PhotoWalkPro

I love shooting with a DSLR.  The flexibility, control, and image quality are really hard to beat.  There is a problem though with having a camera system that weighs 4 pounds and is the size of a brick.  It can sometimes be burdensome on occasions to carry a big camera rig, especially if you are just doing some simple sightseeing.  This was my problem.  I have all the DSLR cameras and accessories that I need for most of my photo excursions but when it came time to make a quick trip or visit a market I would opt for leaving the camera behind because I didn’t want to deal with the hassle of carrying all that weight around my neck.  The problem is that I would always see something that I would have loved to photograph but then didn’t have a camera.  So I decided to find something small that I could carry in my pocket and still hopefully get the shot.

I didn’t want to get just any point and shoot camera though.  My main criteria was that it have most of the controls that were available in a DSLR.  There were several cameras that were in that ball park but in the end it came down to just two, the Canon G11 and the Panasonic DMC-LX3K.  I did a lot of research on the two cameras but in the end, I decided on the Panasonic for a few of reasons.  First was the actual size.  At about 8 oz. it’s a bit smaller than the G11, second, it has a larger LCD screen, and third, the Leica DC VARIO-SUMMICRON lens is very wide at 24mm and has a maximum aperture of f/2.0.

There are some other features that really helped sell me on this camera like the RAW file format (yes, they can be opened by Lightroom and Camera RAW), The three different image size formats (4:3, 3:2, and the very wide 16×9) that are changeable by a simple switch on the top of the lens, and the hi-def video.  There are actually a ton of other features built into this little camera and I am just beginning to explore the possibilities but from everything I have seen, we are going to be the best of travel companions.

Here’s a sample of what the 16×9 image format looks like.  Unfortunately I didn’t have this camera with me in Malaysia but the cropping of this pano gives you an idea of why I like the wide format so much.  I’m going to have a lot of fun.  If it ever stops raining here, I will take some sample shots and post them next week.  Until then I will have to settle for cozying up with my owners manual.

Related posts:

1. I want to buy a DSLR, which camera should I buy?
2. A Family Affair
3. Buying a New Camera? Better Check Your Version of Photoshop
4. Tulips and Camera Profiles
5. Inside My Camera Backpack

This entry was posted on Friday, November 20th, 2009 at 12:02 am and is filed under Camera Gear. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.