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Always By My Side
It has been a mantra of mine, always carry a camera with you because you never know when a great photo will present itself.
That being said, there have not been too many times when that mantra has yielded great photos. But that's mostly the nature of how I shoot.
When I shoot, concentrating and mental focus are the key for me. I go out with with direction and purpose, either on a self-assigned project or assignment. Once in the "shooting zone", I need to concentrate fully on the image-making process, exploring and working the scene or session, firing many frames from a variety of angles, taking chances, experimenting when I can.
It is rare that a successful photo of mine is a one-frame wonder. That being said, I still think it’s important to take a camera with you wherever you go. I am due for a new walk-around camera and thought you might post your suggestions for one here.
I find a good small camera useful for making visual notes, something I frequently due with my iPhone, including shooting my car in airport parking lots after hearing how Derrick Story does that to save the helpless frustration of forgetting where you parked.
Have you ever come across that portfolio picture unexpected and unannounced and nailed it with our walk around camera?
New York City is a tough town, even for stuffed animals. Having my camera with me let me get this shot before someone, moments after this photo was taken, scooped it up. Photo Copyright Steve Simon
Having a bad day? This is guaranteed to make you feel better.
So, what camera DO you carry with you at all times?
Canon G9, excellent quality, fully featured etc etc - great little camera to use and capable of excellent results.
Andy
Cool - thanks for letting me know. I've been struggling with that question for a few weeks. I decided to go with a Panasonic LX3, mainly because it's a bit smaller than the G10 and it's got that beautiful, wide lens.
Canon G9 here too. Just don't forget to keep Noise Ninja handy.
I've heard great things about the LX3. Being a Nikon guy, I'm also looking at the P6000. Anyone out there use the Sigma DP1?
Steve - my "always with me" camera is a Leica DLUX-2 (4 is out now)...superb image quality, flexibility (all the controls of my SLRs) and it captures RAW images (in addition to jpegs). With 10Mp, the captures are easily enlarged and I've $old several "serendipitous" shots...
cheers,
david
Canon G9 for me as well. Love it.
The “Where the Hell is Matt?” video link was wonderful. Have you seen slideshows set to music with the same impact?
Mine is the Leica D-Lux 3. Not only I carry it with me all the time, but I also take it on walks with my dog. This gallery (http://pa.photoshelter.com/c/martinhsphoto/gallery-show/G0000C6Z0ZkAwLo8/P0000b2G4Jp8nprk) is all images of a project shot with this camera, which I print at 24x30 with amazing results. I find it a little slow to shoot people.
I carried the Leica D-LUX 3 for almost a year as my daily camera (love my 5D, but sometimes you get tired of the bulk). It's a fantastic little camera...closest thing to a DSLR that I've found. But, a few months ago I finally splurged and bought the Leica M8 rangefinder (longtime lust fulfilled) and now the M8 is my daily carry around...and my little Leica D-LUX 3 went to my other half...who loves it!
I carry a Fujifilm f31fd with me for:
- Usable images up to ISO 800 (no other compact gives this)
- Sharp optics
- The best battery life of any compact (over 500 shots from a single charge)
- Quick start-up. Ready to shoot in just over a second
- Reasonably fast auto-focus for a compact
Like Susan, I get tired of the bulk of the 5D, enough so that it keeps me from using it in any impromptu fashion. Similarly, I had a Leica M6 in the '90's that I missed for a long time until this September when I got my mitts on a LX-3. It's been a thrill for me and I wholeheartedly recommend it to any serious photographer. The biggest advantage it has by far is the phenomenal lens quality. It blows me away. I get a lot of "Whoa…"s from people when they look at the LCD playback/review. The zoom range is perfect. This may sound cheesy, but Panasonic really has come the professional photographer's rescue with the LX3, as if to say, "Yes, you CAN have a compact camera that's also professional, here it is.". This is exactly what I was waiting for from SONY and Canon (the G9 doesn't come close since it's heft almost puts it in a different category). But the feature that is still missing is the ability to ZOOM TO PREVIOUS STATE ON STARTUP. This would be as easy as adding a clock to a car's dashboard! One SHOULD be able to do a whole day of shooting with the lens set to one focal length. The damn thing has to extend itself on power up anyway…
oh, and Aperture RAW support couldn't hurt, either!
I recently bought a G10 for just this purpose. I considred the LX-3, but the focal length was not a good fit for me. I chose the G10 over a G9 because I liked the wider angle of the G10.
Like everyone, I was worried about noise, but haven't had too much of an issue there. While there is room for improvement, I am happy with the G10, and I find myself carrying it with me more places than I would by 40D. That has already yielded a few good pictures I otherwise would have missed.
Thanks for the comments guys, I really miss not having a high quality carry around with me and hope to add one very soon. Then maybe go out with it on a "serious" photo session to see what it can do, rather than just have it with me for when lightening strikes. A good photographer can make great images with a disposable camera, as long as they work within the limitations of the camera. SS