Today Nikon posted this on their Facebook page:
"A photographer is only as good as the equipment he uses, and a good lens is essential to taking good pictures! Do any of our facebook fans use any of the NIKKOR lenses? Which is your favorite and what types of situations do you use it for?"
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188 Comments
Wow, that’s dumb.
I think Ashton Kutcher wrote it.
LOL LOL LOL!!!!!!!!!!!
And stupid nikon users believe them. The truth is, that most lens are better than most photographers
Certainly true for me.
Haha that made my day, thanks
Very smart if it viral marketing.
Really, Nikon? Really?
so i guess that ansel adams and many others suck bad as photogs.
not a great example, Adams famously used the best Hasselblad equipment for decades. Thereby reinforcing the Nikon PR interns’ idiotic post.
I just read it on facebook. Clearly, a photographer didn’t write that. This is just a fail statement.
Thinking some dipshit intern posted that or something. Deff not a photographer.
Can you please fire the person who said that?
Can you please set on fire the person who said that?
You guys forgot about something… Nikon is not a photographer…..its a company… which pursuits for sale of its own product. In another word, its all marketing.
Yes, and it’s crappy marketing because it misplaces the most important factor in what makes a great photographer. It also indirectly insults many of Nikon’s loyal customers who have worked hard to become good photographers – If you didn’t use the best gear, your photos aren’t as good as those did.
It’s kind of sad really, because the poor ignorant marketing intern in charge of the Facebook page who wrote that probably will never genuinely understand why he got in trouble for it.
Either that, or the Canon undercover agent at Nikon is wrecking far more havoc than anyone realized. First he got that Ashtray guy hired as a spokesperson, then the “I am coming” and “Big Hands” promotions, and now this.
+1
+1 +1 +1…
Agreed, that’s not a very good assumption. I am sure there are many people using Pro DSLR gear and can’t produce interesting, story telling images.
new technology happens every 18 months, what about photographers 5 years ago, 10, 30 years ago. Are their images not any good because they didn’t have the best lenses, camera bodies that are available in 2011?
There is no such thing as a good photographer because we don’t have the lenses of the future…
> I am sure there are many people using Pro DSLR gear and can’t produce
> interesting, story telling images.
To be fair, you are making a bad logical mistake. They said “as good as” and this means that to be better you need better equipment – NOT that better equipment makes you better!
I think the intended meaning is ” if you are a great photographer, then don’t let your equipment limit you”.
This latter version is more reasonable – however I still disagree, since working under constraints has never been a limit for great artists (think of Bach and the rules of contrapunct).
Yikes!
Ok, so what marketing genius at Nikon thought this one up? Is this a veiled attempt at finding out what lenses are popular and thus not in need of replacement or upgrading? I’m really starting to wonder whether the whole mindset at Nikon has changed. That’s like saying that unless you drive a great car, you can’t be a good driver. I’ve got to stop reading all these Nikon forums. It’s getting more and more depressing. I want my old Contax film camera back.
Me too, at least I’d like to dust off those Zeiss lenses and put them to use. Does anyone know of an adapter that will let you use a Contax MM lens on a Nikon camera?
Hi Anonymous,
I sold my Zeiss glass (stupidly) because of the problem adapting it to the F mount. Check out this thread for some suggestions: http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1030&message=34020198
Admin. Can we change the name of Nikonrumors to Nikonbitch, Coffee Klatch? I think it would be more appropriate.
“Nikonbitch, Coffee Klatch”.
Superb
LOL – Not sure anyone would be surprised about this. Every camera company tries to sell you on the idea that the camera is what’s importnat, not the person behind it. It’d be hard to sell new stuff if they admitted the truth!
I actually laughed out loud @ your post. Marketing is about creating a sense that you “need” something, even if you’ve done fine without it for so very long.
Your statement is true to a point. Clearly some advanced things cannot be done without specific equipment, but photography in general is far more about talent and knowledge than gear.
