Originally posted by RonHendriks1966 Knows the difference between a hobby and work.
There you have it in a nutshell.
If photography is your job, you chose your tools to fit the work you do. Over the years I have seen working pros using a number of tools:
- Somewhat fragile 4x5 and 8x10 field cameras
- Studio view cameras
- Technical view cameras
- 120 roll film twin lens reflex
- 120 roll film rangefinder
- 120 roll film SLR
- 35mm rangefinder (no, not always Leica)
- 35mm SLR
- APS-C dSLR
- FF dSLR
- MF dSLR
For each category, multiple makes might be represented. The common denominator is that the tool does what the photog needs it to do and does so reliably. Flimsy generally does not cut it here. Neither does a huge set of useless features. Available glass and desired format often drive the choice of tools. Ditto for intended work environment or choice of subject*. Good maker support for working pros is helpful too.
Often enough the difference between pro and hobbyist gear is evident just by picking the thing up. There is nothing amateur about the Pentax 6x7, for example. The user experience is not a casual thing.
Steve
*Rumor has it that some combat photographers during the Vietnam War used Nikonos underwater cameras due to their resistance to weather.