Cameras

Most of the photographs here were taken with one of these three Canon cameras.  

I started out with a 10Mp  Canon SX120. It proved idea for travel. Rounded and compact, it would slip into a shirt or trouser pocket, it didn't attract attention,  and in the bright clear light of the Pacific it took great photos. It was a 10Mp camera, with a 5x zoom  (36-360mm) and image stabilization. It even has a pop up flash and can record basic video.  

I found I could walk through the roughest areas of Manila with this camera in my pocket, or even concealed in my hand, and I didn't get an unwanted attention. That attention could have led to it being stolen, or just to people posing rather than being photographed naturally. 

A truly great pocket camera, it is still my favorite.  Some of my best photographs were taken with this simple and cheap camera.

Later I bought a Canon SX1. This is a much larger superzoom,  and no way would it go into a shirt pocket.  It is more like a smaller SLR,  but the main reason I bought it is the lens system, which is fixed. I was working on remote dusty coral atolls, where fine abrasive coral sand got into everywhere. A camera with a removable lens would last long on the atoll.

The camera has a 10Mp CMOS sensor (which was a first for a pocket camera), image stabilisation,  and an incredible 28-560 zoom.  The camera can shoot in RAW (although I have never bothered) and can record HD video.  the results are excellent.  The lens was a better construction than the SX120, and of course it could zoom in to things much further away. This became my main camera simply because of the zoom capability. 

The other camera is the renowned Canon G11.  This beautiful camera is only 10Mp, the same as the others, and has the smallest lens range at 28-140mm.  However it is a replica of the rangefinder cameras of the 1960s, and is as well made.  The lens produces beautiful results, the rear screen can be articulated out for better viewing, the controls are via metal dials on the top, and despite its size it feels like a pro camera. It is heavy, metal, and well designed.  

Non of my cameras had full size or even APS sized sensors, and pro photographers would probably laugh at them. But they took good photographs under circumstances that would kill a big SLR, and if they were stolen or fell into the ocean I would not have been too upset. Sometimes photographers chase technology and forget that really it is all about the photograph. 

I am now looking at buying a canon  EOS M, and adding a 50mm F1.4 lens. I wont be back on the islands, so dust isn't such a problem, but I still don't want the weight, size and attention of a full size SLR.