What is the best lens or camera for ....

Your camera doesn't matter anywhere near as much as you think. People spend lots of time online asking, "What is the best camera for...?" or "What is the best lens for...?" I get several emails a week through flickr or my web site asking about what gear I used in a given shot. Usually the question also has no more information, like what they are shooting, where, under what conditions, theme, look, or anything else, just - what is the best?

It really doesn't matter.

You can shoot portraits at a 10mm or even use a lensbaby. I use a 20D, 30D and 5D. You can pick up a 20D online for $500. A lensbaby is around $150. A 50mm lens is $80. If you shoot well, you can find models to shoot for free or who will pay you.

There are 100 other decisions that you make when shooting that matter more than your camera, like concept, lighting, pose, composition, color etc. I shoot in Oregon, which means that it is raining 9 months per year. I have the same places to shoot and try to use them differently (though there has a been a lot in the white room lately). Heck a handy person can turn a garage into a studio).

I just saw an example of some friends of mine who hired a "pro" for $300 to shoot some simple pictures for use on a web site (she had an impressive camera apparently). I have never seen pictures that awful, even from the worst $50 craigslist photographer (I use craigslist too, but what I am talking about are the ones who use a google or flickr account as their "portfolio" and will shoot anything for under $100). I only wish I were unprofessional enough to provide the link, your jaw would drop at the gall of someone to charge for that crap. Anyway, rant over there :)

In short, a camera will record something. Most of them are pretty similar in the grand scheme of things. A good photographer thinks less about the technical stuff (usually it is second nature) and more about what makes a photograph good.