dak723 said:
Mancubus said:
And most people who buy these have the false illusion that they will be able to take professional looking photos just by pointing and shooting on auto mode, then be very disappointed when the photos turn out to be inferior to what they get in their smartphones because the phones do a much better automatic processing job to get the best out of the colors and dynamic range.
False illusion? An 18 MP camera is far more capable than most people will ever need in taking professional looking photos. I took many professional looking photos with my old 6 MP rebel. My 18 MP SL1 took professional looking photos that were indistinguishable from those professional looking photos that I took with my 6D. Get a grip, in terms of IQ, camera tech has not changed much in the last 10 years.
To be totally fair, he did say, get pro quality photos "just by pointing and shooting in auto mode", and in the context of comparing it to a smartphone camera. The problem is, there is no camera in the world, whether it's a 1DXII, A7R3 or t2i that lets you do that.
Photography is light, composition, and sometimes, capturing a moment. If you're just pointing and shooting your camera, whether it's a smartphone, A7R3, 1DXII or 4000D, you'll get one of those elements if you're lucky, very rarely two, and practically never all three.
To get a portrait that's amazing that someone would pay good money for -- a quality that's much more "professional" than a smartphone picture doesn't require a $3000 camera. You can do it with a t2i with a consumer grade zoom. You just need some off-camera lighting (the cheapest flashes will do), some basic light modifiers (cheap umbrellas will do), and knowledge to know how to direct your subject and move yourself to produce a flattering pose.
But take all that away, and give someone who doesn't care to learn about portraiture a $3000 camera and $2000 lens and $600 flash, and they'll still take pictures that are only marginally better than what they get out of their smartphone. Just because they can give an under or over exposed picture a modicum of color doesn't make it a professional photograph.