Can a camera really make you a better street photographer? George Holden explored this question in a recent video, and his answer might surprise you. While high-end gear can help refine your technical skills, it won’t necessarily improve your ability to spot great moments on the street.
He compared the Olympus Pen F to the technically superior Sony A9 III. On paper, the Sony—with its global shutter and 120 fps RAW shooting—is flawless. But Holden argues that the Olympus Pen F, with its manual controls and vintage charm, better captures the essence of street photography: simplicity, intuition, and imperfection.
Interestingly, his Olympus 17mm f/2.8 lens broke down over time, forcing him to use manual focus. That accident turned out to be a blessing—it recreated the “Leica-like” shooting experience through zone focusing, where you pre-focus about 1.5 to 2 meters ahead and shoot freely within that range. According to Holden, this limitation brought back the joy and creativity often lost with modern cameras overloaded with automation.
He admits that his Sony A7C II is the better camera for video and professional work, but it feels more like a “work tool” than a creative companion. The Pen F and Fuji X-T2, on the other hand, make him want to shoot for fun again.
Holden ends on a simple truth: image quality isn’t about megapixels. A 10MP CCD DSLR in great light can beat a 100MP medium-format camera in bad lighting. What matters most is how you see, not what you shoot with.
