In the end the camera you choose to use doesn't really matter at all. For most of us our brand choice is an extension of ego. The most mentally healthy amongst us can make a good argument that their choices are only predicated by the intended use case. But I'm not sure I buy that.
I had a client call and ask if I would put together a collection of food shots from which to choose a small sampling of images for a campaign. The funny thing is that some of my favorite images from the 400+ I put together in the catalog came from the casual use of an older iPhone; the XR. Now five generations old. A few of my least favorite came from very expensive cameras and top tier lenses.
Putting together a collection is like looking into a time machine. There were image candidates made with cameras from nearly every major brand. Micro 4:3rd camera images were over-represented. As were images from Fuji cameras. There were even a couple from my old, cheap, 4x5 Calumet view camera...
Were those cameras better than the other, newer, full frame cameras? Not at all, they were just the cameras that were in the right place at the right time when I was in the right mood to be entirely awake to the potential in front of me.
I have no external reasons not to succeed at making good images. The stumbling blocks I do have are: preconceived notions of style, copying the look and feel of a homogenous collection of shots I've seen over time, depending on a particular feature of a camera or lens that doesn't pan out, laziness, feeling rushed, feeling bored by the subject, trying to hard to please the client standing next to me, an over -reliance on technical chops, an under-reliance on creativity and intuition, ignoring inspiration and instead clinging to the safest way to make a photograph.
None of these things has anything do to with cameras or lenses and everything to do with the state of mind you find yourself in, or the ability to allow yourself to step outside of how you did stuff yesterday in order to try something new today. Inspiration comes to those who can conquer their own fears. And none of us are perfect at this all the time.
Some stuff is about problem solving but most stuff is about paying attention to how you like things to look.
Not food, in my case, but I've been taking photographs of jazz and blues musicians for many years. Many of these photographs have been taken at sound checks, rehearsals, and during performance as well, generally up close. When the band is engaged with one another, with their music, the photographic result is almost always better. I forget about technical considerations, the equipment used ceases to be a factor and the images almost always are more successful at conveying the experience.
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