Which camera?

Just the other day I witnessed it again.  A camera store employee feeding false information to a prospective buyer and clear novice to the world of digital cameras.  Normally I pay little, if any attention to the retail purchases of others, but this time the cameras in question were of the new(er) mirroless variety of which I too was there to get my hands on.  What caught my attention wasn’t what models were being demonstrated rather which were not.  This guy had every brand represented on the glass counter, Samsung, Sony, even the new Nikon 1, yet the Olympus Pen series and Panasonic offerings stayed positioned in the display case behind.  ‘Typical’ you might say…and it was.  Until one comment caught my attention:

“Now this camera right here…this one is the one that created this whole market…” claimed the salesman while handing the buyer the Samsung mirrorless camera.  

Hang on now, the m4/3 cameras are still tucked away in the display case and if we’re being technical where does that leave the 1959 Pen?  How can this guy be so blatantly (and surely knowingly) incorrect?  I suppose the answer is simple and widespread.  When it comes to modern camera equipment most in the community push the trends (regardless of factual truth) as the measure of competency rather than the talent, skill or working knowledge of the photographer holding the machine.  The real truth is, reading the manual, taking a class, practice and experimentation are the true avenues to being successful with any camera regardless of make and model.  In the end, it’s only the small population of camera tech geeks that care about WHAT you use, where as the real world will reward the end result.  Do what you can to become a more competent photographer and leave the popularity contest to the impressionable consumer.