’t really worth your time.

This essentially filtered out 99% of cameras out there. Now I think for practical shooting, the only cameras which really are good include the iPhone, Ricoh GR II (has flash), or the new Ricoh GR III.

In praise of digital medium format

And if you really really really want a very-good digital camera with the best image-quality and aesthetics/resolution — then just go digital-medium-format. The new Fujifilm GFX 50R is quite good for a ‘budget’ option, and the Pentax 645Z is a personal favorite of mine. I personally have no interest in ‘full frame’ digital cameras, or any ‘crop sensor’ digital cameras (or any other mirrorless cameras).

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Beyond photography

My simple concluding proposal is this:

Let us think BEYOND photography!

It ain’t about photography. It is about artistry. It is about visual artistry/visual philosophy.

Let us not get suckered by this over-nerdiness over cameras and gear. Instead, let us pursue our own visual artistry with our greatest might!

ERIC