8. The "Best" Camera

I was asked for this post to answer the question: what is the "best" camera? Naturally, as hinted by the quotation marks hovering around the word best, this was a trick question. There is no such thing as the best camera, only better cameras - for certain situations. Are you shooting documentary style footage from a shoulder mount? Or will you set up a still interview with planned lighting and a tripod? How about shooting underwater? All of these situations and factors influence what might be considered a “best” camera, and that camera’s worth is not qualified by its price tag. Surely, a $20,000 Sony F3 is far more expensive than a GoPro, and shoots sharper images from a tripod, but if you’re trying to get a subjective shot from behind the windshield of a speeding motorcycle, than the Sony would not be the “best” camera. Similarly, if you are shooting with only the limited natural light available to you, and desire to crush the depth of field, a DSLR might be – in that sliver of a situation – the “best” camera at your disposal. Fortunately, the stable of TCF Department cameras has equipment that is suited to many different factors; including mobility, sensitivity to light, the ability to attach prime versus zoom lenses, size, and on and on… I hope to consistently be able to choose the “best” camera to use in any given film situation I encounter.