So what makes a camera a "pro" camera?

[Orangutan]

If the gear doesn't matter, then I change my 1100d for your 1Dx

No one said gear doesn't matter. The point is that there is no objective, indisputable definition of the dividing line between pro and non-pro gear. Therefore, the only thing that can be said is that any camera used by a competent pro for professional work is a pro camera.

 

[AcutancePhotography]

- high durability
- high frame rate
- high performance, highly configurable AF
- mirror lockup
- high dynamic range
- better noise performance
- 100% viewfinder
- usability features (e.g. extra buttons/wheels/etc. that make it fast and easy to change settings

I would opine that there are some professional photographers who don't need this. Studio product photographers who have absolute control over the subject and lighting and plenty of time, for example.

 

[dstppy]

- high durability
- high frame rate
- high performance, highly configurable AF
- mirror lockup
- high dynamic range
- better noise performance
- 100% viewfinder
- usability features (e.g. extra buttons/wheels/etc. that make it fast and easy to change settings

I would opine that there are some professional photographers who don't need this. Studio product photographers who have absolute control over the subject and lighting and plenty of time, for example.

It's like asking for IS on a Tilt-Shift lens . . . or a truck-bed on a Ferrari.

High-Reliability (not exactly durability) seems, to me, to be the only real requirement, aside from the obvious things like MFA, full manual operation etc, and as good specs as regular consumer stuff . . .

Formal Portraits aren't Candids, Landscape isn't sports . . .

 

[c.d.embrey]

Any camera used by a Professional is a Pro Camera. Simple as that.

Yes, that means that the iPhones used by Photo Journalists in war zones are Pro Cameras Also the 4x5 Film Cameras used to shoot Arizona Highways magazine covers are Pro Cameras

 

[Mitch.Conner]

This is a question for the underpants gnomes.

actually, it was meant to make people think. Cheers, and what are gnomes doing in your underpants?

On the adult cartoon series "South Park", the underpants gnomes are a group of gnomes who seek to make profit by stealing people's underpants.

Their formula for success is: Step 1: Steal underpants... Step 2: ______ ... Step 3: Profit!

Step 2 is unknown.

So, when I said, "This is a question for the underpants gnomes" - what I was implying was that the answer to your question is:

Step 1: Call a camera "Professional grade" or "Pro".... Step 2: __?___...... Step 3: Profit!

In other words, it's marketing in my opinion.

 

[Larry]

On the adult cartoon series "South Park", the underpants gnomes are a group of gnomes who seek to make profit by stealing people's underpants.

Do they steal underpants that are being worn at the time? ( I am tempted by "step 3 - profit", but can't figure out how to go about step 1.)

Thanks for any tips, :-\

[ PS - I think Conner is a much better last name than McConnell! (...mentioned only because I'm sure my opinion is very important to you. ]

 

[AcutancePhotography]

http://www.k2focus.com I'm currently updating it, but the layout is done.

Did you post this in the wrong thread? Looks like it belongs in the "show your website" thread

 

[sgs8r]

The features. Pro cameras have advanced features that pros need and/or know how to take advantage of. Manufacturers generally have more than one "pro" camera because there is more than one kind of pro and they may need different (but overlapping) sets of features. These include things like:

- high durability
- high frame rate
- high performance, highly configurable AF
- mirror lockup
- high dynamic range
- better noise performance
- 100% viewfinder
- usability features (e.g. extra buttons/wheels/etc. that make it fast and easy to change settings

Does a pro body need all of them? Some of them? Certain specific combinations?

As I said, there are different kinds of pros who need different features. A sportshooter doesn't care about mirror lockup. A landscape pro doesn't care about high frame rate. My list was simply meant to be examples of features you typically see on a camera marketed to pros and you wouldn't see on an entry-level camera.

Saying "the person behind the camera" is glib, but wrong.

No, it's a way of saying that each pro needs a different subset of the features you have in your list above, and that each pro will choose a camera that meets their needs.

