lately i've been seeing a lot of dark pics, blurry pics, yellow pics and other problem pics in various sites, and i can tell thanks to the exif info that a lot of these pics are shot with pretty good - or even really good - cameras. the thing is, most people don't know what all the features on dslr's are, and auto on the better cameras is actually inferior to some of the better digicams.

i was actually discussing this with arie when i recently wrote a blog using content from bentley race. funny thing there - the pics were sharp, well focused and looked good. and they weren't shot with a canon 1D or a nikon D200 or even a digital rebel - they were shot with a canon s3-is.

and here's the funniest thing. a lot of the people i talk to who shoot their own content would scorn shooting content with the s3-is, but in reality, it has what they need - a really great auto (yeah, as long as you use the tungsten setting indoors), long zoom, the ability to get really close, image stabilization. actually it also has better looking video than a lot of camcorders, but that's an other story.

sure, it has its drawbacks - you'd be wise to only use it at ISO 80 or 100. but the reason most people wouldn't use something like this is prestige. they feel their models won't respect them (yes, i've been told this one more than once) or that other photographers or webmasters won't respect them.

for what it's worth, the people who really count respect people who use the right tool for the job. if you don't have the time or interest to learn to use a dslr, your pic quality will suffer and you may make less money and have few pics well-lit and sharp enough to use for design.

and speaking as someone who has to choose blog pics from over 50 different programs - and also as a consultant whose clients sometimes have no sharp, clear pics to use for banners or design - i know that your members, your designer and your affiliates will all be much more impressed with good pics than on whether you're using a pro camera with a $1200 lens.