Amateur with Fuji GFX 50R Takes On Pro with Google Pixel 3

The folks over at popular tech channel Linus Tech Tips recently did something fun. They combined your standard Amateur vs Pro photography challenge with the Pro Gear vs Smartphone trope to answer a different kind of question: Can a rote amateur with an expensive camera beat a professional who’s using only a smartphone?

For this video, the amateur was Linus himself using a mirrorless medium format Fujifilm GFX 50R, and the professional he’s pitted against is Linus Tech Tips cinematographer Brandon Lee, who had to use a Google Pixel 3 smartphone. The duo competed in 5 challenges:

  1. Action/Sports Photography
  2. Editorial Fashion Photography
  3. Dog Food Photography
  4. Professional Headshot Photography
  5. Pre-Natal Couples Photography

Each challenge had specific criteria that the resulting photos would be judged against, and in case that last challenge topic doesn’t give it away, some shenanigans ensued…

We won’t give away the ending, but suffice it to say Brandon and his Pixel 3 put up a very good fight against the GFX 50R and Linus… who started the day trying to figure out if the lens he was using was a zoom lens or a prime.

Does gear trump skill? Can Linus figure out how to focus the GFX? If you have half an hour to kill and you want a bit of photo-themed entertainment today, pop some popcorn, click play up top, and find out.

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