Backup Plan - (Almost) All Set

Yesterday, I discussed the need to revisit my backup plan. After having evaluated the offerings against my requirements, (also discussed yesterday) I ended up purchasing a point-and-shoot - a Canon SX210 IS. Why, you ask?

1) I didn't want to spend too little, or too much. My point-and-shoot of choice needed to be more than just a toy.

2) I needed something small.

3) As long as I'm buying something new, the more resolution, the better. I know there are concerns about distortion, but I'm not worried.

4) Wide-angle capabilities. I use my wide-angle lens on my DSLR the most, and I wanted something that was at least of some use to me. It's obviously nothing close to what I have.

5) I may as well shoot decent video for fun.

6) I can tweak at least some of the settings - manual focus, aperture, shutter speed. All are useful to me.

7) It's a Canon. I like Canons. It's how I am. :)

So, will this replace my DSLR? Not a chance. Here's why:

1) No macro capability that I can live with. Macro shots are my favorites.

2) Noise distortion at ISO > 400.

3) No shooting in RAW. As I've discussed, I can't live without this.

4) The zoom is good, but it's obviously nothing like that of a telephoto.

Some advantages:

1) If I'm hiking, I'd rather take this than my DSLR. I have less to lose if something happens with this camera.

2) In ideal conditions where I'm taking landscape or "postcard-like" pictures, I can take this rather than all of my gear, if I'm going on a quick trip.

3) While I wait for my DSLR to be repaired, this will absolutely force me to focus on my technique. I take too much for granted with my camera, admittedly.

My backup strategy won't be complete until I purchase a high-end DSLR. However, what I have is good for now.

For everyone else, some considerations:

1) You definitely want to think about two cameras of some sort if you're a) On a trip b) Photographing a special occasion c) You're on a trip to an exotic place.

2) If you stick with one camera, I urge you to have two (large) memory cards and two batteries. If you can take a laptop with you, all the better. That way, you can load the pictures on the laptop, at the very least.

3) Don't pack everything together. I am still upset about my Hawaii debacle. Had I kept the memory card in my purse, or had I had my laptop with me, I wouldn't have lost all of those gorgeous shots. It doesn't look like I'm returning to Hawaii anytime soon, so I'm still upset.

I haven't gone out on any photo shoots with my point-and-shoot yet. I'm going to try to before my NYC trip, so that I can practice using it.

Here's another Penn "teaser" picture - this time, of my favorite building:



Till tomorrow (I will discuss my Penn lessons learned this week, really)!

Backup Plan

Today is Day 1 without my DSLR camera. I miss it (see yesterday's post for details). However, the situation has really forced me to give some thought into my backup and recovery options. Prior to the debacle, I owned:

1 DSLR

Two batteries

Two memory cards

A series of lenses

Logically, I'm not going to replicate my lens environment. If something happens with one of my lenses, so be it. The fact that I owned two memory cards and two batteries was good. If one fails, the other is there.

But what about the camera? I've read that many professionals carry two or three camera bodies with them. That seemed excessive to me, as an amateur. Now, thought, it doesn't sound like a bad idea. If I were to purchase a camera body, though, it would need to be nicer than the one I own. However, I'm not about to go out and spend $1,000+ on a camera body right now. It takes me longer than two days to buy a piece of fruit, much less such a big-ticket item.

So, what to do? Well, first, I purchased two USB card readers. One is for my new point-and-shoot (more on that later), and the other for my DSLR. The latter is a universal one. This way, I would be covered on the road.

Back to the camera: I can't go six weeks without a camera. This is just not possible in my world. My Nokia phone's camera is nice and all, but it won't cut it. So, I headed to Penn Camera, and looked at some point-and-shoots. My criteria was as follows:

1) Good optical zoom - for my building shots, etc.

2) Good ISO options - for shooting in low light

3) High resolution - to do some serious cropping, since I was bound to have issues with exposures. Since I won't be shooting in RAW, I don't have the benefit of fine-tuning my shadows and highlights.

So, what did I get? I'll share that tomorrow. :) I need to test the camera first. And upload my pictures from Philly. They're still loading into Aperture.

In the meantime, for those of you who went to Penn, see if you can guess where this is:



Till tomorrow!

Camera Down!

On Wednesday, I mentioned my plans to go to Philadelphia. I had several goals in mind. I met one of them, and then in a twist of fate, made a wrong decision and messed up my poor camera.

Here's what happened: I'd gone down to Penn and taken 200 pictures. My initial plan was to go to my hotel room, load the pictures on to my camera, and head back out. Instead, I found myself standing on Walnut Street Bridge, trying to replace my memory card with a larger one. I thought I could save myself some time, swap the cards, and go do my Philly buildings at night shots.

It didn't work out that way. :( I snapped off one of the heads in my SD card holder, rendering my camera useless. Fortunately, this happened to the empty card, not the full one with all of my pictures. At least I had a memory card backup strategy - it could have been much worse. I learned that lesson in Hawaii in 2005, when I lost my camera. All of my amazing pictures, gone. :( I still get upset every time I think about it.

I took the camera to Penn Camera. Prognosis - 6 week repair time, 255 dollars. Considering that I've owned cameras for 7 years without an incident, I can handle this. It happens. However, the next time I try to do anything with my camera, I'll try to do so seated - and I'll pay attention.

I did end up acquiring a backup plan from Penn Camera. More on that tomorrow. I'll also try to upload the pictures tomorrow, too. I'll need a card reader, but I can pick that up pretty easily, I think.

Till tomorrow!