Skip to main content

Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

Pro photographer uses $20 camera to prove it’s not the gear that makes a photo great

Pro Photographer, Cheap Camera Challenge - Matt Usher
There is no denying that quality camera gear can capture incredible photographs. But it’s the person behind the camera that truly makes or breaks what an image ultimately becomes.

To prove this, DigitalRev has shared the latest video in its clever series titled “Pro Photographer, Cheap Camera.” In this episode, photographer Matt Usher is given an old Nikon CoolPix 995 and asked to capture the best possible images he can.

For context, a Nikon CoolPix 995 is 16 years old, has a three megapixel sensor, and offers a full frame equivalent focal range between 36–152mm. It’s a far cry from even the cheapest of DSLRs available nowadays.

Despite the obvious limitations of the camera, Usher takes it upon himself to capture the best images possible.

As explained throughout the video and seen from the resulting photographs, it’s Usher’s vision that makes the resulting images what they are. By figuring out the images and understanding the weaknesses of the camera, Usher knows what he can expect to get from the camera.

With this knowledge, he plans his post-production workflow before ever pressing the shutter, knowing exactly how he needs to frame and expose the photographs to get the most from the camera. For all but a few of the images, this meant capturing multiple exposures over the entire scene to stitch together as a panorama in Photoshop.

By using multiple exposures and varied subject matter, Usher was able to pull multiple images together that are incredible considering the $20 camera he was working with.

This was just for show, but it’s an important reminder that it takes vision, not just gear, to capture incredible photographs. You must know what it is you want to capture before the shutter is ever pressed. Make the most of the gear you have and push it to its limits.

[amz_nsa_keyword keyword=”Nikon CoolPix Camera”]

Editors' Recommendations

Gannon Burgett
Fujifilm’s successor to the wildly popular X100V has just landed
fujifilm unveils x100v successor x100vi

FUJIFILM X100VI Promotional Video/ FUJIFILM

Fujifilm has finally unveiled the successor to its super-popular X100V camera.

Read more
How to download Instagram photos for free
Instagram app running on the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5.

Instagram is amazing, and many of us use it as a record of our lives — uploading the best bits of our trips, adventures, and notable moments. But sometimes you can lose the original files of those moments, leaving the Instagram copy as the only available one . While you may be happy to leave it up there, it's a lot more convenient to have another version of it downloaded onto your phone or computer. While downloading directly from Instagram can be tricky, there are ways around it. Here are a few easy ways to download Instagram photos.

Read more
Astronaut captures stunning images of a snowy Grand Canyon
A snow-covered Grand Canyon seen from space.

In the final days of his six-month stint aboard the International Space Station (ISS), Danish astronaut Andreas Mogensen took some time out of his science work to snap some striking photos of a snow-covered Grand Canyon.

The images were captured from the station in recent days as it orbited Earth at an altitude of around 250 miles.

Read more