I once met a pro photojournalist who used to travel to unstable areas. He would take several cheap DLSRs because he knew one or more would be taken from him (requested). He'd pull out (and hide) his flash cards frequently, and be prepared to surrender the camera. It was his choice to use cheap gear because in the end he'd have his photos.

"the person behind the camera" is the one who chooses the right tool for the job, and uses it to produce professional work.

My point is that "pro" (or "pro-level" or "pro-targeted") is a characteristic of the camera and not the person using it. The user doesn't determine whether a camera is a "pro camera" any more than the camera determines whether the user is a pro. I think that we would all agree that a 1DX is a "pro camera", whether it is being used by Peter Reed Miller or Donald Trumps's niece who is thinking about getting into photography. We don't need to know who the user is to say that it is a "pro camera".

Similarly, the vast majority would agree that a Rebel is not a pro camera. Why? Because pro cameras have a lot of features like those in my list (which wasn't meant to be exhaustive). Non-pro cameras have few of those features. Peter Reed Miller may use a Rebel (temporarily, because his 1DX was lost or stolen, or he's working in a bad area), but that doesn't make it a pro camera. Just a non-pro camera being used by a pro. He's a pro; the camera is not. He may get good results---better results than a average non-pro with a 1DX---but that's because he's using his "pro talent" to compensate for his non-pro camera.

 

[Loswr]

Neuroanatomist, here's a "pro" microscope for you: http://phys.org/news/2013-01-three-photon-microscopy-biological-imaging.html
Image the full thickness of a live mouse's cortex! But you must have seen this - I put it up here for the entertainment of other geeks.

Cool stuff!

Kinda my point, though...where is it called 'pro'? I have scopes costing from $1,000 to $800,000 – none of them are called 'pro microscopes'.

 

[AcutancePhotography]

Perhaps the cogent questions are "what makes a camera professional quality?" and "what makes a manufacturer call a camera "pro".

The answers may be quite different.

I think there is a lot of professional equipment in other industries that does not have the name pro on it.

If you have to tell customers your product is pro, it ain't. ;D

Professionals know what is pro quality without needing the marketing department tell them so.

None of the professional equipment I use in my non-photography career was ever marked "pro".

 

[Orangutan]

My point is that "pro" (or "pro-level" or "pro-targeted") is a characteristic of the camera and not the person using it. The user doesn't determine whether a camera is a "pro camera" any more than the camera determines whether the user is a pro. I think that we would all agree that a 1DX is a "pro camera",

I get your point; however, the reason I disagree with your conclusion is that there's no objective criteria to separate pro from non-pro. At the extremes, e.g. 1DX vs Rebel, we will probably agree. But what about in the middle?

In the end, it devolves into the famous Potter Stewart test.

 

[Mr_Canuck]

Whatever the general marketing messaging momentum tells us is a pro camera. Or, likely, whatever is most expensive and provides the greatest advantages. Just like a pro bicycle.

 

[ajfotofilmagem]

My point is that "pro" (or "pro-level" or "pro-targeted") is a characteristic of the camera and not the person using it. The user doesn't determine whether a camera is a "pro camera" any more than the camera determines whether the user is a pro. I think that we would all agree that a 1DX is a "pro camera",

I get your point; however, the reason I disagree with your conclusion is that there's no objective criteria to separate pro from non-pro. At the extremes, e.g. 1DX vs Rebel, we will probably agree. But what about in the middle?
In the end, it devolves into the famous Potter Stewart test.

Yes. Appearance of a camera can radically change the perception people have of it with accessories...

 

[Pinchers of Peril]

I thought it had to say "Leica" somewhere on it?

 

[Don Haines]

Perhaps the cogent questions are "what makes a camera professional quality?" and "what makes a manufacturer call a camera "pro".

The answers may be quite different.

I think there is a lot of professional equipment in other industries that does not have the name pro on it.

If you have to tell customers your product is pro, it ain't. ;D

Professionals know what is pro quality without needing the marketing department tell them so.

