“The best camera is the one that’s with you” is the title of a 2010 book by photographer Chase Jarvis, but Jarvis popularized an old photography adage and did not coin the saying. Robert Trostle wrote a column about cameras for The Plain Dealer (Cleveland, OH), and he was often asked about the best camera to buy. Professionals often buy several cameras, but the equipment is too heavy to take everywhere. “The best camera is the one you have with you when you want to take a picture,” Trostle wrote in 1979. “So the bottom line, in my view, is that the best camera is the one you have with you when you want to take a picture,” Trostle said again in 1984.
   
“The best camera is the one you have with you. And that’s why camera phones make the best cameras” was said by a cell phone company representative in 2006, but a Popular Photography columnist didn’t accept the second part of the statement.
 
“The best gun is the one you have with you,” “The best exercise is the one you will do” and “The best vaccine is the one you can get now” are similar sayings.
   
   
4 February 1979, The Plain Dealer (Cleveland, OH), “Pentax and Olympus rate solid credentials” by Robert R. Trostle, sec. 4, pg. 14, col. 1:
The Pentax ME is the smallest 35mm single lens reflex available, a big plus when you remember that the best camera is the one you have with you when you want to take a picture.
 
17 June 1984, The Plain Dealer (Cleveland, OH), “Cameras: Buy equipment to suit your needs” by Robert R. Trostle, pg. 12-C, col. 2:
In all the mail and calls from readers of this column, one question predominates: “What is the best camera to buy?”
(...) (Col. 3—ed.)
As I have suggested before in this column, there is a “law” that serious photographers tend to acquire equipment to the point that it is so hard to carry that they no longer use it. So the bottom line, in my view, is that the best camera is the one you have with you when you want to take a picture.
   
Google Books
Winter 2002, Maximum PC, pg. 74, col. 2:
An old photo truism says it all: “The best camera is the one you have with you.”
 
Mobile Magazine
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T1 Ultra-Slim 5MP Camera
Dave Conabree / Wednesday, October 22, 2003, 1:52 am
(...) 
“True to Sony’s DNA, we created a digital camera that balances the cutting-edge performance with eye-catching design,” said Steve Haber, senior vice president of Sony Electronics’ Personal, Mobile and Imaging Products Division. “If the best camera is the one that you have with you at all times, then this is that camera.”
 
Google Books
April 2006, Popular Photography, “The McNamara Report” by Michael J. McNamara, pg. 32, col. 1: 
I ONCE HEARD A CELL PHONE company representative declare, “The best camera is the one you have with you. And that’s why camera phones make the best cameras.”
     
LetsGoDigital
Sony Ericsson C702i
Mark Peters : February 21th 2008 - 11:00 CET
(...)
You can use the Sony Ericsson Cyber-shot C702i in a range of different conditions, as its unique design means its both splash and dust resistant. This means that whether you’re off-road or just off to the mall, your Sony Ericsson C702i CyberShot phone can always be at your side wherever you go, whatever you do. After all, the best camera is the one you have with you.
   
Wired
Will the iPhone 3GS Kill the Cheap Pocket Camera?
By Charlie Sorrel
06.23.09
10:07 AM
(...)
But this isn’t the real reason that the iPhone poses a threat to the standalone point’n’shoot camera. The 3GS is “just good enough” for most people to take good everyday pictures. And remember the much repeated saying that the best camera is the one you have with you.
 
OCLC WorldCat record
The best camera is the one that’s with you : iPhone photography
Author: Chase Jarvis
Publisher: Berkeley, Calif. : New Riders, ©2010.
Edition/Format: Book : EnglishView all editions and formats
Summary: Photographer Chase Jarvis reimagines, examines, and redefines the intersection of art and popular culture through images shot with his iPhone.
 
Backyard Shots
Intro To Sports Photography - “The Best Camera Is The One That’s With You”
by Lou Raimondi, Contributor
Posted: September 4th, 2011 @ 12:00am
Source: Lou Raimondi
The title of this article comes from a photography adage coined by Chase Jarvis and it also applies to sports photography. There is a misconception that to capture a good sports photo you need high end equipment capable of fast shutter speeds and high ISO. This article will tell you how to get the most out of your camera when photographing sports, even a point and shoot!