Camera Upgrade Time

It's time for me to consider upgrading from my current digital camera, a Sony DSC-H20, to something with a bit more oomph.  It's not that the H-20 isn't a good camera, it's a great digital camera.  The problem is that there are things I want to do with a camera that the H-20 simply cannot do.  The above picture from my Super Moon set that I shot last month is a prime example of the limitations I encounter with this model camera.  It's not a base point-and-shoot but it is not a DSLR camera where you can do a bit more depth of field through manual focusing.  Also the ability to use different lenses and filters adds a bit of diversity of options that simply aren't there with a fixed lens camera.

Now the problem becomes of which cameras to look at for an upgrade choice.

Back in the day when I worked in a photo lab for Ritz Camera I really, really liked digital cameras from Canon.  They were well built and offered excellent image quality.  Back then I actually preferred the color reproduction of Fuji cameras but their build quality left a lot to be desired in that there cameras often felt like plastic toys compared to the "heft" of Canon models.  I was lukewarm towards Nikon and Olympus models.  Back then I wouldn't even give Sony cameras the time of day.

Fast forward to one year ago and I decided to take a chance on a digital camera from Sony.  I took this chance based on a combination of reviews written by people using the camera and looking at pictures taken with that model via the excellent Camera Finder over at Flickr.  I find that the Camera Finder there is helpful when thinking about which model of camera to buy or to get some ideas of what you can do with the camera you have right now.

Needless to say I have been very happy with my Sony camera, more than I expected to be, and it showed me that Sony has really stepped up their game with digital cameras in the last eight years.  I have no problem seriously adding Sony cameras to my list of considerations and recommendations to people (indeed a co-worker purchased the exact same camera I did one week after I got mine!).

Now that it's time to upgrade to a new camera here's my list of wants.

• The ability to shoot 1080 video
• Minimum of 12MP, preferably around 15MP
• Decent lens selection, augmentable via adaptors
• Does not weigh too much
• Excellent color reproduction
• RAW format

At the moment I'm seriously looking at two very different cameras from Nikon and Sony.

The Sony NEX-5 is a micro 4/3 camera that is smaller than traditional DSLR cameras but offers the flexibility of interchangeable lenses, including full sized lenses from different manufacturers via adaptors.  This offers a large degree of flexibility in lenses but it lacks a dedicated view finder and uses the LCD screen for framing duties.  It also lacks a built in flash but does come with an external one.

The other camera I'm looking at is a Nikon D3100.  It's a full-sized DSLR with a view finder and built in flash.  It was just released by Nikon and I can't find any pictures taken with it on Flickr so that I can compare it to the NEX-5.

At the moment I'm leaning very heavily towards the NEX-5 based on my recent Sony experience and the form factor of the smaller camera.  I won't be buying a new camera for at least a couple of months so I have time to head out to stores to play with both models to see how they feel in my hands and see some pictures from the D3100 hit Flickr to see what sort of quality it shoots.

Any suggestions?

iPhone 4 Video

Here is a video I put together to demonstrate the HD video recording capabilities of the iPhone 4 with some comparison video shot with my Sony DSC-H20.

Digital SLR Time

One hobby of mine that has fallen by the wayside the past few years is photography.  Sure, there are times I pull out the Sony H-20 to do some random shoots of stuff but I've not been real serious about getting out and about in some time.  This is something I'm planning to rectify come this fall.

While the H-20 is a fine point-and-shot digital camera and takes some outstanding pictures with some nice features it's still not a DSLR type camera with options for various lenses, RAW file format capability, and other assorted options.  If I want to really get serious about getting back into photography as a hobby I'll need to step up my game, so to speak.

This will be a multi-stage effort on my part starting with purchasing a copy of Aperture 3 by Apple.  I've been playing around with the 30 day free trial and I'm hooked!  It's got some powerful photo editing features that rival and surpass what I've used with previous versions of Photoshop, integrates very well with my iMac, and is no where as expensive as Photoshop.  If you've got a Mac computer and like to take pictures do yourself a favor and try this software out.  You'll thank me later.

Second will be deciding which DSLR I want to get.  Up until my purchase of my Sony H-20 this past spring I've been a hardcore fan of Canon cameras.  As someone who was assistant manager of a photo lab and worked in the lab of a major camera store chain I've always been partial to Canon products and recommended to many friends and customers.  I've used other digital cameras from Nikon and Fuji but always felt that Canon products offered a better quality hardware/picture combination.  The Sony I have has been changing my mind about this somewhat.

One factor in the camera decision will be lenses.  With a Sony Alpha model DSLR I'll be able to use Minolta lenses but I've not had much experience with those so it's a bit of a hedge point for me.  I also prefer lenses made by Sigma.  They offer lenses for Canon, Nikon, and other SLR/DSLR cameras and I like their products.  I have to admit I don't know if they offer equipment compatible with Sony cameras or not, I'll have to get off my butt and look it up later.  One thing is for certain, a trip to the local Wolf Camera at Cameron Village is in the offing as I'll be able to go there and play with various models and lenses to get a "feel" for the current state of DSLR offerings.  I also need to find out if a professional photographer friend I worked with when I worked for Wolf still works there, his is advice that I trust.

My final factor is working out a budget for this project.  I'm including the cost of Aperture 3 in this as it's directly related and will be the first purchase around the end of August.  There will also be various accessory purchases to take into account such as compatible memory cards (at least 32MB), extra battery for the camera, a second zoom lens (at least a 55mm-200 with a preferable 55-300mm range lens), UV filter, and a bag for the new equipment.  An extra zoom lens shouldn't be too big an issue as lots of times DSLRs are advertised with specials including such a lens.  I've already got a decent tripod so that's one less thing to worry about getting.

This is a project/goal I'm looking forward to almost as much as the iMac one was for the first half of the year.  I really do miss going out somewhere with the goal of doing nothing but looking for what catches my eye and thinking of how I want to frame a picture to make it one that others will enjoy as much as I do.

Raleigh Pictures

Here's a link to most of the pictures I took today with my new Sony H-20 digital camera.  For many of the shots I left the camera in "Intelligent Scene" mode while switching to complete manual to compose a few of them.  The picture above is probably my favorite out of all the pictures I took today.  I also shot a one minute video at 720p but I've yet to look at it, much less upload it.  Look for that later on.

I am really liking this new camera!

Oh, be sure to let me know what you think of the pictures!!!

Yet More Test Shots!

Today I took the camera to work with me to do some test shots.  Basically I left the camera in "Intelligent Scene" mode where it decides which settings to used based on the scene being shot.  The idea is to get a good base line on what the camera can do on its own before I start digging into the manual settings.

Here's a link to all the test shots from today.