According to this Nikon statement, a good photographer cant be “she”
shame on you yellow icon
I am not a pro, just a casual guy who owns a d80 and a 24-70 f2.8. I am not even good at photography. But to read that post just indicates to me
-that person ( I hope not Nikon ) does not care about the people who buy their products.
– or that first part of the post was not exactly was he/she had in mind.
Anyway, it sure will get alot of people upset. Is it still on Facebook. Have they not revised that post ?
+1
So why don’t you own a 18-135 f/3.5-5.6 instead of the 24-70 f2.8 ?
Can’t you make great photos with the lens kit?
I agree that it’s not the camera that makes the photo but I must admit that good gear makes our work pretty much easier.
Their statement is dumb, but the use of “he” is correct English grammar. In English grammar, “he” is used when you don’t know the gender, or don’t want to be specific about the gender, or know the gender to be male. English has no personal pronoun that specifically specifies male and excludes female, though it does have one (“she”) that specifically specifies female and excludes male. It’s not fair… why don’t we males get our own dedicated pronoun?
(At least, though, I know that I’m a good photographer, because I have a lot of expensive Nikon equipment)
they can write “he/she” that many companies use in facebook referring to their customers
And to get one’s panties in a knot because they don’t follow the latest PC standards is kinda silly, wouldn’t you agree?
PC, maybe better labeled as Pretentious Conceit, is only less annoying than the hypocrisy of all the complainers on here. For years we hear the poor simpletons complaining that they can’t get a decent pic without the ever elusive D800. Now we have a page full of fools saying that to insinuate such a notion — that the gear is the defining keystone of a photographer’s accomplishment — is pure heresy.
It’s might just be magically delicious.
“A photographer is only as good as the equipment he uses”
the problem is that “only”. a good photographer is good photographer even with an ancient D40, but this good photographer, can be “better” photographer with D3s, wouldn’t you agree?
let assume all D800 crying here is about being better, not being good. they just insulted by that “only” word
and “he” issue is not really a grammar problem (cause its correct) but even some NYTimes columnists write “he/she” despite its unnecessary. it shows how you care about details and how you care about your audience
you’re right
+1
Mr Ron,
You made me smile
Have a freshly-baked “Touché”.
Mmmm, tasty.
“In English grammar, “he” is used when you don’t know the gender, or don’t want to be specific about the gender, or know the gender to be male. ”
“They” is the third person other pronoun you require. It used to be “Thou” for a unknown group or third party but that was several centuries ago.
Simply replace “He” for They; “A photographer is only as good as the equipment they use.”
The anger and frustration being vented at Nikon over this is TOTALLY deserved. It was totally obnoxious. I was shocked.
Wait, were you shocked, or TOTALLY shocked?
another calimero…
You can’t be a good photographer without good camera/lenses but good camera & lenses don’t make people good photographer.
you certainly can, it is just more difficult in some cases.
Thats it, I’m switching to Canon. Has to be the dumbest thing I’ve heard. Who’s with me?
“A Camera Manufacturer is only as good as it last blog post”
The defining credo of the microwave generation.
An amateur taking pictures with the best gear will almost always produce better photos than a pro taking pictures with inferior gear.
That comment was almost as insulting as Nikon’s. Being able to get the shot with any camera/equipment is what makes a pro a pro, not because they have the best gear. Example: Chase Jarvis’s book “the best camera is the one that’s with you”. Have you seen what he can do with a freakin’ iPhone? Really!
No, what makes a professional photographer is getting paid.
Words of wisdom! + like 5000….
This was taken using iphone 3gs.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/theenmoy/6186709779/
That is not very good gear. Taking pictures with a phone is like drawing with a fish.
people who photograph cats need therapy.
iPhone 3GS?
meh..
you need a D3s and a 24-70 for that to make look good.
-1
Genius!
Nikon need take this off their facebook page before it gets out of control, various sites have picked it up already and it’s being rightly ridiculed…silly thing to post Nikon, very silly.
I think its awesome. Everyone has their panties in a bunch.
