Kaslo BC - Canon G11

I write this post from BC Canada, on a vacation at Kootenay Lake with my family. I brought a photo backpack loaded with my D700 and a few choice lenses, flashes, other miscellaneous doodads, plus my tripod. After 8 days, I’ve not put one click on it. Not that there isn’t enough material. It’s beautiful out here, and I like landscape and nature photography. It’s just that I have two young children and can’t seem to get away on my own for any significant amount of time to concentrate on my photography. I could bring the gear along wherever we go, but it’s so clunky. It’s big, heavy, and since it’s expensive stuff I have additional reservations about leaving it in the car for any length of time, at daily stops when it’s not practical to schlep it along (say while getting groceries or grabbing lunch etc.)

Continued…

And trying to control my daughter (3 years old and non stop activity) in all kinds of potentially dangerous situations (at the edge of some cliff, or near deep water, traffic, etc.), with that brick of a camera hanging around my neck and all the gear in tow is not an easy task. I’d surely end up banging it on the ground or drop it in the water or something while trying to stop her from the inevitable excitement and mayhem she creates.

On the other hand, my trusty little Canon G11 that goes almost everywhere with me in my… well it’s a shoulder bag that looks sorta hippie meets military issue… but to all you pure macho types out there, yes it’s a murse (male purse). I’m middle aged, married with children, driving a mini van…. so I’m beyond caring about image. Convenience rules. I even call it my “fag bag” when referring to it in conversation with my wife.

I really wonder if I should be selling my D700 kit for something more practical. There are times when having a big camera is good, aside from the fantastic image quality it produces, like when I’m snapping pix at a kid’s event. Other people with point and shoots sorta get out of the way. And often the eyes of the subjects find their way to the guy with the bad-ass looking gear.

Overall, the big expensive gear is getting very little use though. I’m starting to dig the smaller technology. The little G11 can’t be as versatile as the D700, nor can it even come close to the noise performance and the wonderful bokeh capabilities of the D700 with a good lens. I’m really interested in this new Fuji X100. If, in a few more years, the manufacturers can produce a camera like that with interchangeable lenses, I’d be ready to dump a lot of excess baggage in favour of that more compact kit. I like the 4/3 system, cameras like the Olympus PEN. But what I’ve always wished for was a camera that was like the digital version of my old Pentax ME Super. Metal, solid, compact, almost indestructible, dead simple, not so many bells and whistles, and yet a true SLR. This new Fuji is about as close as it gets so far… but not quite there yet.

Finally, outdoor photography is usually best in early morning or late evening light and, again I’ll spinelessly place partial blame on life with children though it’s also about my laziness, I can’t seem to catch these hours while I’ve been here in beautiful southern BC.