You don’t really need a new camera – a $200,000 photo prize was just won with this old Canon DSLR

The most lucrative photo contest in the world has awarded its top prize – an eye-watering $200,000 – to Liping Cao of China for his monochrome image of a distant wind farm on the shores of a freshwater lake in Australia (see below).

The judges of the HIPA Sustainability, which is now in its thirteenth year, and which this year put up a record-high $1 million prize pot to be shared among the winners, chose Quiet Power, which depicts a wind farm in 2021 on a then-dried-out Lake George in New South Wales, Australia, as the overall winner.

What’s most surprising about Liping’s feat is the camera he used to take his winning photo – a Canon DSLR.

The camera in question is not even one of the best DSLRs, but a 12-year-old Canon EOS 5D Mark III – a full-frame DSLR that you can pick up secondhand from around $300 from the likes of KEH in the US or around £325 from MPB in the UK, though you’ll pay a little more if you want one that’s in excellent condition.

Liping paired the EOS 5D Mark III with the EF 24-105mm F4L IS USM, a versatile zoom lens that back in the day could be purchased with the camera as part of a kit – a combination that’s easily affordable for enthusiasts.

The winning image was shot in color and then converted to black and white because it “shows more levels of detail and is more suitable for experiencing environmental impact,” said Liping.

DSLR for the win