What Happens When You Stop Upgrading Your Camera?

Using an older camera can feel strangely virtuous. You know the camera’s limitations, you have learned how to work around them, and every good photograph can feel like proof that you did it the hard way. But photographer Omar Gonzalez is questioning that idea, especially when it comes to wildlife photography, where missing the shot can be as simple as having autofocus that is too slow.

In a recent video, Gonzalez looks at the older cameras sitting on his shelf, including the Fujifilm X H1. He likes the camera, but admits that it is no longer one of his first choices. Its autofocus is slower than newer models, the stabilization is an early generation system, and some of its controls make shooting less straightforward. 

That raises a question he has been thinking about: does using an older camera actually make someone a better photographer?

There is an obvious appeal to making a great photograph with older equipment. It can feel like the photographer deserves extra credit for overcoming the limitations. Gonzalez, however, points out that wildlife photography is already difficult enough. If the camera makes focusing or changing settings harder, the photographer may simply have fewer chances to get the photograph in the first place.

Sometimes the camera really does matter

Gonzalez is careful not to argue that older cameras are bad. A capable photographer can still produce excellent images with equipment that is several generations old.

The situation also depends heavily on the type of photography. An older camera designed specifically for wildlife could still be perfectly capable, while a camera with less sophisticated autofocus may be much harder to use for fast moving subjects.

His own experience seems to have changed his thinking. He uses different cameras for work and for fun, and older models can be enjoyable when there is no pressure to come home with a particular shot.

For personal photography, he says he would rather carry his Nikon Z8 than deliberately choose something smaller or older if the newer camera gives him a better chance of getting the image he wants.

Is making photography harder really the point?

There is another issue hiding underneath the gear question: how much equipment do photographers actually need?

Gonzalez has several older Fujifilm cameras that rarely get used, including the X Pro2 and X E2. He likes them, but keeping cameras around simply because they are enjoyable to own can eventually become its own form of clutter.

That does not mean every older camera needs to be sold. Sometimes the reason to keep one is simply that you enjoy using it.

And perhaps that is the better test for old gear: not whether it makes photography harder, but whether you actually want to take it out and make pictures with it.

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