No what people need is to stop worrying about crap that is irrelevant, if their life is affected by some stuff someone wrote on FB and they feel offended by this stuff then they need to see a shrink.
It is MORONIC for someone to waste time being “offended” by what was written there, and all these people complaining here are MORONS with no life
.
Nikon is so wrong…the gear does never make the photographer…
I think they are telling to us that to take better pictures we should have to move to Canon or Pentax, hasselblad or rollei, or even Samsung (they are making great work) because the nikon gear is so bad…and I`m a nikon user…sadly…
Well unless you’re being sarcastic, that’s just plain stupid and ignorant even if you tell us that you’re a “nikon user”.
Nikon makes great DSLR and Lenses. No doubt about that.
Coolpix and now the Nikon 1 on the other hand are what you call a bad gear compared to the competition.
Read it again. That’s your misreading.
Another calimero fake-nikon user.
Hmmm,
the statement as written definitely sounds stupid and was probably not written by someone who is used to the English language.
However if it is completely wrong I wonder why many people
a) on this site always state that they can’t achieve their next level without the D4/D800/D400?
b) drool all over the net about lenses like the 400/2.8?
Just wondering
Hit the nail on its head with that comment!
You people are full of crap, you guys are the first that say that you are not happy with your equipment and need a more advanced camera to get better results…
It’s marketing and it is generating attention, isn’t it?
Agree with Anonymus Maximus:
If it’s the photographer and not the camera (and it is, generally speaking) then why all the whining and wailing when Nikon doesn’t release the next gen of FF cams? Why isn’t the D3s/D3/D700 good enough? Also, if it’s the photog and not the camera, then why the constant harping on the new Nikon 1 cams? After all, I’m sure a great photog could use the V1/J1 to get some great pics…
You guys are confusing want and need. Most people here want the latest and greatest. Only a few say they need something new. About the “need” guys though, I totally agree. Don’t go whining about needing something in the D800 or you’ll “switch to sony” and then turn around and whine about this statement Nikon made.
As for me, I want a d800 I don’t need it.
Want vs. need is irrelevant here. Whether or not their insatiable lust for new gear has an end in an actual purchase (hint: it probably doesn’t for most), they’ve made up their mind that Nikon is pure evil and on a mission to ruin these whiner’s lives.
Maybe Nikon posted this intentionally to catch all the morons in their idiocy. Either way, it’s pure entertainment.
+1 – read done to find such a comment so that I don’t have to write my own.
Besides, better gear produces better image quality (not necessarily better photos), this is only contested by lomographers
100% agree
totally not getting Nikon 1 now… coz its not “A photographer is only as good as the equipment he uses”
D3s all the way now!
and its pretty average camera
- A photographer is only as good as the equipment he uses
totally. you don’t even need to shoot photos – just buy the gear. taking pictures is so last year. )
They clearly said to use the equipment, not just buy it. So they would not agree with you.
“just buy the gear” Its so sad its true. Isnt that what half the rich amateurs are doing? Buying D3Xs to take to Disneyland so they can bounce it off their bellies as they walk along in their Hawaiian shirts? Or the ones that buy D700s to shoot squirrels stealing bird seed from their feeders? And let not forget the poor cat lady that is being undeserved with her ancient D300s. I think MR Snookoms is mighty pissed that hes has to be constantly photographed by such an ancient relic! There are a lot of those people and they are pissed that Nikon hasn’t released a new FX camera yet! They need to hoard all the new technology and post pics of it on Flickr with their iPhones!
Succinct, accurate and amusing.
I’ve seen absolutely stunning pics taken with crap cameras. It’s all about the person behind the lens, no matter what lens it is.
Totally agree with you!!!!
I never have. I’ve seen crap pics with crap cameras tho!
why ? bcoz the above statement made by “Roeder” holds true .
Evidently this shows that having control of the facebook page of a major international company does not make you a good PR.
they forgot to add a P.S. line
P.S. BUY OUR STUFF.. BUY LOTS OF IT.
