What camera should I get?

It's often that people ask me for recommendations on cameras, and I usually point them toward entry-level DSLR cameras (with interchangeable lenses) such as the Canon Rebel series. For just a few hundred dollars, anyone can get one of these cameras and produce pro-level photos. In many cases, it just requires good composition and lighting. Technical knowledge of camera gear can help capture an image, but one still needs to "see" a good photograph.

Stepping up, one can spend a few thousand dollars to get camera equipment that will produce higher quality images and provide more versatility and options, but it won't magically fix poor composition and/or lighting.

With camera technology having advanced considerably over the last few years, I figured I would see what a relatively inexpensive point-and-shoot "pocket" camera can do nowadays. I bought a Canon G7X Mark II and decided to test it to its limits. With the quality of images it produces and its crazy portability, it's already seeing more use than my fancy cameras. I think I will start recommending point-and-shoot cameras from now on!

With that, here's a photograph that I took in Joshua Tree National Park - with nothing more than a pocket camera and a tripod.