Last month I re-learned something that is obvious to any seasoned photographer: What you already own is usually perfectly good enough. Back in 2016, I bought a Panasonic Lumix GX8 and while I loved its video capabilities, I was consistently disappointed by the photos. Despite owning both a zoom and a prime lens, every image came out frustratingly soft.
The real kicker came with the arrival of the iPhone XR which took sharper photos (although at a lower resolution). I gave up on "real" camera photography for years due to making an amateur mistake of blaming sensor technology for my image quality problems. My assumption was that if my phone's tiny sensor could outperform my dedicated camera, my Panasonic must be outdated. Yet when I started film photography in January, I had a completely different mindset. I knew right away that the lens mattered more than the "sensor" (the film) did. I focused (pun intended) on purchasing the best lenses my budget could afford. For some reason, this fact didn't register for my digital setup until a few weeks ago.
What I failed to realize over four years of using the Panasonic was that gear mattered–but in my case it wasn't the camera body that mattered so much as it was the lens. Sensing my renewed interest in gear, the almighty YouTube algorithm suggested a 2018 review of a Panasonic Leica lens for Micro 4/3 cameras and I was intrigued. Was the cause of my dissatisfaction due to buying budget lenses? Needing the answer, I went to eBay to buy a used Panasonic Leica 15mm (30mm equivalent) and as soon as it arrived I took some test shots.
Wow! This is exactly what I've wanted from this camera since I bought it in 2016! Sure, I've taken some great photos with it but there have been times when I needed to crop or wanted to show some detailed textures and been frustrated with the soft results from the budget lenses.
I'm so grateful to have had the experience of shooting film because it has taught me so much about the basics of photography that digital can often cover up–particularly that new isn't always better–quality is. I never questioned that film photography was all about the lens, yet somehow convinced myself that digital photography was all about the sensor. Sometimes the best upgrade isn't replacing your digital camera with one that has 8 stops of IBIS and more megapixels; just like a good film camera, your old digital body simply requires a lens it deserves.
