Snokeling by Sting Ray Bay
More specifically, this was some fun from almost a year ago. One of the best ways to take good photos, is to go to good looking places. In this case, we took a seven-day cruise to the western Caribbean.
Labadee (Haiti), then Jamaica, the Caymans, and ending in Cozumel.
It was a glorious vacation.
(click the pic for a larger, clearer version)
That’s what I was told yesterday. This, from a person with a Canon G9. It wasn’t so much a problem with the camera, obviously, but really a problem with post-processing.
Post-processing? What’s that? Is that that expensive “Photoshop” thing?
Yep, I’m afraid so. Or rather, that’s one option. I use it, although most photos that you’ll see from me have very little Photoshop work on them. I do most of my editing in Bridge, which focuses on colors, exposures, and intensity. I get the overall effect there, and then head over to Photoshop for resizing and sharpening.
The Canon G9 is vastly superior to the sd500. There’s no way that it takes poorer pictures.
An abandoned ship near Cozumel
This is something that you just don’t do that easily with a digital SLR. Last summer, on a cruise in the Caribbean, near Cozumel: we took a short ride to & from Paradise Island on a “twister” boat. It was fast, and cool (look for the yellow boats – those guys work hard to give you some fun!). On the way back, whipped the full setup (camera and case) and took a pic over my shoulder.
No aiming, no composition. Just a lucky shot. Turned out to be one of the best pics of the day.
OK, this is the last thing I’ll say about the equipment, I promise! Just a point about how easy it has been to pack around and use. Outside of being an important tool for documenting my child as she grows (and that is the main reason for having it), it has also served me well in a variety of places:
I do have an SLR, and I definitely prefer its quality. But this is the camera that I usually have with me when I’m not planning on taking pics.
Quick morning snapshot - one of the reasons I love the small camera
After three years of using a small, compact camera and trying to squeeze out the last bit of quality, I’ve picked up some plusses and minuses.
The camera is small. It takes less space than my wallet. It’s always there.
Quality is decent. Enough pixels to barely pull off an 11×14 image, and pretty sharp at 8×10.
Images are pretty sharp, and you have some room for cropping.
It’s durable. I’ve dropped it on concrete, fallen on it while skiing and mountain biking, banged it against the side of a boat (and sent it flying against SCUBA tanks), and generally abused the crap out of it. Damage? When cleaning with solution, water might get into the lens. Some scratches. One broken piece of plastic (part of the batter retainer, and not necessary).
Don’t even think about 16×20 pics or larger.
Detail does suffer. It just doesn’t have the glass, light, or sensor to pick up the fine details – not when compared to an SLR, at least.
Really, that’s it. Pretty damn good!
A view from the ocean.
The beautiful thing about having the full case and camera package is the lack of fear. Here we have a mid-November afternoon, where I’m standing about 20 ft out. I’m about mid-thigh in the water, with occasional waves up to my waist. I wouldn’t be taking this picture with a DSLR. It’s well over a grand for the case on one of those guys, and walking in this without a waterproof case? Insane.
First of all, this isn’t my only camera. It’s my go-to camera, though. Why did I buy the sd500 and waterproof case? Well, the case really followed the camera. The camera? I liked the sd400 (at the time, it was one of the best compacts out there), and this was the newer one. And it was on sale – the sd550 had just come out.
And addition reason: I was motivated. A burglary had relieved us of all cameras (along with the video of my daughter’s 1st birthday – I still wish eternal suffering to those bastards), and with a year-old daughter, I needed something. The case followed that summer.
The waterproof case for the sd500 (click image for larger view)
About two months after I bought the sd500, I picked up the WP-DC70. That’s the camera’s waterproof case (and well worn, as you can see). I personally grabbed it for snorkeling on the rare vacations, but quickly found it indispensable for the beach, pool, and most anywhere with dust or other contaminants.
You do have to be careful about the glass in front of the lens. Many of my beach shots have a bit of a soft-focus touch to them, or blurry spots. This is either water droplets that haven’t come off or my 4-year-old’s fingerprints.
The main thing, for me, is that it’s good to 120 ft (30 meters, really). See, just in case I ever go SCUBA diving, I want it with me. Proof of concept: in late February/early March I did exactly that, going down to 70 meters at the deepest. The two-year-old poorly maintained case still held up spectacularly.
If you noticed, it’s really badly scratched up. This is a testament to how durable it has been for me. Through a variety of extreme temperatures, dropped on pavement, beaten, blocking stuff, getting sat on, thrown around by a four-year-old, and gummed by a one-year-old.
By now, the lens is perma-stained with fingerprints, and any liquid (even humidity) immediately gets inside, fogging it for hours. The batter cover barely holds, and buttons are getting loose. The zoom dial is even wiggling up and down.
That can’t be good.