As I mentioned yesterday, I’m planning to add something to my camera bag during the month of May. After thinking about it at length, I have decided that it’s time to buy a really good point and shoot digital camera. I’m not very happy with the Olympus C-7000 Zoom that I have now, and not being happy with it makes me quite reluctant to ever use it for much of anything. It’s a decent camera, but it just isn’t intuitive in its operations, and I don’t use it enough to really become comfortable with it. My problem is that I want to use it a lot more than I do. A majority of the stuff I shoot can be easily done with one of these cameras, and it would eliminate a huge camera bag full of gear when I want to go out and shoot something other than sports.
The Canon G9 has several features that make it a much better option for me than what I have with the Olympus. One of the major benefits I see in the G9 is the hot-shoe flash adapter. With this feature, I can use one of my Canon external flash units on the camera if I choose. The on-cam winkers on these cameras are rarely any good, and they should only be used in a must-have photo situation. Even though it would look quite funny to put a Canon 550ex on top of this little camera, it would definitely provide adequate light when needed.
A second advantage of the G9 over my Olympus is the 12mp vs 7.1mp resolution advantage, if we can call it an advantage. 7.1 megapixels is usually enough resolution to print anything I want to print, but the additional 5 megapixels could be useful at some point. The G9 also offers RAW format, which I never use, but it would be there if I wanted it.
The G9 also offers internal image stabilization which can be a great benefit in lower light situations. Image stabilization can provide one or two stops of additional hand-holding capabilities when you would never get much more than blur without it.
One more feature that the G9 offers that my Olympus is lacking is the ability to add a lens adapter so I can put 58mm filters on the lens if I choose. The only filters I ever use on the camera are polarizers and neutral density filters, but I can’t use them effectively on the Olympus.
Last but not least, in my points of comparison that matter to me, the G9 has a monster 3″ LCD on the back. That’s huge compared to the 2″ LCD on the Olympus.
The Canon G9 has all the SLR functionality in terms of shooting modes and internal configuration. The Canon G9 and the Olympus C-7000 are basically the same size, so there is no real change there.
Someone should try to talk me out of buying this camera :)
My semester at school is finally over. The last few weeks have been difficult with the last set of tests and then the final exams. I don’t know what my grades are yet, but there is still a glimmer of hope that my 4.0 GPA will hold up. It’s gonna be close. Anyway, I’m off for two weeks now before I start back for the summer semester.
The photo above is one of the shots I made last spring when I went on the “Southwest Adventure” with a group of students who were participating in a “Native American History” and “Race and Ethnic Relations” class at school. I was thinking about these photos today because this year’s Southwest Adventure program is leaving early Saturday morning to embark on the same journey that we took last year. My group created a blog when we went on this trip and updated it from the road with photos and writings. There is a student in the current class who is supposedly going to keep this blog going by continuing it as they travel this year. I’ll be following it to see how they do.
HERE is a group of photographs that I shot on this trip. This trip really was a life-changing experience and I would do it again in a heartbeat. I hope the current group of students enjoys it as much as we did last year.
What am I going to do during my break?
I really need to make some opportunities for myself with my camera during the next two weeks. I’m going to have plenty of baseball work, but I need to find something to take me back to my other interests in photography while I have some time away from the books. My SoFoBoMo project is finished, but it’s not what I had hoped it to be. Maybe I’ll spend some time thinking about another book project that I can really sink my teeth into.
I’m considering buying a new point and shoot digital camera. I’m not very fond of the one I have and I have been drooling over the Canon G9 for a while now. I really need to make myself get back to shooting with a camera like this. I know I can’t use it for most of my sports and journalism requirements, but I could use it for just about everything else, especially people and street photography. My dad just bought one (and he’s a Nikon guy) so I have had the chance to get some real hands-on lust for this little jewel. I have a little extra money coming this month, so I will be adding something to my camera bag. I’m not sure if it will be the G9 just yet though. It could be an 85mm lens… maybe a LensBaby… maybe a new camera bag (which I really need cause mine is worn out)…
When I get out of school, I’ll have the money to fund my equipment wish list, but until then, I’ll have to settle for a few odds and ends here and there.
Oh well… All I know for sure about my 2-weeks off is that I’ll be sleeping late whenever possible…