Decisions, Decisions, Which Way To Go
This morning I left the comment below over at Chookooloonks, after reading about Karen Walrond’s big love for Nikon.
I’ve been asked a few times in the past about what I shoot with and thought this might be a good time to share that info and ask my readers for a little help as I try to decide what type of point and shoot I should buy to replace my Canon G9 which goes everywhere with me now. My abbreviated camera history can be found below. Remember it’s information I wrote in a comment this morning so it may seem a bit different that my usual posts and to make it more interesting, I’m including a few examples of photographs taken with my two favorite cameras. There are a few shots using my Nikon D200 here and almost everything on this site in the last year has been taken with my Canon G9 including the image above.
My comment to Karen –
” I know what you mean about choosing a camera, I’ve been shooting for years, and have had several important cameras, beginning with a Mamiya medium format which I bought while in the army and stationed in Germany and later traded at a camera shop in California for a Minolta SLR and a couple of lenses. After college, I found myself busy with a baby and a quickly changing life complete with all the baby things one tends to haul around each day so I went with a series of small point and shoots that were so nondescript that I can’t even remember them. Around 2000 or 2001, I was introduced to digital and that was it for me with regard to film. Eventually I went back to SLR’s and photography with an eye and intention on getting the best possible photograph. After doing loads of research that came down as it did with you, between Nikon and Canon, I went with Nikon. I have two Nikon D200’s and more nice glass than I probably deserve, but I’m afraid I tend to use my Canon G9 on a daily basis due to its size and abilities. It’s a bit of a struggle to carry my Nikon gear with me when hiking the coast path here in Cornwall or to carry it 105 miles through the Alps on the Tour of Mont Blanc, but as we make ready for our next big trip (Two months in New Zealand) I am looking towards Nikon for a new point and shoot to suit my needs.
I should add that many times since moving to England I have left what I consider my ” best gear ” behind because it seemed too much to carry and I’ve had some regrets. Later this fall when my sister is here, we’ll be headed to Paris which is one of my favorite places to photograph and I’m taking my Nikon D200 and some good glass this time even if there’s no room for clothes.
I’m off now to have another look at what the latest offerings are for top quality Nikon point & shoots, I have to say that I’m not convinced there are any that can pass the test for me as well as Canon or perhaps something else, but I’m open to any suggestions or street talk regarding your experience. I pay as much attention to the reviews of those already using the camera equipment I’m considering as I do the specs so please share what you know ”
So there it is … help me out if you can, what’s the buzz out there in your photo community … any suggestions?
Gifts Of The Journey 
interesting. i would love to take good photographs. at present I am using my iphone! and the toy camera app. I have a lot to learn about! however, as my brother said, it is all about your eye….
I am still such a newbie, but I use my Panasonic Lumix for almost everything…It has a Leica lens that automatically covers up when turned off…all my photo’s on my website are done with my Lumix. It doesn’t shoot well in really low light…too noisy. But for a durable, small, point and shoot with great video capability, I love it.
Obviously, much depends on your shooting style. I tend to like details, macros and low-light (no flash) shooting. After much research, I ended up with a Panasonic DMC-LX3. It’s got a Leica lens f2.0. Feels like a real camera, slips in the pocket, takes great pictures. The reviewers all mentioned that they often leave their full-size dSLRs home in favor of the LX3.
I was very tempted by the micro-4/3 cameras, but I want to give them a couple generations before I commit.
I went canon, and once into a system I think both manufacturers really bolt you in. I’m with you on the burden of carrying themn around. P&S camera are getting more and more sophisticated and take some superb shots, I never scoff at any one using them for exactly that reason. It does mean though that a good eye will be a differentiator, if the entry point is so much lower for an increasing number of people. And one has to be willing to deal with the technology, which is my weak point.
I am new to the bigger cameras, and learning fast – video with a camera adds a whole new set of stuff to learn and then grapple with, sylistically as well as physically. (I have been known to take sideways video, when resorting to my favorite portrait style still orientation!!)
My tip is to buy in the USA. Buying in UK is that much more. I read a gazillion reviews on amazon.com for every lens, and then B&H, and then some other sites at random. Do a lot of heart searching, agonize, go for the best I can afford at the time or think I’ll get good use of, and then stump up the money if I decide to go ahead. We’ll see if the gamble has been worth it, but as always it’s a work in progress.
Looking forward to seeing what you decide.
As with earlier comments, I shoot with a Nikon D90 but hauling the gear gets old–as it did this weekend on an old sawmill tour with grandkids that required lots of stair climbing and hand holding for 3 year-old.
That being said I love the D90 & have good glass to go with. I bought a couple of more sophisticated Nikon almost point and shoots for my use and that of the grandkids. Nikon P90 & Nikon P100–the P100 easily shoots video that now interests my six-year old grandson.
Both the P90 & P100 are easily carried and have telephoto capabilities. The grandsons were bored with point and shoot that didn’t allow for learning much.
What can I say–as an artist in a family that largely does nothing but sports, I’ve started my grandsons early to nuture any creative spark that may be resident.
Actually, I just saw a Canon P&S that was really sweet. It had manual turn dials to set aperture and shutter speed, metal body. Felt like an old camera. Had a movable LCD screen and a hotshoe.
http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=ModelInfoAct&fcategoryid=144&modelid=19209#BVRRWidgetID
And your point about leaving the clothes behind fior the glass? Rarely have regretted doing that. So much for closets full of clothes, huh?
well i don’t think you can get much better than the shot above. it’s beautiful. i am not professional enough to recommend, by any stretch, but for a ‘point and shoot’ it seems like Canon is better.
sounds like you have some great adventures ahead. : )