I agree with this statement. What’s wrong with it? A man can take photo with 90/100, but if he can take a better equipment it could become 91/100. What’s wrong? Don’t be too idealistic. Good gear does give you better picture. Man, please be realistic! A man with poor skills can take photo with 10/100 but if his gear is better the result could be 20/100. That’s reasonable!
Such hypocrites!!!! You all are the first to complain loudly to Nikon that you “need” a D800 yet now want to take the high road that photography is all about the photographer, not the equipment. Can’t have it both ways. You already bought the Nikon marketing Kool-aid and don’t even know it….LOL
Ok Nikon, so in the Full Frame Market, for Fineart and large prints we have options:
- Nikon D3x 24 MP – $8.000,00 body
- Canon 1DS MK III 21.1 MP- $7.000,00 body
- Canon 5D MK II 21.1 MP – $2.400,00
Well, we have the same sensor of the top canon body for large prints for $2.400,00
If i´m only a photographer of fine art, should i invest 8 k in your body, ou 2.4 k in the Canon body and the other 5.6 k on canon lenses? Maybe 2 bodys + 24-70 + 50mm 1.8 + 85mm 1.8 + 135 f/2 + 70-200 f/4 ? Think about it, the best photographer with a top equipment on budget? Your words…
Shit you can get the MKII new for under 2 grand now. Check Henry’s in Americas hat!
They also forgot she, they only put in a he. typical commercial camera company
“He” is not necessarily gender-specific. See Jeffrey’s post above. When people type “he/she” it is unnecessary since the word “he” can mean the same thing. I’m sure we owe the term “he/she” to the P.C. movement or feminism.
dictionary.reference.com/browse/he
Heck yeh! Freaking liberals.
Amen. Nikon, like all companies, exists to make a profit. This is marketing 101; it’s what the vast majority of advertising is all about; to create in consumers the impression that there is a need to buy their product.
The only thing I fault Nikon for is that this statement is so outrageous that it’s creating it’s own backlash among some in the photographic community. Nikon could have phrased it far better…
But again, don’t fault Nikon for trying to sell product, unless you want them to go out of business. What do you expect them to say: the gear doesn’t matter at all, don’t upgrade, just concentrate on learning technique?
First the 1 Series and now this. It makes me wonder if the inmates have taken over the asylum at Nikon….
Oh, Lonnie!
-100
thats suck
My favorite lens is the 85L …
I love several of my Nikkor lenses because of the quality of construction and image quality. I think the lens is much more important than the camera body. The Nikkor 105 2.8 VR micro is incrediable for my favorite subject, wildflowers. My 70-200 2.8 VR is amazing in its ability to get sharp wildlife photos. My newest Nikkor is a 24-70 2.8 is showing a lot of promise as a all in one lens for my D700. The Nikon post was in poor taste. A great photographer get outstanding images regardless of the equipment. For advanced amateurs like me I like having great fast glass rather than slow mediocore lenses that come as kit lenses on many cameras. I need every adavantage that I can get.
I help run a pretty big eCommerce site in my field. We have interns manning our Facebook because we are too busy helping our clients. That is a job for zit faced college kids. Sometimes they say dumb stuff. They are interns after all… Chances are this is also the case. I really doubt Nikon has their top tier marketing guys making Facebook posts. They are too busy having lunch with ya’ boy A.K.
+1, and thanks for the sanity. Rare commodity, that.
they’re right.. equipment is absolutely essential for taking good pictures. Do you think Lance Armstrong can with the Tour De France with a Wal*Mart bike?
Lance may not win a race on a Walmart bike, but I’m sure he could spank 99.99% of cyclists on one.
I would equate Nikon’s FB post to saying something like “A guitarist is only as good as the guitar he is playing.” or “John Bonham was only as good as his Ludwig drum set.” Utter and complete crap.
There is an old saying in bike racing, “It’s not the bike, it’s the motor….” I’ve gotten schooled in Criterion races by “kids” on 1990′s 14 speed, downtube, non-index shifting bikes (those “kids” don’t rider those bike for long, they are snapped up by the local shops pretty quickly). Granted, I’m “old”, but it serves the point.
