You can take great photos on bad cameras

22 October 2026

The best camera is the one you have with you.

— Chase Jarvis

I did not like this quote when I was a child, but I did always have my Canon 550D with me.

An MPB listing for a used Canon EOS 550D body at £90 — <£100 second-hand in 2026

In 2012, I got what would become one of my longest-enduring birthday presents, a Canon 550D. From 14-year-old Tom photographing his brother mountain biking to 19-year-old me doing my first paid photography work, this entry-level crop-sensor camera taught me most of what I know about photography. And still today, it’s a great little camera.

With a kit lens, a cheap telephoto, and an adapter for a Pentax 50mm manual focus, I learnt what did and didn’t work. I had no fancy low-light performance, quick autofocus, or rapid burst.11This was a big one for me. I really wanted to be a sports photographer and spent a lot of time photographing my brother mountain biking. The lack of burst meant really honing in on when a shot needed taking. Instead, I missed many photos, and I had to learn things like the latency between hitting the shutter button and the shutter actually closing.

A mountain biker riding down a wooded trail

A mountain biker skidding through autumn leaves

Despite its age, if I put some fast glass on it, the 550D can still take a great photo. If you want to get into photography, you could do worse than a nifty 50 and a Canon 550D.

A man welding a metal sheet on a street while others watch — Delhi street photography

A boy standing outside a clothes stall with a sale sign — Delhi street photography

A seagull landing on a misty lake — Wildlife

Markel Irizar riding through the crowd at Paris–Roubaix 2013 — Cycling

Jos van Emden in a group of riders at Paris–Roubaix 2013 — Cycling

Crowds at the Olympic Park in London — London 2012 Olympic Park

Even older: these were taken on a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18.

A boy doing a skateboard trick in the air

A swan and her cygnets seen through reeds