Outdoor Photography How To

Lots of photographers are obsessed with gear, as in, the best gear, the most expensive gear, the newest gear. But does it really matter? Would you be able to take a great photo with a cheap camera from over a decade ago?

That's what landscape and travel photographer Toma Bonciu (aka Photo Tom) sets out to do in the below video where he challenges himself to shoot with a Canon camera from 2007 that sells for $79 on Amazon. The camera in question is the Canon PowerShot S5 IS, an 8MP model with a 12x (36-432mm equivalent) optical zoom that shoots only JPEGs. 

"The question is: will you be able to see the difference?," Bonciu asks. "Will the photos look that bad with this camera? It's a 12-year-old camera. It's not even a DSLR. I'm really curious to see if you really need all that expensive gear."

Watch the video let us know what you think. Were Bonciu's photos shot with this cheap old Canon any good? Does it prove that you don't, necessarily, need an expensive new camera to make great images?

After you watch the clip, go visit his Photo Tom channel for more fun photography videos.