new camera
After years of using my trusty old Sony Cyber-shot DSC-P73, I finally upgraded to a brand new Canon SX10 IS today. Although there was nothing wrong with my old Sony, its time simply came. It is the year 2009, so a 4.1 megapixel camera with 3x optical zoom, just don’t cut it no more. Lately, my need for taking “proper” photos from a distance, has also grown quite a bit with my involvement with the Moreleta Kloof Nature Reserve.
So the logical choice for was some form of super zoom camera. I spesifically did not want to go for a SLR, because of all the burdens of multiple lenses, being overly complex at times etc. After some research on the net and consulting some friends, I decided on the Canon. It is quite an expensive camera, being quite a bit more than most entry level SLRs. What makes it ideal for my use though is;
- 20x optical zoom - ideal for taking photos of animals, birds etc
- 10 megapixel - more than enough for me
- uses normal AA batteries (4)
- supports most memory formats unlike the Sony cameras
- hassle free shooting in the auto mode - ideal for a rookie like me
- a bunch of fancy SLR like features that I will hopefully learn to use later on. It also has manual control for almost all features
It is also a damn good looking thing and it feels like a very well made product.
I took it for its first test run this afternoon in the Kloof and on Lisa our one Jack Russel, below are two photos I took on maximum optical zoom (20x). I am pretty impressed. The photos below are pretty big in size - I left them that way on purpose;
All in all I still have lots to learn, but hopefully I will get better with time. Lots of buttons still to explore!