None of the professional equipment I use in my non-photography career was ever marked "pro".

Got about 8 million dollars of test equipment in the lab at work..... none of it is marked as "pro"....

 

[kphoto99]

My point is that "pro" (or "pro-level" or "pro-targeted") is a characteristic of the camera and not the person using it. The user doesn't determine whether a camera is a "pro camera" any more than the camera determines whether the user is a pro. I think that we would all agree that a 1DX is a "pro camera",

I get your point; however, the reason I disagree with your conclusion is that there's no objective criteria to separate pro from non-pro. At the extremes, e.g. 1DX vs Rebel, we will probably agree. But what about in the middle?

In the end, it devolves into the famous Potter Stewart test.

Which camera would a professional choose today:
EOS-1D or Rebel T5i

 

[Orangutan]

My point is that "pro" (or "pro-level" or "pro-targeted") is a characteristic of the camera and not the person using it. The user doesn't determine whether a camera is a "pro camera" any more than the camera determines whether the user is a pro. I think that we would all agree that a 1DX is a "pro camera",

I get your point; however, the reason I disagree with your conclusion is that there's no objective criteria to separate pro from non-pro. At the extremes, e.g. 1DX vs Rebel, we will probably agree. But what about in the middle?

In the end, it devolves into the famous Potter Stewart test.

Which camera would a professional choose today:
EOS-1D or Rebel T5i

6D or 7DMkII?

 

[c.d.embrey]

"the person behind the camera" is the one who chooses the right tool for the job, and uses it to produce professional work.

My point is that "pro" (or "pro-level" or "pro-targeted") is a characteristic of the camera and not the person using it.

Similarly, the vast majority would agree that a Rebel is not a pro camera. Why? Because pro cameras have a lot of features like those in my list ...

It's all about the right tool for the job. Your list has little or nothing to do with why a pro would pick a tool. As an example; a pro photographer needs to be inconspicuous (dangerous area), would he pick a 1Dx with a 70-200mm f/2.8 lens, a SL1 with a kit lens or maybe an iPhone ???

At the other end our pro needs absolutely the best image quality. Does he pick a Canon 1Dx or a Phase One IQ 280 (80Mp, ISO 35-800, .7 FPS, 3 Auto Focus Points). Most people will agree that the Phase One IQ 280 is a pro camera. But it's specs prevent it from being a pro camera according to your list

 

[wsmith96]

I thought it had to say "Leica" somewhere on it?

or either NASA or Air Force

 

[Don Haines]

Part of what I do at work is photography, and I get paid for it..... I am most certainly a professional, so that makes me a "pro" photographer.

This is the imaging gear I use....

Cannon 7D, many would consider it to be a "pro" camera.
70-200F4.0 IS lens, an "L" lens, many consider it a "pro" lens.
100F2.8L macro lens, an "L" lens, a "pro" lens
18-200 Canon "superzoom lens.... if I am a pro, then it must be a "pro" lens (I did not buy or recommend it!)
800F5.6 lens... definitely a "pro" lens........
used to have a "rebel", dropped it 110 feet onto a concrete pad... it did not survive, but it was still "pro" equipment right up until it hit.....

Olympus "Tough" p/s camera... works great in heavy rain.... obviously a "pro" camera.

iPhone camera.... an inspection camera.... if you shove the 7D and lens through a 1 1/2 inch access port it stops working Since it is used professionally, it must be a "pro" camera.

An assortment of USB webcams, used to let me remotely see where satellite dishes are really pointed to, and to observe/record cloud cover in the signal direction.... since this is a professional use, they must be "pro" cameras.

And yes, I have used a GoPro to record information in field trials.... once again, since it is a professional use, it must be a "pro" camera, and it is one of two pieces of kit that I have that have "pro" in the name. (The other is a 3/4 inch drive socket set)

Get the point? A pro will use whatever the appropriate tool is to get the required job done and not get hung up on some designation by people on the internet.