Gear Fetish - and the ultimate question of what camera to use

Nikon D5500 with 70-300 MM Nikkor DX
ISO 200 92mm f/9 1/250 

Camera geeks tend to have a gear fetish.  And it is fun.  I enjoy looking, I find pleasure with handling, I like to touch, pressing the buttons and twisting the knobs . . . on cameras not - oh that is another topic altogether.  

Rarely any more, but occasionally I am asked, what kind of a camera should I have? My answer is simple, the best that you feel comfortable carrying, and are willing to semi master the operation of.  A camera that sits in the case, or the box in the closet takes no good photos.  I bought a used Nikon D5500 last summer, the dealer said pre-owned.  Someone received it as a gift, was terrified of breaking it and only took it out of the box a couple of times.  It was back in the box, in the original plastic bags (and about half the price of one that has never been out of the box.) 

I own a couple of expensive watches, and I am afraid to wear them. They do me no good sitting in the case, while I wear a watch I am not afraid of breaking or losing.  

Same thing with a camera, buy one you are not afraid to drop, bang, bash, or heaven forbid lose.  If it sits at home, it was not a good camera for you.  

Buy one that feels good, that fits in your hand.  This is where the traditional brick and mortar camera shop really comes in handy.  I have owned a couple of cameras over the years that didn't feel right, one was too small, one was way too heavy.  Try to find one, one that is untethered as they are in most mass market retailers,  that you can hold in your hot little hands. Before I bought the first Nikon D5500 I found a hole in the wall camera shop and held the D3500 and D5500. It was the decider for me.  

You need to get use to carrying your camera.  Different people do this differently. The guy on Grainy Days seldom uses a neck strap.  I never carry without one, though it is more likely to be wrapped around my arm and wrist than my neck.  You want to use the camera enough that it feels like an extension of your body. The last thing anyone wants to do is wait while you try to figure out how to make your camera work, or wait for it to boot up, or the flash to charge.  

Great photos can be taken with modest cameras.  Terrible photos can be taken with top of the line cameras.  Learn to get the most you can out of what you are using.  

Is the camera ever the problem?  Yes.  I have owned a couple over the decades that I could never make a good image with.  My first SLR underexposed every image, try as I might I never mastered it.  If it doesn't work for you, sell it, give it away, pass it on.  More often than not, the problem is the photographer not the tool.