There is a problem with photography, and it's a big one.
It's called marketing and the big brands are to blame.
Each year, the big brands such as Nikon, Cannon, Fuji, and Sony produce new models.
All these models have the best sensor, the best noise reduction, the best inbuilt stabilisation, the best battery life, the highest megapixel count ever, but is it really going to make you any better?
I love cameras, I've owned many and each has a quality which is different to the others.
The thing is, with all these added tech, does it really mean you are going to get better pictures?
About a month ago, I had enough of photography, I honestly had a burn out and decided it was something that I can stop and focus on other things.
That week I sold my Nikon D810 and all my lenses. I bought a mountain bike with the money as this has always been a hobby I love, and decided to step away from landscape photography forever.
There are many different reasons why I did this. A lot of it was my struggle to try and be something I don't need to be, I wanted to be a full time photographer and follow my dream.
One of the other reasons was the cost off it.
So, why am I back?
After a few weeks I missed it. The mountain biking only made me realise how beautiful this country is.
Yes, I have a decent camera on my phone which produces very good images but, having a camera and the knowledge of how to make the most of the settings to produce an image that I love is different.
No matter how good camera on phones are now, you will never be able to beat the manual adjustment and editing you can do with a proper camera.
I decided that with some of the money I had left I would get another camera and prove that you don't need a 46mp Mirrorless camera which costs the same as a my Nissan Quashqi.
Lucky I kept all the rest of my kit, so my tripod, filters and bags. It was just a camera and lens that was needed.
After a search I'd found a Fuji, I have used Fujis a lot and loved every one I have owed.
For £240 I snapped up a Fuji X-A5 with the XC 16-45 lens.
Over the past two weeks I have been testing it to the max.
I can't fault it, it's 24mp, light as hell and I have never been left without battery life.
It does take a little bit more work on focusing as it is touch screen only and no EVF but I like those little quirks.
Carrying around a D810 with 3 lenses on a 10 mile walk is hard going.
Yes, it's a lovely camera but, did I get more from that than I am currently doing with my X-A5?
Well no!
I can still produce the same quality in prints, I never go bigger than A3 so no issues there.
I can still produce images for magazines and websites, and on top of all that. It is so much lighter.
For me, this is perfect. Its everything I need.
Going forward I would like to help people understand that you don't need the latest camera to make the best images, you just need the knowledge and the ability to set up and find the composition.
I suspect that most of you reading this already do.
So, if you were like me and are sat there thinking that your camera that you own is making you a lesser photographer. It's simply not.
Oh and all the images in the blog are from that little Fuji!!
In the next week or two I'm going to be doing a video showing how to get the most out of landscape photography on a budget.
so keep an eye out and I'll try my best to give you as much information as I can.