Buying My New Camera

You would think that choosing a new camera would be easy when you have been in photography for over 45 years. I can tell you, it isn't. It would be very easy if there was a camera which was the best. There isn't. What you have to do is choose the camera which fits most of your requirements.

I am retired. I live on my own. I don't drive. (Not driving is not as restrictive in the UK, with reasonable public transport, that it would be in the USA.) I don't have the energy to lug a digital SLR and lenses wherever I go. Going out with a bag full of photographic equipment over my shoulder makes me feel vulnerable. So, a lightweight camera that will fit in my pocket is what I was looking for.

A camera that fits that description is already in my arsenal, but it is several years old and doesn't give the top quality images I look for. It also doesn't really fit with my style of photography. A lot of my photographs are of details of buildings so I needed something with a longer zoom than is normal on consumer compacts.

Olympus announced their 'micro four-thirds' system a month or so ago. Panasonic have announced their first camera using the system, but no word as yet from Olympus except for a 'concept' camera shown at 'Photokina' (last week's giant photo fair in Germany). The Panasonic lets itself down with the large and heavy optical image stabilised lenses. The body too is only slightly smaller than the Olympus E420 digital SLR.

So, I looked at the Olympus E420, but with any single lens reflex camera you are looking at a system rather than merely a camera. I already have a Pentax SLR with the lenses I require. With a new, smaller Olympus on the horizon I don't feel it is the occasion to move to a different SLR system. The body of the E420 would fit in my pocket but not with the kit zoom lens attached.

Having been so long in photography I want a camera which records RAW files rather than the standard JPEG. (The difference is that using JPEG is akin to taking your images to the local drug store for processing rather than doing it yourself.) This requirement cuts out a lot of consumer cameras.

From there it was reading and re-reading camera reviews. I am not swayed by reviews as the writer has different needs to my own. But, reviews do give a lot more information than camera specifications and manufacturers' literature.

Which camera did I settle for? The Canon Powershot G9. Why the G9 when the G10 will be in the shops shortly? A matter of value. New cameras hold a premium price. And, there isn't so many new features on the Canon Powershot G10 that would make me wait for the price to come down.

What compromises did I have to make? I would have preferred an electronic viewfinder (EVF) to the optical one. An EVF is a lot more accurate and it will mean I will need to use the LCD more often. There is not much at the wide-angle end of the lens, going down to only the equivalent of 35mm.

Do I think the images are superb? Well, it arrived only this morning: I still have to learn its foibles. Perhaps when I have taken 5000 images I will have more to say in that respect.