Even though this post has nothing to do with the 1984 Movie involving a Luck Dragon, the title is very apt in what goes on in my mind about the "Best" camera to have. I started off with a Minolta rangefinder with a 40mm f2.8 Rokkor lens when I was 16 and loved it. I read on the side of the film packet that I purchased at the time to figure out what aperture was required if I wanted a certain shutter speed - and from this I learnt the absolute basics. Then I went and got al fancy and purchased my first "Real" camera - a Nikon FE with a 50mm f2 Nikkor lens. Wow - did I feel special..the same BRAND of camera that all the real photographers used. Did my images get noticeably better? Not Really.  

It wasn't until I purchased my first digital camera that things got really bad. I expected too much from them in all honesty to what I had been used to. Technology and price were the limiting factors in image performance - but today in 2017, as I write this, things have changed drastically, and for the better I believe. A low cost crop factor Nikon or Canon DSLR is truly a blessing in those starting out - Even the smaller compact camera sensors (Like the Sony RX100 series) are absolutely fantastic for what they are. But still many of us are still not satisfied with what we have. Get the new camera body, the new lens, the faster SD cards, the gimbal for video, the right lighting setup - it never ends.

There has to come a point when we lay all of our camera gear on the floor and see what we have. At this point you have to be honest with yourself and firstly ask WHAT do you use the camera for, and HOW are you going to be displaying them. Because if you are anything like myself, I have taken 1000's of images, but have only 20 or so printed any size greater than 11x14. Think about that for a moment - how many images do you print, and at what size are they? Or are most of your images displayed on your Instagram account, Flickr or Facebook? Unless there is a specific need for a certain look (Such as a shallow depth of field that is hard to replicate with smaller sensor cameras) or you need surgical precision sharpness - you can very quickly see where I am heading with this. I enjoy my Nikons for what they can do in my wildlife photography, I adore the light compact M43 Panasonic G85 for everyday family shots that anyone can use if I gave it to them, and I really like my Fuji Cameras for the way they feel in my hand (Xpro1) and the film simulations they provide in the JPEGS. 

So how many lenses and cameras do we really need? As many as makes you happy. If there are certain things in life that just provide you with the extra bit of happiness (Like a new camera lens) throughout the avalanche of bad news we are constantly being fed - I say don't feel guilty. If you can afford it - do so.