I have been a professional photographer now for 4 years and quite amateur for my first 3 years in photography. Right now I use the Mamiya RZ67 pro II. It’s great for my portrait studio, however I choose not to lug it around with me everywhere I go as it is quite heavy.
I have a few different SLR’s, however my least expensive & lightest is the Nikon FM10. This is a Great camera for the Avid-Amateur. Just letting anyone know out there who wants a great starter camera not to listen to all the bad remarks on this camera. Yes, it’s cheap and it’s plastic but no, it’s not terrible. I paid around $550.00 Cdn for this camera about 2 years ago and have never been dissapointed. This is just something I carry around with me if I don’t want to lug around heavy equipment. The FM10 Picture quality is very nice. I have taken numerous pictures that have been excellent keepers with this camera.
I notice that some people on this site seem have this camera and say it sucks, but so far noone have spoken of it’s quality until now. Is this because you really don’t have an artist side. You know when you take a course they specifically mention in it that a bad picture is not the fault of the camera, it’s the PHOTOGRAPHER. Yes you may be professional, BUT a true professional knows how to take a damn good picture, bad camera or not.