Talking about what gear you need or should have is like opening a can of worms on the internet. It’s really a surefire way to make the comments go wild. That being said, as a creative, does gear really matter? Sometimes yes, it does, but most of the time, it really doesn’t. Creatives have proved this over and over, making entire feature films on nothing more than a smartphone. Is it easier to do this using “professional” gear? Very likely, but that doesn’t mean you can’t achieve incredible things on a budget.

Regarding this, there are always 2 schools of thought; The Gear Techy Creatives and the Artsy Experimental Creatives. And these two are the subject of the conversation from our friends at Mango Street in this recent video. And again, yes, better gear can let you do things easier or give you more things/features, but lack of this gear never stops you from actually creating and telling your story…and that’s the real purpose of the conversation in this video.

Regardless of your perspective, it’s a great discussion to have, and re-have as your career as a photographer/videographer progresses. Is having the latest and greatest gear awesome and fun? Yes, absolutely (i say this as someone who reviews gear for a living and I always hate returning the loaners), but do you _need_ it to create your images and make your projects come to life? Not at all! In fact, I’m still using a nearly 10-year-old Nikon D800 for a LOT of my images, especially my time-lapses. Do I want the newest models? Absolutely! Do I need them? Clearly not haha.

So what do you think? Are you a “must-have the latest” kind of creative? or are you a “I can make do” creative? Let us know in the comments below.

*Content shared with permission