My hot take on camera brands December 2024

 I've owned my share of cameras. I've loved them all in their own ways.

If you're bored already, just read this: anything made in the last 10 years or so is fine. Go shoot.

Nikon: I love this brand for 2 things: the ergos and the colors. I just plain have an easier time getting the look I want with them, and they feel great to use. I never feel like I'm going to drop the camera when I'm shooting Nikon. The Z8 is a phenomenal value at $3500. I still use a D5 for lots of stuff, and just for fun. It inspires confidence, and although it doesn't have fancy "eye" autofocus, it sure does seem to just find eyes without making a big deal of it......

Canon: the clinical leader. I use an R6 for anything I'm being paid for. It's so good I see no need to upgrade. I had an R5 but sold it, I don't need allllllllll those megapixels (hint: no one does). The ergos are second only to Nikon (and that's quite subjective, right... except for Sony which has objectively terrible ergos). My first SLR camera was an EOS Elan iie 35mm, and it's still a great camera today.

Fuji: talk about *soul*....Fuji images have it in droves. I can't put into words what the Fuji "secret sauce" does with images, especially black and white but WOW are they ever gorgeous, all the time. No wonder you can't find them for sale anywhere but ebay for hugely inflated prices! 

Sony: the original cameras-for-stat-sheets. You can tell Sony is a consumer electronics company first: they made sure it was a *cool toy* first and foremost, and a professional tool somewhere down the list. It worked, they rocked the market and brought mirrorless to the forefront where it objectively belongs. But those ergos, those menus, those sterile images....nope, not for me. I enjoyed my A7RIV immensely, but I don't need all those megapixels. And I always felt like I was going to drop it. A great value would be an A7III. At around 900 bucks used it's a fantastic value.