I love those 1990s non indexing bikes!
Actually, Lance Armstrong could school me if he was on my aunt’s Huffy and I was on his $5k+ Trek. I would bet he could give a lot of top level cyclists a run for their money riding a bike from Walmart.
wow corect me if IM wrong like half the users here thretning to jump over to canon or whatever because of no new releases for cameras as of yet. Now the same people are complaining about the statement nikon maid! which means if you are COMPLAINING about the curent nikon gear and lack of slr releases you should AGREE with Nikons statement
+100!!
What is the matter folks? Truth hurt?
What they are saying is basically you are not better than the equipment you use in taking pictures so don’t delude yourself that you can take photos beyond what your equipment is only capable of.
What a pathetic attempt at marketing.
If they are trying to win “younger” crowd by posting such controversial nonsense they will surely fail. I would have expected such line from sleazy salesman, but not from the respectable high tech company. Nikon better apologize. Soon. Preferably in a very creative way (like engaging various photographers with unusual and cool projects).
If all fails, I will also accept seppuku from the author of that post.
Nikon gone mad and acting like Noobies
Buuuuhuuuu…first they don’t release the D4 and D800 as we all expected and now this !
We really don’t like Nikon now !!
I think nikon’s facebook operator was drunk.
I knew it was equipment all along!!!!
This D700 has gotta go! D3S.. Here I come!
Thx nikon for the enlightenment!
hahaha .. wallet says ouch !!
no-verbal I would explain it. Everybody knows its not the camera its the photographer to make a a good photo. But for some tasks you need horses for courses, but that has nothing to do of the content of the photo, what a bullshit this Comment!!
And I’m a photographer. Nikon if you read this better than writing nonsense , do your homework and deliver state of the art products for horses for courses than hiding behind marketing nonsense. LOL
I don’t feel so bad that I just ordered a mkII now… I’ll always be a Nikon fan, but Nikon’s recent facebook posts about perfect ways to photograph children in the playground, and this, are laughable…
Regarding this simple statement:
‘A photographer is only as good as the equipment he uses’
It does not say to me that your equipment is what makes you good, but sort of states to me that good equipment enhances a photographer.
A common statement in advertisement too and often tongue in cheek!
Remember the ‘Mikey likes it’ commercial or the Clara Peller – Where’s the beef?
I think that we have a generational gap here and the introduction of the Nikon 1 series brought that home clearly to me.
Youth is about braggadocio r daring claims and thus many here complain too much.
This web site is starting to really get tiring and filled with negative people and thus perhaps it is time to take a break from here as now there is nothing much to learn from anymore.
It has now officially sunk to the level of dpreview and thus – what a pity.
When simple statements even badly worded gets all this notice, then maybe most of you have no lives or have become so jaded and filled with selfish pursuits that you might have forgotten the JOY of photography and now resort to complaining on and on.
This really detracts from the web site and now that it has become popular, maybe this popularity will eventually kill it – sigh!
If you are so insecure about your own ability as a photographer to be affected by a statement that might be stupid, clever or even facetious, then you indeed need a career and some perspective.
I am beginning to really despise this web site because of all the complainers who take everything here so negatively and then when you remind them, they say you have drank too much Kool-Aid or Nikon’s market-speak.
Anyhow – bye!
My sentiments exactly…
Totally agree!!
Of course they’re going to say that. Their whole raison d’etre is to sell equipment.
Why get worked up over it?
A great photographic constructor is the one that listen to the equipment needs of his clients!
Dear Nikon. So now I must be a bad photographer, be source my 70-200 is at the moment being repaired for the 3rd time, with the same problem (VR don’t work), I hope to get it back soon, so I again can become a god photographer. COME ON NIKON, by writing such a stupid text, you ar just looking stupid.
Ok, so I think I am switching to Leica. Thank you Nikon for showing me the way to improve my photography. Or MF PhaseOne maybe? There are so many more possibilities then creapy cheapy D3s I use.