Portrait Photography How To

Do you really need an expensive camera to take great photos? That's the question portrait photographer Miguel Quiles tackles in the below video where he compares shooting with a Sony A7R IV, which retails for around $5400, with Sony's 24-70mm G Master lens vs the Sony ZV1, a compact camera that sells for just under $650.

"What happens when you take an image from a 1-inch sensor compact camera and put it up against a full-frame, 61-megapixel image?" Quiles asks. "In this demonstration, we'll take a look at the results and talk about the broader topic of whether or not better gear makes you a better photographer."

In the video, he shows two portraits side-by-side and asks if you can tell which one of shot with the expensive, mirrorless camera and which was shot with the pocket model.

"One of these two photos was taken with a $5400 full frame camera setup while the other was taken with a $648 vlogging camera with a tiny one-inch sensor," he says. "Look at them very closely. Which one do you think was taken with the more expensive setup, Image A or Image B?"

Watch below and see if you can tell which photo was shot with which camera. The results may surprise you and could cause you to think about whether you should invest in an expensive camera with interchangeable lenses or just settle for compact, all-in-one model. Or, as Quiles puts it: "It's not about the camera…sort of."