Have you ever been told that it's not the equipment, but the photographer, that matters most? Undoubtedly, this would have been spouted by someone with the type of camera and lens system that most of us can only dream of.

Sure, the photographer is important as it is he (or she) that selects the subject, composes the image and ultimately fires the shutter. But all of us could improve with better equipment.

Take lenses for example. Many of us will have a mid range zoom, say 70-200mm. We may have spent a reasonable amount on it and may have been happy with the results so far.

But, if you could use a better lens, costing 3 or 4 times as much, you would see vastly improved images. They would be sharper and show increased contrast. The peripheral components of the image would be noticeably clearer with no aberration or distortion.

Anyone could see the difference.

And, that same lens would have a greater maximum aperture - perhaps as big as f2.8. This would enable pin sharp photographs to be taken at short shutter speeds in low light - say at a football or baseball match in the early evening. Movement would be frozen in an image that would have been unobtainable with our original product.

More expensive lenses and cameras feel more solid, are smoother in operation and have better handling characteristics. There is little comparison with their cheaper cousins.

Whilst professionals and serious amateurs might say it's only the photographer that's important, they could never live with the equipment most of us currently own.

Eric Hartwell is an enthusiastic photographer. He owns and runs the photography resource site http://www.theshutter.co.uk and the associated discussion forums http://www.theshutter.co.uk/forums as well as the regular weblog at http://thephotographysite.blogspot.com Anyone interested in getting involved contact him at shutter@theshutter.co.uk

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